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The
pairing – great songs and a great singer – works beautifully.
The album will be out Friday, just before Nelson’s 92nd birthday
on April 29.
He has long sounded ageless, but more than ever, Nelson sings
like a sage. His reedy tenor can be a little whispery, but he
displays surprising vocal range. His relaxed, conversational
delivery is filled with warmth and wisdom. He’ll start a phrase
late, end it early and make it seem perfect.
When he reminisces about childhood on “Banks of the Old Bandera"
— originally recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker — Nelson sounds just
like he did in 1976, the year the song was written. Other
material ranges from “Shame on the Moon,” a 1982 pop hit for Bob
Seger, to Crowell’s overlooked gem “She’s Back in Town.”
Also included are tunes that have been recorded by Tim McGraw
(“Open Season On My Heart”) and Keith Urban (“Making Memories of
Us”) and a folksy ballad co-written with Guy Clark (“Stuff That
Works”).
Longtime Nelson collaborator Buddy Cannon produced the record,
and the backing musicians provide graceful, tasteful support.
Nelson’s beloved guitar Trigger plays a significant role,
including on a careening, don’t-try-this-at-home solo on the
title cut, a duet with Crowell.
Also among the highlights is “The Fly Boy & The Kid,” a
prayerlike shuffle with playful lyrics that Nelson leans into.
He’s equally frisky doing roadhouse blues on “She’s Back in
Town,” while elsewhere the mood tends toward contemplative. “The
days go by like flying bricks,” Nelson sings on the handsome
ballad “Open Season On My Heart.”
More than any other song in the set, “Still Learning How to Fly”
seems as if it was written for Nelson. Nearing the end of the
album – Nelson’s 154th, according to Texas Monthly’s herculean
ranking of his prolific discography — he sings:
“I’ve got a past that I won’t soon forget / And you ain’t seen
nothing yet.”
He sounds as if he means it.
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