Countryman

Willie Nelson

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 12, 2005)
• Original Release Date: August 2, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lost Highway
• ASIN: B0009SCVCI
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #64,125 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > World Music > Reggae > Dub

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
What's stranger: Willie Nelson singing lilting reggae melodies, or a Jamaican chestnut like "The Harder They Fall" set to an acoustic country arrangement, complete with Dobro? Given Nelson's well-publicized taste for ganja, it's not surprising he's also fond of the island's major musical export. The genre-straddling Countryman, replete with dub effects, skanking beats, ringing steel guitars, and Nelson's signature nylon-string picking, doesn't measure up to his earlier, artful Lost Highway releases. It's easy to understand why this project was shelved by Nelson's previous label for nine years. There are no musical sparks, and the buoyant rhythms trivialize the strong lyrics of Nelson classics like "Darkness on the Face of the Earth." But his voice is still mellow gold, and there are tunes--like his duet with reggae/R&B singer Toots Hibbert on Johnny Cash's "I'm a Worried Man" and his own somber reading of Jimmy Cliff's "Sitting in Limbo"--that tap into the souls of desperate men to extol the power of faith over adversity. Nonetheless, this one's for hardcore fans and completists only. --Ted Drozdowski

Product Description
After nearly a decade of gestation, Willie Nelson’s long-lost, and first, reggae set is at last complete. The seed of this project took root in late 1995, sprung from the mind of famed producer Don Was. Nelson and his manager Mark Rothbaum flew to Jamaica to meet with Island Records president and founder Chris Blackwell. Don had been speaking with both Blackwell and Nelson about the prospect of creating a reggae-infused country album and both men were intrigued. Blackwell was the ideal collaborator. Not only was he the person who introduced rock audiences to the world of reggae but likewise introduced them to Bob Marley. As a versatile, well-connected music aficionado, he could realize this marriage of country and reggae the way few others could.

In fact, the two genres are compatible in many ways, and not as distant stylistically as one might initially imagine. Toots Hibbert proved it with his triumphant version of "Country Roads" and the renown reggae group the Melodians were the first to turn the gospel/bluegrass classic "Rivers of Babylon," (also previously covered by Willie) into a full-on reggae classic. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that reggae is sometimes referred to as Jamaica’s "country music," being that both forms have drawn similar lyrical content from everyday matters and share a foundation in spiritual and gospel music. Countryman is Willie’s impassioned tribute to the upstroke sound of Jamaica, an irie voyage to the land of dub and dreadlocks. Willie takes a handful of his own classics and filters them through a reggae prism, peppering them with his nylon acoustic guitar, pedal steel, dobro, harmonica and the familiar comforts of country, while bringing drums and bass to the forefront, yard style.

So, after a journey lasting over a decade, Willie’s Jamaican vision at last sees the bright light of day. While it’s just one in a long line of hyphenated hybrid projects the versatile genius has created over the years, this Countryman feels, by the sound of it, genuinely comfortable amid the island breezes of Jamaica.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Makes perfect sense, September 20, 2007

By	R. Clark "music junkie" (northern Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You know it does. Willie Nelson making a reggae recording? Kind of a no-brainer, isn't it? This is a fun CD. You get laid-back Willie playing the most laid-back music on earth. Some of the songs are reggae standards, and some are his own songs that he "reggaefied." Willie fans will like this, but so will fans of reggae music, and those two are often considered mutually exclusive. Pick this CD up, it will lighten your day.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Willie can mix it up with the best of them anyday!, July 28, 2008

By	Biggie Man "Yo, I got opinions" (S.W. Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

I just happened to find this at the local public library and thought, "Hmm, THAT sounds interesting..."

I am listening to the second song now.
I went to Amazon to see what others thought of it... ONLY ONE REVIEW!!! What, are people sick?
Or is everyone just a snob that takes their music too seriously? I mean WTF?

Now I am listening to the third song.
This is FUN FUN FUN!!!
Infectious!

Willie, you are the man.
I am sitting here typing with a s*#t eating grin on my face.

If you are into Willie and if you are into reggae and/or country music - and you aren't afraid to let your hair down - then you will love this.

I feel like at this time in music's development (2008) mostly everything has been done.
Seriously, now it is time to start mixing the genre's. That is what this is, and Willie is brilliant at laying down the reggae with the country voice of his.
This is truly great.
If you like to have fun, I cannot recommend it enough - and I am only four songs into it at this point!!!
The Harder they Come is on now.
All I can say is BRILLIANT!!!
Yes.
Hey, I gotta go dance around the house silly, See ya!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Reggae with Steel Guitar didn't work for me, January 4, 2009

By	R. Gale (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've always liked Willie Nelson, but I can't say I've ever been much on Reggae -- although I certainly appreciate Bob Marley. Nevertheless, I thought I'd give this a try, thanks to my public library where I was able to listen to it with no risk. I have to give this a "thumbs down." Reggae with steel guitar doesn't work for me, and I could not get my head around this CD. Willie's vocals...well, I guess I'm so used to hearing him in his country mode that it just didn't sound right to me. I'm sure Willie had a good time recording it, but I'll stick to his solid country stuff. My suggestion to Willie Nelson fans: preview this before you buy it.