4/5
Working On The Highway
Friendship is the foundation of everything. Love, marriage and family. At 92 years young, American and country icon Willie Nelson has met many on the long and winding road of his life. But with his 78th album (amazing), he honours one of the best. Nelson has been giving us no half measures over the last couple of calendars. Forget that, over each and every decade he's strummed strings and breathed into microphones across stages and plains. But ever since 'The Border' of 2024, he's been on a tear like a runaway American dream Springsteen sings about from books of Bob. Even though it was far from that, the 'Last Leaf On The Tree', last November, was beautiful. And this year he already showed us 'Oh What A Beautiful World' back in April. Now, this November, in fellow beautiful black and white, he's still a 'Workin' Man', as 'Willie Sings Merle', set off by the strong single of the 'Workin' Man Blues'. Two albums a year from a ninety-something? Now, that's work!
It's not a young man's game, or world any more, as the greats come out the gates this New Music Friday. Not just Willie, but soul Staples Singer, and activist, Mavis Staples with another classic ('Sad And Beautiful World') to follow up her iconic return of 2019's 'We Get By'. Meanwhile, all the kids are trying to use new self-aggrandizing terms on podcasts and social media to tell us how humble they are, when these legends just put the proof in their pudding. Now, that's really letting someone cook. Instead of talking about ourselves, we should acknowledge and honour others, and that's exactly what this 'Workin' Man' does. Dialled to eleven tracks, Willie sings the songs of his late friend and frequent collaborator, Merle Haggard, who passed almost a decade ago. It's a legacy recording, produced in part by Mickey Raphael, recorded in Nashville's East Iris and Blackbird studios, plus the Pedernales Recording of Spicewood, Texas, USA. All for almost forty minutes of fantastic music to take you away in the shotgun of your car.
Haggard was one of the greats, his influence was just that inspirational. With Willie, he recorded four studio duet albums for the record. It all began in 1983, with 'Pancho & Lefty', and ended in 2015, with 'Django and Jimmie', one year before Merle's death. As classic as the pair of men in black sitting on a leather couch for the album cover, this set takes off on 'Silver Wings'. Singing all the little bits of country for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 'Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down' ("Well, each night I leave the barroom when it's over/Not feeling any pain at closing time/But tonight your memory found me much too sober/I couldn’t drink enough to keep you off of my mind") shows you can't even turn to booze when you're bruised. Whereas, 'Today I Started Loving You Again' is a beautiful affirmation to the vows of love renewed. 'Swinging Doors', mind you, is classic 'Hello Walls', Willie with lines like, "I've got swinging doors, a jukebox, and a barstool/And my new home has a flashing neon sign/Stop by and see me anytime you want to/'Cause I'm always here at home 'til closing time/I'm always here at home 'til closing time." The neon glare above the pool table green, illuminating the lonely yearn. Playing the winner, 'Okie From Mskogee' keeps everything rolling like those dice of life.
'Mama Tried' to make a good man, and she did with this one who tells us, through another, that, "Dear old daddy, rest his soul/Left my mom a heavy load/She tried so very hard to fill his shoes/Working hours without rest/Wanted me to have the best." These records aren't just legacy, they're legend all the way to the 'Ramblin' Fever' closing, with you know what kind of medicinal prescription. This compelling collection could really bookmark the great American songbook, somewhere north of a Nashville skyline. Even some of the darker turned pages, like 'I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink'. 'Somewhere Between' all this, is the hope for better days to come, like the old ones of old glory, sang here, as Willie and Merle fly the flag from here to the great beyond that Staples sings about also, this week. Closing in on a century, this man can dream too, and on the penultimate powerful, 'If We Make It Through December', the sage says, "If we make it through December/Everything's gonna be all right, I know/'Cause it's the coldest time of winter/And I shiver when I see the falling snow/If we make it through December/Got plans to be in a warmer town come summertime/Maybe even California." Sadly, this album also marks the last record Nelson shares with both long-serving band members Paul English and his elder sister Bobbie Nelson. Yet the Family Band plays on in the hereafter. For Merle. TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Playlist Picks: 'Workin' Man Blues', 'Today I Started Loving You Again', 'If We Make It Through December'.
Spin This: Willie Nelson - 'Oh What A Beautiful World'.
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