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Willie Nelson
Countryman
(Lost Highway/Universal)
The cover of Countryman is a drawing of -- to quote Willie Nelson -- "a big ole marijuana leaf." Clearly, there was plenty of that burning when somebody came up with the bizarre idea of having the Texas country icon cut this album of reggae tunes.
Which is not to suggest the dozen-song Countryman is, like, a total buzzkill. The backing tracks are reasonably groovy and laid-back (though way too precisely played and cleanly produced to sound authentic), and Willie's tinder-dry voice goes fairly well with the material, especially on covers of Jimmy Cliff's The Harder They Come and Sitting in Limbo. Still, you have to wonder who the disc was made for, since it's likely too reggae for the country crowd and vice versa.
Maybe that's why this long-rumoured set -- most of which was cut in the mid-'90s -- sat unfinished for so long. Then again, maybe Willie just got baked, went out for Doritos and forgot about it for a decade. Either way, it's a reasonably successful experiment and an amusing little novelty, but hardly an essential purchase.
If you do score it, though, remember to listen with a bud.
Track Listing:
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1. Do You Mind Too Much If I Don't Understand
2. How Long Is Forever
3. I'm A Worried Man (featuring Toots Hibbert)
4. The Harder They Come
5. Something To Think About
6. Sitting In Limbo
7. Darkness On The Face Of The Earth
8. One In A Row
9. I've Just Destroyed The World
10. You Left A Long, Long Time Ago
11. I Guess I've Come To Live Here
12. Undo The Right