Country Music (Willie Nelson album)
| Country Music | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Willie Nelson | ||||
| Released | April 20, 2010 | |||
| Genre | Country, bluegrass | |||
| Length | 54:47 | |||
| Label | Rounder | |||
| Producer | T Bone Burnett | |||
| Willie Nelson chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (78/100) |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Slant Magazine | |
| Engine 145 | |
| PopMatters |   |
Country Music is the sixty-fourth studio album by country artist Willie Nelson. The album consists in a compilation of country music standards. Produced by Grammy-winning T Bone Burnett, it was released on April 20, 2010 by Rounder Records, and according to Nelson is the first traditional album he has ever recorded. It was his first release in the 2010s.
The album consists in a recollection of country music standards, Nelson stated that the album reflects his ideal of country music, featuring mandolins, fiddles and steel guitars and compared the album to his 1978 pop standards success Stardust. Nelson and music producer T Bone Burnett had the idea to record an album together while they were playing a golf game in California. The album was recorded in Nashville, Nelson stated "We venture into all kinds of music but this is country music. No one would argue the fact that these are country songs".
The album reached number four in Billboard's Top Country Albums, number twenty in the Billboard 200 and number five in Canadian Top Country Albums. It was nominated for Best Americana Album in the 2011 Grammy Awards.
Billboard described the album as "front-porch, rural and rustic country music". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, comparing it as lacking in an "immediacy" to his recent works, and stressing a displeasure in the production which "puts a layer of gauze between the listener and the singer." Juli Thanki of Engine 145 gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, complimenting the musical arrangements and song choices. However, she commented that Nelson's vocal performances were inconsistent on a few of the tracks, namely "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down" and "Dark as a Dungeon."
Slant Magazine rated the article with four stars out of five. Critic Jonathan Keefe wrote: "the spectacular collection of songs as much as Burnett's ace production and Nelson's first-rate performances that elevates Country Music above the recent spate of country covers records and makes the album an essential addition to Nelson's rich catalogue".
...
Wikipedia