Description
At a jaunty 88 years old, the irrepressible country music king that is Willie Nelson is back at it. His latest release is a family affair, bringing to the party his sons Lukas and Micah, daughters Paula and Amy and even his elder sister Bobbie – who in January will turn 91 – on piano, as well as his long-time collaborator, the old-school session harmonica player Mickey Raphael.
Nelson’s third album release since July 2020 – whoever said smoking weed makes you unproductive? – ‘The Willie Nelson Family’ has a laser focus. Honing in on classic gospel sounds, it balances Nelson’s own spiritual standards, such as ‘Kneel at the Feet of Jesus’, ‘Too Sick To Pray’ and ‘Heaven and Hell’, with some vital 20th century additions to genre: from Hank Williams’ ‘I Saw The Light’ to George Harrison‘s ‘All Things Must Pass’ and Kris Kristofferson’s ‘Why Me’.
Throwing back to one of Nelson’s earliest songs, the 12-track collection hinges around a stripped-back version of his 1957 composition ‘Family Bible’. Not just important to Nelson because it tells the story of his grandmother reading to him from the good book after dinner as a kid, but because it was one of the first songs he ever sold. It was this track that secured him enough money to move to Nashville and become a professional songwriter.
