Willie Nelson’s Revered Albums, Rainbow Connection and It Will Always Be, Releasing on Vinyl
Published
Willie Nelson’s Revered Album, Rainbow Connection,
To Make Its Vinyl Debut
Alongside Acclaimed It Will Always Be,
Returning to Vinyl After Nearly Two Decades
LP Releases Continue Ume’s Vinyl Series
In Honor of Music Legend’s 90th Birthday Celebration
Which Began With The Great Divide,
And Includes Milk Cow Blues,
Spirit, and Teatro
Rainbow Connection and It Will Always Be
Available on 180-Gram Black Vinyl
And Limited Edition Color Variants November 10
LOS ANGELES – Continuing the yearlong celebration of Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday, UMe
Upon its release in 2004 on Lost Highway, Willie’s 52nd studio album, It Always Will Be, was hailed by Pitchfork as sounding “just as timely and timeless as anything he’s done,” remarking it “resembles late-70s/early-80s Nelson albums like Always on My Mind both in its impressively diverse mix of originals and covers and in its easygoing sound.” The album, produced by James Stroud, includes a poignant, plainspoken cover of Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan’s “Picture In A Frame,” a high octane performance of the Allman Brother Band’s “Midnight Rider,” wonderful duets with Lucinda Williams (“Overtime”), Norah Jones (“Dreams Come True”), and Toby Keith (“Tired”), Willie’s daughter, Paula Nelson (“Be That As It May”), and a handful of newly penned originals: the mellow Texas country title track, the mariachi-inflected “Texas” and the somber “My Broken Heart Belongs To You,” among the many highlights.
The Great Divide, released in 2002 on Lost Highway, saw Willie duetting and collaborating with an incredible roster of artists from across the musical spectrum for a rousing collection of originals and covers for his 50th studio album. Joined by a diverse group of songwriters, singers and musicians, including Alison Kraus, Bonnie Raitt, Brian McKnight, Kid Rock, Lee Ann Womack, the album features such highlights as the Rob Thomas-penned duet, “Maria (Shut Up And Kiss Me),” and the Lee Ann Womack-starring “Mendocino County Line,” co-written by Elton John’s lyricist Bernie Taupin who also co-wrote “This Face.” Other standouts include covers of Mickey Newbury’s “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In),” Cyndi Lauper’s signature tune, “Time After Time,” and the title track which sees Willie taking the lead for a Spanish-tinged original. The record comes to a stirring conclusion with Willie and Bonnie Raitt reflecting on regret and the passage of time in the aching “You Remain.” The album peaked at No. 5 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart on the strength of singles “Mendocino County Line” and “Maria (Shut Up And Kiss Me).”
Willie’s 45th album, Teatro, released in 1998 on Island, found the ever-restless musical innovator working with producer Daniel Lanois to create a lush, cinematic gem of a record. Fittingly recorded live in an old, unused movie theatre in Oxnard, Calif., prominently displayed on the cover, the album mostly features Willie reinventing to great effect a number of songs he first wrote in the 1960s, including 1962’s “I’ve Just Destroyed The World” and “Three Days” and 1968’s “I Just Can’t Let You Say Goodbye.” With longtime friend and frequent collaborator Emmylou Harris at his side for 11 of the 14 tracks, Teatro showcases Willie’s versatility as he effortlessly transitions between country, folk, and blues, delivering each song with a profound sense of sincerity while experimenting with new sounds and sonic textures. Willie and Emmylou’s take on Lanois’ “The Maker” would be worth the price of admission alone but that’s just one standout among many. Accompanied by a nine-piece band that included Willie’s sister, Bobbie Nelson, on piano, the group conjure up an atmosphere informed by the howling harmonicas and mariachi bands of spaghetti western soundtracks, resulting in an album quite unlike any other in Willie’s catalog.
Released in 2000 on Island, Willie’s 48th studio album, Milk Cow Blues, was his heartfelt homage to the blues. With his trademark vocals and dexterous guitar playing, Willie, backed by the Antone’s blues band and his longtime harmonica player, Mickey Raphael, delivers a captivating collection of blues standards and original compositions, including remarkable blues renditions of some of his classics and earliest cuts. The 15-track album features Willie joined by blues legends B.B. King for his timeless hit, “The Thrill Has Gone,” Dr. John on the slow rolling “Black Night,” and vocalist Francine Reed on Willie’s “Funny (How Time Slips Away)” and the scene-setting title track, with the vocalist transforming both into soulful laments. A who’s who of the genre’s modern-day torchbearers such as Keb Mo, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang and Susan Tedeschi display their blues chops alongside Willie, from Tedeschi belting on Willie’s immortal “Crazy” and Lang, Mo and Shepherd playing up a storm of blues guitar on “Ain’t Nobody’s Business,” “Outskirts Of Town,” and “Texas Flood.” Willie digs deep into his catalog to revisit some of his earliest songs, including “Rainy Day Blues” (with Lang) and “Night Life” (with King) which were released in 1960 by Paul Buskirk and His Little Men featuring Hugh Nelson (aka Willie). Critics praised the record, with Rolling Stone exclaiming, “like everything else he plays, Nelson’s blues are unforced and natural,” adding, “the result is emotionally rich, musically savory and languidly blue from end to end.” Texas Monthly meanwhile said the “gorgeous solo reading of Bob Wills’ ‘Sittin’ on Top of the World’ that should forever bridge the gap between western swing and blues winds up being the album’s most spine-tingling moment.”
Spirit, released in 1996 on Island as his 44th studio album, saw the songwriter return to his roots for what critics deemed his most focused album of that decade. Self-produced and featuring a stripped back band – Willie and Jody Payne on guitars, Bobbie Nelson on piano, and legendary country fiddler Johnny Gimble (Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys), Willie, as All Music wrote “weaves a tapestry, a song cycle about brokenness, loneliness, heartbreak, spiritual destitution, and emerging on the other side.” The 12 original compositions delve into themes of love, loss, redemption, and the human experience and showcase Willie’s well-traveled voice and Spanish-inflected guitar playing, accompanied by sparse instrumentation; the antithesis to the kind of country music that dominated the airwaves in the mid ‘90s. Some of the many highlights include “I’m Not Trying To Forget You Anymore,” “Too Sick To Pray” and “I Thought About You, Lord.” While well received upon release, Spirit has only grown in stature over the years as it continues to be discovered and revisited by new and longtime fans alike. In 2020, Texas Monthlyranked it #10 when ranking Willie’s more than 150 albums, a jaw-dropping mix of studio recordings, live albums and anthologies.
Willie’s music continues to endure and captivate audiences more than ever, and now fans have even more ways to enjoy these six classic albums.
