Album: Red Headed Stranger
Artist: Willie Nelson
Submitted by: B.C.
Year: 1975 (18th studio album)
US Billboard Peak: 28th (1st in US Country Albums)Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums: 183rd
What I know of Willie Nelson is more of the contemporary media potrayl of him. The tax evading, pot smoking, living off the land outlaw who wrote classic songs like "On the Road Again" and the one about how he can't wait to get on the road again. He also stars in one of my personal top 10 movies, "Wag the Dog" as basically, himself, or what we are led to believe.
I was very surprised by B.C. selection for this seeing that he has never mentioned Willie Nelson to me before. Granted though, our talks on music are far and few due to my lack of knowledge on the subject, or as B.C. says "Matt hates music". A false hood I may never live down that was spawned from a drunken diatribe where I mention that "live concerts tend to bore me and I hate how they go on and on". This is where B.C. formulated that I "hate" music. When he submitted this album he did say that this is not one of his top 3, but a bonus B.C. addition that cannot go unmentioned.
As soon as I saw the cover I instantly got a feeling that we would be taken back to the outlaw days of cowboys and such. The track listing also peeked my interest as it showed a pattern of repeating themes in the track names, calling back to a track called "The Time of the Preacher". I began listening to the album and was instantly drawn in by the smooth western country style ballad that Willie Nelson belts out along side the classic instruments of the genre. With a heavy feeling of traditional folk music with a western sound, Willie Nelson immediately begins to tell the story of our main character known to us as the Preacher and his love who left him for another. Through the ballads we see the transformation from a man torn apart by his lost love into a man with rage as he becomes a mysteries ruthless gunslinger only known as the Red Headed Stranger.
Side A tells the tale of this western ballad in a traditional folk style. Its music style paints a picture of a western scene sitting around the camp fire on a desert evening as our singing cowboy tells the tale. The majority of the music is the sound of western twang produced with traditional "country western" instruments. Interwoven with these classic sounds are contemporary guitar riffs and grand piano chords, but blend in with the simple western style. Side A tells the story arc of our red headed stranger, Side B continues the style of folk music. Ranging from love ballads to the classic rinky dink upright piano songs pictured in many western film saloons.
I equate this album and summarize it as a western lullaby. Willie Nelson grabs my attention with the bizzare story of lost love and croons me to sleep underneath the western stars. The sounds of his guitar and stories of years past fill me with emotions that are still familiar and meaningful today. I truly enjoyed this album and continue to listen to it frequently. I look forward to hearing more Willie Nelson music and how diverse it is from this great album.
