Nelson, Willie / Countryman
Album: Countryman   Collection:Country
Artist:Nelson, Willie   Added:Jul 2005
Label:Lost Highway Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2005-08-14 Pull Date: 2005-10-16 Charts: Country/Bluegrass
Week Ending: Oct 16 Oct 9 Oct 2 Sep 25 Aug 28
Airplays: 1 2 3 1 5

Recent Airplay
1. Apr 02, 2007: Headcleaner
One in a Row
4. Jan 15, 2007: Headcleaner
The Harder They Come
2. Mar 12, 2007: Headcleaner
The Harder They Come
5. Oct 12, 2005: Eels in the Loo
Sitting in Limbo
3. Jan 22, 2007: Headcleaner
I'm a Worried Man
6. Oct 04, 2005: Eclectica
How Long Is Forever

Album Review
Sadie O.
Reviewed 2005-08-08
Nelson, Willie - Countryman (Lost Highway)
Reviewed by Sadie O, 8/8/05
Willie Nelson does reggae! Proof positive that if you smoke pot long enough, you WILL eventually do a reggae record. It just can't be helped. All in all, a pleasant mash-up, nothing earthshaking, but nothing not to like, either. Mostly mid-tempo, production (by Don Was) really is mostly C&W with a steady reggae beat - it's not crazy to keep it filed under Country with the rest of Willie's stuff. Almost all songs about lost love (DEFINITLY more a C&W theme than a reggae one!), except tracks 4 and 6 by Jimmy Cliff, and 11 which is about retained love.
No FCC. I dig track 9, but the three covers (3, 4, 6) are good for kicks.

1. 2:48 uptempo, almost like ska with pedal steel. Sounds almost like his drowsy vocals are being pulled along by the beat.
2. 3:22 pedal steel like molasses. I can imagine two-stepping to this.
3. 2:35 **Toots Hibbert (Maytals) duets on this Johnny Cash classic. Interesting vocal counterpoint.
4. 3:38 **sparing accompaniment with loping beat, at least as much cowboy as rude boy. More like remaking Jimmy Cliff as a western song than a reggae tune.
5. 3:14 musically more on the reggae side than the other tracks.
6. 2:41 bubbling keyboards, subdued instrumentation that builds as song goes on.
7. 2:17 sad ballad - actually works so well you wonder how they ever made country songs without the accent on the third beatÅ  Mind the fake ending.
8. 3:33 uptempo, nice but nothing that stands out. Some minor key.
9. 2:44 ***perhaps the most successful blend of styles on the record.
10. 3:02 music sounds too happy for the lyrics. Nice guitar solo, though.
11. 3:27 some cool vibrato on one guitar, otherwise like all the rest,
12. 2:32 a bit syncopated, interesting counterpoint to steel and harp.

Track Listing
1. Do You Mind Too Much If I Do   7. Darkness on the Face of the
2. How Long Is Forever   8. One in a Row
3. I'm a Worried Man   9. I've Just Destoyed the World
4. The Harder They Come   10. You Left Me a Long Long Time
5. Something to Think About   11. I Guess I've Come to Live He
6. Sitting in Limbo   12. Undo the Right