Willie Nelson Album: “City of New Orleans”

Some of these songs are more obscure than others but most people will be familiar with at least some of these songs in some version. Willie's versions of these songs are, as ever, distinctive - this is why he was so successful at recording them. Unlike several of his cover albums, he largely avoids the Great American Songbook (although one song here - Cry - is from that era), focusing instead on more recent songs from the fifties to the eighties.

The title track was an American hit for Arlo Guthrie but no version of the song ever charted in Britain. I've heard many versions of the song including excellent versions by Judy Collins, John Denver, Lynn Anderson, Johnny Cash and Sammi Smith, but Willie's version is my favorite.

As already mentioned, the oldest song here is Cry, Johnny Ray's debut single and one of his biggest American hits. (There were no British charts at the time.) The song became a top five country hit for Lynn Anderson in the seventies, since when several other country singers recorded it including Crystal Gayle and Janie Fricke.

Just out of reach has been covered by many pop, R+B and country singers down the years. I believe that Patsy Cline's 1958 version is the original though her version was not a hit.

Elvis Presley has recorded two of the songs here - Until it's time for you to go (originally written and recorded by Buffy Sainte-Marie, though Elvis may have recorded it after hearing Neil Diamond's version) and Good time Charlie's got the blues.

Dave Loggins has a long and distinguished career as a songwriter but his achievements as a singer are much more limited - however, he had a huge American hit with Please come to Boston. Many country singers have since covered it including Tammy Wynette, Glen Campbell and Reba McEntire.

She's out of my life is a Michael Jackson song. I've never been a huge fan of his but I would be if all his songs were this good. Willie was not the first country singer to cover it as Barbara Mandrell did it in 1981 as He's out of my life, while Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke did a duet version.

Lee Greenwood had a big country hit with It turns me inside out. He also recorded Wind beneath my wings and had a minor UK hit with it in 1984, but that song was a much bigger success for Bette Midler who had a major transatlantic pop hit with it in 1989. Curiously, it was originally an R+B song, though the first popular version was by Gary Morris, who had a top five country hit with it in 1983.

Willie has recorded Why are you picking on me several times - it is one of his old songs from the sixties - but I don't know of any covers by anybody else

If you enjoyed Willie's album, Always on my mind, you will enjoy this.

Some of these songs are more obscure than others but most people will be familiar with at least some of these songs in some version. Willie's versions of these songs are, as ever, distinctive - this is why he was so successful at recording them. Unlike several of his cover albums, he largely avoids the Great American Songbook (although one song here - Cry - is from that era), focusing instead on more recent songs from the fifties to the eighties.

The title track was an American hit for Arlo Guthrie but no version of the song ever charted in Britain. I've heard many versions of the song including excellent versions by Judy Collins, John Denver, Lynn Anderson, Johnny Cash and Sammi Smith, but Willie's version is my favorite.

As already mentioned, the oldest song here is Cry, Johnny Ray's debut single and one of his biggest American hits. (There were no British charts at the time.) The song became a top five country hit for Lynn Anderson in the seventies, since when several other country singers recorded it including Crystal Gayle and Janie Fricke.

Just out of reach has been covered by many pop, R+B and country singers down the years. I believe that Patsy Cline's 1958 version is the original though her version was not a hit.

Elvis Presley has recorded two of the songs here - Until it's time for you to go (originally written and recorded by Buffy Sainte-Marie, though Elvis may have recorded it after hearing Neil Diamond's version) and Good time Charlie's got the blues.

Dave Loggins has a long and distinguished career as a songwriter but his achievements as a singer are much more limited - however, he had a huge American hit with Please come to Boston. Many country singers have since covered it including Tammy Wynette, Glen Campbell and Reba McEntire.

She's out of my life is a Michael Jackson song. I've never been a huge fan of his but I would be if all his songs were this good. Willie was not the first country singer to cover it as Barbara Mandrell did it in 1981 as He's out of my life, while Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke did a duet version.

Lee Greenwood had a big country hit with It turns me inside out. He also recorded Wind beneath my wings and had a minor UK hit with it in 1984, but that song was a much bigger success for Bette Midler who had a major transatlantic pop hit with it in 1989. Curiously, it was originally an R+B song, though the first popular version was by Gary Morris, who had a top five country hit with it in 1983.

Willie has recorded Why are you picking on me several times - it is one of his old songs from the sixties - but I don't know of any covers by anybody else

If you enjoyed Willie's album, Always on my mind, you will enjoy this.

Although it's entirely possible that my affection for Willie's nasal twang, Willie's sense of balance and proportion, Willie's poignant renditions would color any of my reviews of his work, I doubt it. This early Willie rendition is not as smooth or well-staged as his newer work but just as likeable, listenable and singable in its "Willie-ness". Anything Willie is an experience in joining you and your voice with him and his voice, stepping out on the road of his music one more time. Do I love his music? You BET!

Willie phoned this one in. His style is laid-back and casual, to be sure, but he invested little passion to this collection of songs.

There are few with as an enduring,versitile and successing musical career as Willie Nelson. Even up until this albums 1984 release Nelson had not only accumulated several handfuls of classics from his own pen but utterly reinterpreted the work of others. He's even recently recorded an album with jazz traditionalist Wynton Marsalis. Nelson is truly an American icon,someone I greatly admire as well as being one of a handful of artists in the country genre I enjoy listening to. This album follows a similar approch to

in that it is a reinterpretation of older songs in a modern Nashville type setting. As ridiculous as this sounds I purchased this album for it's great cover,depicting Willie as a massive forward looking mirage over desert sand dunes. The title track alone indicates that this album has more uptempo tunes and on "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues","Why Are You Pickin' On Me" and "Please Come To Boston" that is actually what you get;smooth 80's country pop with a touch of soul music and LOTS of soul feeling,in come ways not too different from the music Ray Charles was making during the same time. Again the great Chip Moman produces and his red hot musicians creates some of the best sounding music this side of what was then modern country.So in conclusion I highly recommend this recording.