This is Willie Nelsons latest CD and the fact that it's full of interesting collaborations, including the fact that the three big names of old school country, that is Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard, are present on this disc is reason enough to buy it.
However, it's hardly groundbreaking. Willie is like Cock Sparrer, you get what you get on album after album. There are plenty of good tunes on this one, but no On the road again and no You were always on my mind. There are, however, songs with a message and songs about broken hearts, something Willie does good, cos, remember that he was a short haired singer of romantic songs once, before he turned out to be a long haired rebel.
If this record is like most other stuff he's turned out over the last few years, I would still recommend everyone to buy it and support one of the last greats of country music. I compared him to Cock Sparrer before and another trait he shares with oi! is the fact that he combines staunch patriotism with criticism of the system. He shows you can love your country and it's traditions and still be mad as hell about what the leaders of men get up to. The next last tune on the disc, Come back Jesus, shows that clearly.
I really liked Willie's reggae album and his collaboration with Toots Hibbert of the Maytals fame. When I picked this record up, I noticed on the back that he was going to collaborate with rapper Snoop Dogg. For a minute, I feared there would be some dreadful nu country, where Willie would rap. Fortunately, that didn't happen. If he went reggae on his other album, this is Snoop going country. Gangsta rap meets outlaw country. The tune itself is one of the worst tunes on the album and one can clearly hear why Snoop raps and doesn't sing normally.
Well, what could Willie and Snoop have in common? Duh!
Unfortunately, there are a few drug-glorifying tunes on this album that I, as a straight edge guy and as someone with mates that have died from overdoses, simply can't endorse. I see no reason to glorify that shit and those who do so through music should be held accountable for all the drug-related deaths there is.
Fortunately, Willie doesn't only sing about drugs. Best songs on this album are, as usual, his songs about broken hearts, whereof The sound of your memory and Just breathe stand out as the finest.
I think this is an okayish album that delivers the goods, but hardly anything groundbreaking. It gets 58,3% in rate of satisfaction!
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