The Border [Orange Vinyl] [Barnes & Noble Exclusive]

by Willie Nelson

Overview

Technically, The Border is the sequel to A Beautiful Time, the 2022 album that found Willie Nelson once again ruminating upon a road long traveled. Nelson's latter-day albums with producer Buddy Cannon often concerned mortality, a quality that lends a natural gravity. That trait isn't quite absent on The Border -- Willie's 75th album, appearing after a pair of winning covers records released in the wake of A Beautiful Time -- yet it is subdued. When Nelson ponders "Once Upon a Yesterday," he's thinking of old songs and departed friends, more grateful that it happened than sad that those days are gone. Similarly, when he's wondering "How Much Does It Cost" to be free, he sounds bemused, not rueful. That levity extends through the jazzily jaunty "What If I'm Out of My Mind," joining the aforementioned tunes among the handful of Nelson/Cannon originals on the record ("Kiss Me When You're Through" is the other). Nelson cedes the weightier material to Rodney Crowell, whose "The Border" and "Many a Long and Lonesome Highway" open the respective sides of The Border, creating the impression that this album is a bit contemplative. That's not the case. Thanks to the fanciful "Hank's Guitar" and the sly shuffle "Made in Texas" -- an amiable slice of Western swing with nods to Bob Wills, Lone Star beer, and the immortal joke "You can always tell a Texan/But you can't tell him much" -- the album carries a lightness that's emphasized by its brisk running time. That might mean The Border, unlike A Beautiful Time, doesn't quite feel like a final chapter but rather a welcome coda restating Nelson's strengths with casual ease. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	05/31/2024
Label:	Legacy
UPC:	0196588897917

Tracks

1. The Border
2. Once Upon A Yesterday
3. What If I'm Out Of My Mind
4. I Wrote This Song For You
5. Kiss Me When You're Through
6. Many A Long And Lonesome Highway
7. Hank's Guitar
8. Made In Texas
9. Nobody Knows Me Like You
10. How Much Does It Cost

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Willie Nelson   Primary Artist,Guitar,Lead Vocals
Melonie Cannon   Vocals (Background)
Bobby Terry   Guitar (Steel),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Mickey Raphael   Harmonica
Jim "Moose" Brown   Organ,Piano,Keyboards,Synthesizer
Buddy Cannon   Vocals (Background)
Fred Eltringham   Drums,Percussion
James Mitchell   Guitar (Electric)

Technical Credits

Will Jennings   Composer,Lyricist
Rodney Crowell   Composer,Lyricist
Buddy Cannon   Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Allen Shamblin   Composer,Lyricist
Shawn Camp   Composer,Lyricist
Bobby Tomberlin   Composer,Lyricist
Mark Rothbaum   Executive Producer
Larry Cordle   Composer,Lyricist
Willie Nelson   Composer,Lyricist
Monty Holmes   Composer,Lyricist
Andrew Mendelson   Mastering Engineer
Tony Castle   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Mike Reid   Composer,Lyricist
Erin Enderlin   Composer,Lyricist
Sean R. Badum   Assistant Engineer
Taylor Chadwick   Assistant Engineer
Michelle Freetly   Assistant Engineer
Luke Armentrout   Assistant Engineer
Adam Battershell   Assistant Engineer
Joey Salit   Assistant Engineer