Country Willie: His Own Songs

Country Willie - His Own Songs opened a chapter in his career that would document his rapid development as a songwriter and singer. The emphasis here is clearly on Nelson’s writing talents. The program reprises “Night Life,” “Funny How Time Slips Away,” and “Hello Walls,” returned to their author after becoming big hits for other performers. The album also introduced a handful of future Willie classics, including “One Day At a Time,” “My Own Peculiar Way” and “Darkness On the Face of the Earth.” Country Willie has a hauntingly skeletal production sound that is centered upon the interplay between Nelson’s nylon-string guitar and the ghostly pedal steel of Pete Drake. The clarity of the recording highlights Nelson’s then undervalued talent as a singer. He presses every note with a gentle finger, translating the sentiment of each song with an uncommon absence of pretense. These elegant and nearly naked recordings are the best way to experience Nelson’s early songs, which combine a novelist’s intelligence, a cowboy’s wit, and a philosopher’s vision.