If you haven’t checked out Willie Nelson’s new Album A Beautiful Time, you need to. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard something Willie did that wasn’t awesome, but this one stands out. He, like a lot of musicians, set the bar high in his own career with one album. What I mean is that, personally, I don’t know that he’ll ever top The Red Headed Stranger but, this is a great addition to his already awesome catalog.
It’s unfortunate and a little unsettling but, I think we all know Willie’s time is running out. He’s outlived all the country outlaws (from his day) now except Jerry Lee Lewis. This album really gave me end of life type vibes. I’m not being morbid with this opinion. I hope Willie lives to be 100 and, I somehow get to hang out on a front porch with him. Anyway, the vibes are there. The cover is him walking into a sunset to start with. 4 tracks really had this specific theme to them as well. One of my favorite tracks on the album was one of these 4 called “I Don’t Go to Funerals.” The other 3 that I’m referring to are “A Beautiful Time”, “Tower of Song”, and “Live Every Day.”
As with any music by Willie Nelson, the song writing is top notch. He is among the few artists out there that you can be sure is going to write amazing music every time his pen hits the paper. For some reason, I always find his records at thrift stores, and I buy them every time. I always listen to them and always enjoy them. His catalog is huge and solid gold. On this album, as on many others, there is a Spanish influence that can be heard in the music. This is consistent with Willie’s life though, and it adds honesty to the album. He is a known ranch guy, and he lives the old western lifestyle. The Spanish sound goes well with this. Trigger puts in the work folks.
All in all, this album was great to listen to and I really enjoyed it. So much garbage and so little quality comes out of the music industry today. When I saw something fresh from Willie, it was uplifting to me. I added several tracks to my playlist and will probably revisit this album again and again. I won’t listen to it as often as I have The Red Headed Stranger but, I will bless my ears with this album again. Willie is an outlaw and one of the last of a dying breed. I think the fact that he has always and is still making real music is what gives him a genuine outlaw status in the industry. There are so few people who really live what they sing about anymore. Keep it coming Willie – we are still listening!