God's Problem Child

God's Problem Child

by Willie Nelson
God's Problem Child

God's Problem Child

by Willie Nelson

CD

$14.99 
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Overview

Mortality hangs over God's Problem Child, Willie Nelson's first solo album of original songs since 2014's Band of Brothers. Since that record, Willie lost several friends and he's also been the subject of several death hoaxes, a subject he tackles with a grin on "Still Not Dead," one of seven originals Nelson co-wrote with his longtime producer, Buddy Cannon. "Still Not Dead" provides a gateway to the rest of God's Problem Child, where Willie looks at the world with a blend of bemusement and melancholy suiting a road warrior who is still going strong in his eighties. Nelson is in better voice than he was in 2016, when he released two tribute LPs, and his band has a relaxed gait that harks back to his classic outlaw records of the '70s but feels mellowed with age. Not that the album moves slowly. "Little House on the Hill" gets things off with a skip and the record regularly returns to a laid-back groove that's often punctuated by blues, honky tonk ballads, and lazy laments. Whenever Nelson looks at his twilight years, it's either with clear eyes or bemusement: he salutes his friends who have crossed over on the lovely "Old Timer" and admits that "It Gets Easier" when you get older because you can let your feelings fade, but he gets a kick that he's still around to experience it all. His sense of humor remains sharp -- "Delete and Fast Forward" is one of the best expressions of exasperation at the state of the world in the late 2010s -- and his sentiment isn't sticky; he salutes the late Leon Russell by leaving in his old friend's guest vocal on the title track and pays tribute to Merle Haggard with "He Won't Ever Be Gone." All these songs hang together -- they're songs about love, loss, memory, and mistakes -- but God's Problem Child isn't a song cycle, nor is it a major statement. It's simply an uncommonly strong latter-day record from Willie Nelson: there isn't a hint of fussiness and the songs and the performances are so understated, they only seem richer with repeated spins. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date: 04/28/2017
Label: Legacy / Sony Legacy
UPC: 0889854157326
Rank: 65557

Tracks

  1. Little House on the Hill
  2. Old Timer
  3. True Love
  4. Delete and Fast Forward
  5. A Woman's Love
  6. Your Memory Has a Mind of Its Own
  7. Butterfly
  8. Still Not Dead
  9. God's Problem Child
  10. It Gets Easier
  11. Lady Luck
  12. I Made a Mistake
  13. He Won't Ever Be Gone

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Willie Nelson   Primary Artist
Tony Joe White   Primary Artist,Harmonica,Featured Artist,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Leon Russell   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Jamey Johnson   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Kevin Grantt   Bass (Upright)
Bobby Terry   Guitar (Steel),Guitar (Acoustic)
Mickey Raphael   Harmonica,Jew's-Harp
Jim "Moose" Brown   Piano,Wurlitzer,Synthesizer
James Mitchell   Guitar (Electric)
Barry Bales   Bass (Upright)
Melonie Cannon   Vocals (Background)
Lonnie Wilson   Drums
Buddy Cannon   Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Alison Krauss   Vocals (Background)
Rachel Loy   Bass
Fred Eltringham   Drums,Percussion,Tambourine
Ben Haggard   Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Steve Chadie   Engineer
Sonny Throckmorton   Composer
Gary Nicholson   Composer
Lenny LeBlanc   Composer
Mark Sherrill   Composer
Buddy Cannon   Composer,Producer
Willie Nelson   Composer,Drum Triggers
Jamey Johnson   Composer
Dave Russell   Engineer
Andrew Mendelson   Mastering
T.W. Cargile   Engineer
Tony Joe White   Composer
Tony Castle   Mixing,Engineer
Mike Reid   Composer
Jason Mott   Assistant Engineer
Donnie Fritts   Composer
Frank Harkins   Design,Art Direction
James Minchin   Photography
Jeremy Brown   Assistant Engineer
Shannon Finnegan   Production Coordination
Sam Hunter   Composer
Jake Burns   Assistant Engineer
Charlie Kramsky   Assistant Engineer
Kam Luchterhand   Assistant Engineer
Adam Grover   Assistant
Lyndel Rhodes   Composer
Gabe Millman   Assistant
Zaq Reynolds   Assistant Engineer
Luke Forehand   Assistant Engineer
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