WILLIE NELSON

For a great many years, I avoided country music like it was the plague. The thing was, in my youth the only country I was exposed to was the 60's Grand Ole Opry style, with all the sequins, cheesy orchestration, and more slide guitar in each song than anyone could possibly need on a whole album.

Thankfully, the many years I spent on the retail end of the music industry allowed me to open my pallet to a much wider variety of music. Thanks to this, I belatedly became a huge fan of the Red Headed Stranger, Mr. Willie Nelson (as well as Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett, and a host of other "country" artists with a bit more teeth than that schmaltzy crap).

For those of you who, like my former self, don't pay much attention to this particular style of music, here's the quick version of the beginnings of Willie's career. He moved from his home town in Texas to Nashville in 1960, hoping to land a recording contract. Things didn't work out right away, but he did manage to land a pblishing deal, and he began getting his songs recorded by other established acts, for whom they became big hits. "Crazy", "Hello Walls", "Funny How Time Slips Away". . . all Willie's.

After writing so many hits, he did get his contract, and released a handful of albums in the aforementioned schmaltzy style that was so big at the time. In the early 70's, he became one of the founders of the "outlaw country" style. This is the period that made him a legend. Basically, from this point on he's had full creative control over his music. Yeah, he may have made a few miss-steps along the way, but damn, the man is a legend for a reason.

Here's a batch of songs you won't find on his albums:

(files expired)

Willie Nelson - "Philadelphia Lawyer" (Woody Guthrie cover) From the Folkways: A Vision Shared tribute album. (buy)
Toots and the Maytals with Willie Nelson - "Still is Still Moving To Me" From Toots' album True Love. (buy)
Willie Nelson - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Nirvana cover) Recorded live in the studio for Triple M Radio in Australia.
Willie Nelson - "Cowboys are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other" (Ned Sublette cover) The story goes, Willie got a tape of Ned's version in the 80s, which he played on the tour bus for some time, before recording, and shelving, his own version. Two decades later, when Brokeback Mountain became a hit at the theaters, he finally issued his version, stating on a press release "The song's been in the closet for 20 years. The timing's right for it to come out. I'm just opening the door." This one would later be included on a compilation of Willie's tunes, but it's such a great song that I'm breaking my own rule and including it here.
Willie Nelson and Calexico - "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)" (Bob Dylan cover) From the I'm Not There soundtrack. (buy) If Willie and Calexico record together again, could they call themselves Wil-co?
Ziggy Marley with Willie Nelson - "This Train" From Ziggy's album Family Time. (buy)


I'm not going to try to list all of his work, but here's a few albums you might want to pick up:

Red Headed Stranger, 1975 (buy)
Stardust, 1978 (buy) (covers album, not my personal favorite, but it was huge)
Honeysuckle Rose, 1980 (buy) (soundtrack)
Crazy: The Demo Sessions, 2003 (buy) (his earliest recordings)
Countryman, 2005 (buy) (reggae album)
Two Men with the Blues, 2008 (buy) (Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis)
Naked Willie, 2009 (buy) (60's-era songs, remastered without the schmaltz, much like The Beatles' Let It be. . .Naked)
Lost Highway, 2009 (buy) (compilation w/ "Cowboys are Frequently. . .")

Willie is always on tour. Check out his website for dates, and get out to the shows.



In completely unrelated news, I recently had a conversation with someone who is close to Irish band The Frames. I was told that, while nothing is official yet, there has been talk of hitting the studio later this year, and touring to celebrate their 20th year together. Yippee!

H08 - WILLIE NELSON

Willie Nelson with Stephen Colbert - "Little Dealer Boy" I don't know if that's the real title. That seems to be the most common name for it on the blogs. This was recorded from the Colbert Christmas Special that aired last week.

All the songs on the special are available for legit download from that one store that everyone goes to for legit downloads. A portion of the proceeds are going to charity, too, so go download them. The sound quality will be better, and you won't have the audience laughing over the track.

Better yet, buy the DVD of the special. The visuals make the performance even better.

(file expired)

ELVIS COSTELLO

Elvis Costello (born Declan MacManus) is primarily known for his early “new wave” or post-punk music with his band The Attractions.

Over his many years in the music business, he has released music in numerous genres. Lately, he’s been jumping back and forth between rock and pop ballads, and an occasional detour into classical.

You’d be hard pressed to find any songwriter that has such a large songbook. Maybe Prince. Maybe. Not only does Costello write his own albums, he also gives songs to other artists that he knows, or even that he just admires. He also regularly contributes to soundtracks, tribute albums, and charity albums.

He puts out so many songs in any given year, you’d think all he has time to do is sit and write music.

Searching through my collection of Costello tunes, I found it hard to get tracks that aren’t on his albums. He (and his record labels) have reissued his albums so many times, in so many different configurations, that I’m not completely sure what’s available now and what isn’t. So, in an attempt to avoid posting something that is currently a bonus track on a current release, I’m sticking more to his work on soundtracks, and as guest on other artists’ albums.

(all files expired)

Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach - “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” From the soundtrack to Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
Elvis Costello - “Weird Nightmare” (Charles Mingus cover) From the tribute album Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus.
Willie Nelson with Elvis Costello and Diana Krall - “Crazy” (live) From Willie’s album Live and Kickin’.
Elvis Costello - “You Stole My Bell” From the Family Man soundtrack. Co-written with then wife Cait O-Riordan.
Elvis Costello - “North” The title track to his 2003 album was only available as a downloadable bonus track. Kind of annoyed us who didn't want to deal with i-tunes.
Elvis Costello - “Let’s Misbehave” (Cole Porter cover) From the soundtrack of De-Lovely.
Jazz Passengers with Elvis Costello - “Aubergine” From the Jazz Passengers’ album Individually Twisted.
Elvis Costello and Brian Eno - “My Dark Life” From the X-Files soundtrack album, Songs In the Key of X.
Elvis Costello - “Ship of Fools” (Grateful Dead cover) From the tribute album Deadicated.

Elvis Costello discography:

My Aim Is True, 1977 (buy) (2 disc)
This Year’s Model, 1978 (buy) (2 disc) (with The Attractions)
Armed Forces, 1979 (buy) (2 disc) (with The Attractions)
Get Happy!!, 1980 (buy) (with The Attractions)
Trust, 1981 (buy) (with The Attractions)
Almost Blue, 1981 (buy) (with The Attractions)
Imperial Bedroom, 1982 (buy) (2 disc) (with The Attractions)
Punch the Clock, 1983 (buy) (with The Attractions)
Goodbye Cruel World, 1984 (buy) (with The Attractions)
King of America, 1986 (buy) (2 disc) (with The Attractions & The Confederates)
Blood and Chocolate, 1986 (buy) (with The Attractions)
Spike, 1986 (buy)
Mighty Like a Rose, 1991
The Juliet Letters, 1993 (2 disc) (with The Brodsky Quartet)
Brutal Youth, 1994
Kojak Variety, 1995 (covers album)
All This Useless Beauty, 1996 (buy)
Painted From Memory, 1998 (buy) (with Burt Bacharach)
For The Stars, 2001 (buy) (with Anne Sofie von Otter)
When I Was Cruel, 2002 (buy) (with The Imposters)
North, 2003 (buy)
The Delivery Man, 2004 (buy) (2 disc) (with the Imposters)
The River In Reverse, 2006 (buy) (with Allen Toussaint)
Momofuku, 2008 (buy) (with The Imposters)

Yeah, there are several that I skipped. Live albums, collections, classical stuff, etc. This is just the basics.