About this Artist

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Editorial Reviews

As part of the yearlong celebration of Willie Nelson's 70th birthday, New York City's Beacon Theater hosted an all-star party honoring the Red Headed Stranger on April 9, 2003, and this document of the festivities captures the artist's singular nature. There's some razor-edged boogie (a shaggy "She Loves My Automobile" with ZZ Top); some potent blues (a stinging "Night Life" with Eric Clapton, a yearning "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" with Shania Twain); some hard, merciless country (the crowd-pleasing topical barn burner "Beer for My Horse" with Toby Keith); some seductive blue-eyed soul (Shelby Lynne's steamy duet with Willie on "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground"); and some fierce blues rock ("I Couldn't Believe It Was True," with John Mellencamp). Even Aerosmith's Steven Tyler gets deep into it, continuing his evolution into country warbler on his self-penned tear-jerker "One Time Too Many." Norah Jones doesn't have to work too hard to steal the show with a dreamy, languid take on "Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want to Get Over You)" (which also appears on the Waylon Jennings tribute, Lonesome, On'ry and Mean), and Kenny Chesney and Ray Price make solid stands for tradition with, respectively, a blues-tinged ballad in "Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning" and the infectious western swing workout "Run That by Me One More Time." The names here -- which also include Diana Krall, Elvis Costello, Leon Russell, Ray Charles, and Paul Simon -- stand tall in the popular music pantheon, but none as tall as the silver-haired singer and songwriter whose voice and catalogue both stand the test of time. David McGee, Barnes & Noble

Customer Reviews

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• Ratings: 2Reviews: 2