Thursday, November 08, 2007

422. Willie Nelson - Stardust (1978)













Track Listing


1. Stardust
2. Georgia On My Mind
3. Blue Skies
4. All Of Me
5. Unchained Melody
6. September Song
7. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
8. Moonlight In Vermont
9. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
10. Someone To Watch Over Me

Review

Willie moves slightly away from Country music to grace us with songs from the great songbooks... I can't say American Songbook because September Song is by Kurt Weil. I say slightly moved away from Country because there is a definite case of Willie's roots showing here and that is not necessarily a bad thing, Willie makes these songs his own.

At times the tracks might be a bit overly tacky or sentimental, and after Ghost who can listen to Unchained Melody without cringing? Still Willie show a definite tender side to himself and he really seems to feel what he is singing. They are definitely convincing performances.

This is one of the first cases and a door opener for many other singers later, and particularly in the last 10 years who have decided to tackle similar material in order to broaden their audience. Sometimes it works (Bryan Ferry) sometimes it is successful commercially but makes your ears bleed (Rod Stewart) and sometimes they take the reverse approach (Paul Anka)... but it seems to be a guaranteed cash-in, and it was for Willie as well. But Willie is good at it, he keeps it in his capabilities and imparts them with sincere feeling... good on him. As my wife says cute and lovely but tacky.

Track Highlights


1. Georgia On My Mind
2. September Song
3. Stardust
4. On The Sunny Side Of The Street

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

In 2003, the album was ranked number 257 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.


Georgia On My Mind:

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nothing to do with the current album...

Dear Francisco,

First question.

Is anyone else besides you and I doing the obsessive 3003 media experience?

What I mean to say is this...are we the only two people doing the full movie/album/book thing?

Second question...and this comes purely from my wife to yours...

And I quote...

"How do you deal with your obsessive husband?"

Third question, and it sounds mean, but it isn't. What happened to the book section?

Francisco Silva said...

I don't think I know anyone else doing the 3003 (soon to become 4004 as I've ordered the 1001 Classical Recordings You Must Yada Yada). There are several people doing the Albums bit though.

My wife says that she and your wife should form a club.

The book section is actually being slightly neglected due to the size of the current books I'm reading, but... I should have one review up later today.

Anonymous said...

I'm doing the 3003, I'm currently listening to Mothership Connection and reading A Clockwork Orange right now as a matter of fact!

Francisco Silva said...

That's real horrorshow droog.

Anonymous said...

A real kick to the gulliver.

A Clockwork Orange is one of my all time favorite Kubrick films, and I have yet to work my way through the book and its unusual vocab.

-- M1001