Willie Nelson "The Troublemaker" (Columbia, 1976)
An extraordinary country gospel album, recorded by Nelson in 1973 during his brief stint on Atlantic Records, but shelved for several years until the time was right for the world to hear his hippiedelic version of the holy word. Fellow Texan hippiebilly Doug Sahm, who was also on Atlantic at the time, provides backup and major musical assist. The title track is a real humdinger, a brief little Vietnam War-era ditty that decries a longhaired troublemaker who stirs the kids up and tell them not to go to war... Hey, turns out it's that Jesus fella! But separate from Willie's rare venture into topically oriented protest music, there's a remarkable brace of rough-hewn, sincerely rendered versions of a dozen-plus old-fashioned, washed-in-the-blood, Bible-thumpin' great old gospel songs -- songs like "Uncloudy Day," "Precious Memories" and "Where The soul Never Dies" -- all delivered by Willie and his band with a rawness and affection that puts life back into the country canon. Hearkening back to the soulfulness of Albert E. Brumley and his generation of country gospel pioneers, Willie approaches the music with reverence and feeling, but also with a lustiness and looseness that acknowledges the soaring, searching aspect of down-home religion. It really is a remarkable record, well wrth tracking down. The 2004 CD reissue includes several live tracks with Nelson's drunken hippie fan base rompin' and stompin' their way along with Willie and the boys, as Willie makes 'em soak up some of the holy spirit. It would have been easy for him to pass it off as a campy joke, but that wasn't where his head was at on this one. He's sincere, and the music is swell.
cd = 11/21/03