Pancho & Lefty [Bonus Tracks]

1	Pancho and Lefty / Willie Nelson 4:48
2	It's My Lazy Day / Willie Nelson 2:50
3	My Mary / Willie Nelson 3:18
4	Half a Man / Willie Nelson 4:12
5	Reasons to Quit / Willie Nelson 3:32
6	No Reason to Quit / Willie Nelson 3:16
7	Still Water Runs the Deepest / Willie Nelson 2:45
8	My Life's Been a Pleasure / Willie Nelson 3:25
9	All the Soft Places to Fall / Willie Nelson 3:34
10	Opportunity to Cry / Willie Nelson 4:01
11	Half a Man / Willie Nelson previously unreleased / Bonus Track 3:35
12	My Own Peculiar Way / Willie Nelson previously unreleased / Bonus Track 3:01

Barnes & Noble

"Timeless" is an overused word, but the genial 1983 pairing of Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard feels like a world unto itself, beholden to its practitioners' sensibility rather than to the style of the day. Produced by Chips Moman and featuring members of the artists' respective bands along with some of Moman's favorite Nashville hands, Pancho & Lefty floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. Townes Van Zandt's epic -- and chart-topping -- title song provides drama and depth on a wide-screen scale, but elsewhere the mood is alternately mellow and amiable (Smiley Burnette's languorous "It's My Lazy Day") or mellow and melancholy (the rootsy drinkin' song "No Reason to Quit"). True to what brung 'em, the Hag and Willie pay tribute to Bob Wills with two memorable interpretations of songs associated with the King of Western Swing. "Still Water Runs the Deepest" is done up in a mid-tempo swing, enlivened by a couple of tasty mandolin solos; conversely, the sincerity "My Life's Been a Pleasure" and its plainspoken vow of endless love is underscored by Willie and Merle's warm vocal treatment and a tender, lilting instrumental arrangement. Two Nelson originals are included as bonus tracks: the slightly sardonic love ballad "Half a Man" plies a sweet melody and dreamy arrangement to a lyric about a no-good woman whose treacheries are likened to having body parts lopped off; while the tasty, largely acoustic ballad "My Own Peculiar Way" thanks a woman for loving her man despite his occasional thoughtlessness and promises love in return. Pancho & Lefty captures two country outlaws at the peak of their talents, recording music that both captures and transcends its time and place. David McGee

All Music Guide

The remastered, expanded edition of Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson's 1982 classic, Pancho & Lefty, was well worth the wait. First, there's the sound. In the title cut, there are voices and guitars listeners have never heard before either on LP or CD. There are stunning little surprises like a keyboard or a marimba in "My Mary," or the subtle organ shadings in "Reasons to Quit," or the extra reverb on Hag's electric on "No Reason to Quit." These might seem like audiophile nitpickings to some, but they actually change the way one hears this recording -- and it wears its legendary status very well indeed. The bonus tracks are winners, too. In those days country records only had ten songs on them because the labels didn't want to pay the publishing. "Half a Man" is a slow Nelson waltz written in his trademark style; this is an unissued version of the song minus Hag. It's full of slinky honky tonk pianos, a slowly walking bassline, and a gorgeous Mickey Raphael harmonica solo. "My Own Peculiar Way" is a familiar song to Nelson fans; he's played it in his live sets forever, as it dates from 1965. But this is a completely fleshed-out, reworked version with many surprises instrumentally and vocally. For the price tag, this is ultimately an unbeatable -- and necessary -- item for the country collection. Thom Jurek