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Josh
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« on: July 06, 2006, 04:52:44 PM » |
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This set is phenomenal.
It's three discs long, and includes Willie Nelson's two finest studio recordings-- Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages, both of which blow the more-popular Red-Headed Stranger and later classics like Teatro out of the water-- as well as a full live set, the scrapped live album Live from the Texas Opry.
It's beautifully and thoughtfully put together, with handsome packaging and an intriguing, 40-page color booklet. Plus, there are B-sides, outtakes, and rarities galore-- arranged by the album they belong with-- that are almost uniformly great, sometimes so great that you wonder why they didn't make it onto the final cut.
The two studio albums present are, of course, exceptional. Both are bursting with creativity and invention, soul and passion, and it's not hard to see why this phase in Nelson's career is considered to be so influential on country music. I'm especially enamored with Stages and Phases-- easily one of the most sensitive and affecting breakup albums that I've heard, brimming with poetry and compassion. Both albums are visionary in their fusion of country music with rock attitude, jazz musicianship, and R&B stylings.
And the live set is a delight. It's got several cuts from the two studio albums represented here, as well as a number of Willie classics and a few fun covers. Many of the live performances are better than their source material.
It's been a great year for new music, but this set might be the must-have release of 2006 for this listener.
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