Label
	Mercury Records Ltd
	Release
	2008
	Artist
	Willie Nelson
	Rating

This album is quite similar in style as Songbird which was released in 2006. Willie has moved away slightly from the classic country music style which made him famous and caused him to develop an enormous following of fans, and has embraced this new style of music which I think he does very well. It’s moodier than some of his past music, but it’s also full of character, personal storytelling and uniqueness.

This album is better than Songbird in my opinion, but with the recent release of ‘Songs of Cindy Walker’, Willie proved that pure country music is still his speciality. Credit to him though as this album is very high quality and it has really surprised me. It’s definately one of those ‘the more you listen to it, the better it gets’ albums.

The Bob Song is the best, with its pirate-themed music, humorous context, yet thoughtful message. Moment of Forever, Keep me from Blowing away, Gravedigger, I’m Alive and Louisiana are all truly emotional songs and despite being covers, really are suited to the voice of Willie Nelson which tells me that care was taken during the production and song selection of this record. Songs 10, 11 & 12 are more upbeat and all feature great rhythm, and damn they get you singing along. A couple of the other songs can be a bit repetitive in terms of lyrics, especially ‘Gotta Serve Somebody’, but they’re still worth listening to.

Willie is back on form and although I’ll always be a bigger fan of the music from his ‘Red Headed Stranger’ and ‘Phases & Stages’ and also the Highwayman days, change is good and so is this album.