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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
This live to tape studio jam session is interesting only because it pits Ryan Adams Cardinals (the best country session/live band on earth) against the well aged croak of Willie Nelson. The result is a sort of jammy, spaced out alt-country compromise. Willy sometimes seems out of place (his own band is very, very loose) against the structured, fluid sound of The Cardinals, but it manages to work in the long run. Cuts like Adams understated “Blue Hotel” give Nelson an almost youthful sound. The stunner here, though is the almost sexual rendition of “Amazing Grace”, played here with a sly, sinful aura that almost makes the words seem secondary. This is definetly a rare side of Willy.