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Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American musician, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978), made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. He was one of the main figures of outlaw country, a subgenre of country music that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound. Read more on Last.fm
At 79, Willie Nelson surely has nothing left to prove. He’s been countries beloved hippie outlaw since he grew a beard, rolled a joint and quit giving a shit back around 1972. Before that, he was already one of Nashvilles go to songwriters, the author of “Patsy Clines definitive hit, “Crazy” and, at that time, only to grow, a dozen or so others. He’s put out more albums than any documented list can accurately transcribe. His collaborations, covers and philanthropic interest in farmers have kept him quite busy since first gunning into Nashville some fifty odd years ago.
His latest, Heroes, is typical excellent Willie, atypical of his last few offerings, which despite a few gems, seemed forced and overproduced. This time around, he gets help, a lot of help, from his son, Lukas, who duets with him on nine of the 14 tracks here. Lukas sounds like Hank Williams, which means we get to hear what such a collaboration might have sounded like. Lukas isn’t alone, either. Willie fills Heroes to the gills with star power, everyone from Kris Kristofferson to Snoop Dogg, as well as two excellent appearances by countries current torch bearing outlaw Jamey Johnson. Even Merle Haggard stops in to duet on the timely “Horse Called Music”. The weed anthem, “Roll Me Up” is saved from novelty by the conviction of its arrangement, as well as a completely listenable vocal attempt by Snoop Dogg of all people. Elsewhere, Willie covers Pearl Jam, the lovely “Just Breathe”. He tackles Coldplay, a mortality minded rendition of “The Scientist”. The album works in every way, Nelsons nuances and vocal prowess still lovably unique and all his own. There’s not a dud in the bunch, just a fully realized country record with no mainstream aspirations beyond Texas FM.