Soundbite: Willie Nelson
By Kiran Puri
Oct. 30, 2006 9:00 p.m.
Willie Nelson
“Songbird”
LOS HIGHWAY RECORDS
Some say old dogs can’t learn new tricks, and Willie
Nelson proves with his new album, “Songbird,” that
they’re probably right.
But no one says anything about what comes of combining a bit of
new with the old.
Bringing the raw bluesy rock out of one of the most influential
musicians to emerge from country music is alt-country songwriter
Ryan Adams, who produced “Songbird.” Adams also brought
in his band, The Cardinals, to back up the album’s mix of
fresh originals by both Nelson and Adams, as well as to revisit
Nelson’s older songs and covers from other artists.
Much like a Ryan Adams album, the band’s arrangements are
full-bodied, energetic and as fitting as a fiddle to the mood of
the song. Songs transition from sweet campfire ballads to
rocked-out Western swing, wringing out all the different styles of
music that combine to make country music what it is, and smoothing
it over with a modern finish.
Dirty guitar licks, for example, back up the emotional and
musical tug-of-war that is “Stella Blue,” originally
performed by the Grateful Dead, while multiple layers of simple 1-2
rhythms add a congenial shape to the title track by Fleetwood
Mac’s Christine McVie.
Anyone who has seen Willie Nelson perform lately, either on TV
or live, will know that his voice is slipping from its soft
unhurried style to an unsteadied quiver. He can’t pull out
any tricks in that regard, but the studio definitely can and does
by leveling out his modest phrasings, while preserving
Nelson’s grassroots appeal.
But there is a palpable detachment between the music and the
voice, as if The Cardinals are creating these nostalgic but fresh
arrangements as an iconic voice sways above the music but rarely
intertwines with it.
Country music is beginning to transcend its genre label, and not
in its totally twanged-out original form. In albums such as Bright
Eyes’ “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning”
and Jenny Lewis’ solo album “Rabbit Fur Coat,”
modern artists are picking out rhythms and coating refrains
reminiscent of the country music that came before the gaudy
rhinestones and glossy sentiments of Nashville.
“Songbird” isn’t so dissimilar, except that
the musician picking and choosing from the legendary sounds of
country music is one of the legends responsible for creating them
to begin with.
A bit disjointed it may be at times, but overall
“Songbird” makes for a charming middle ground.
E-mail Puri at [email protected].
