Track Listing

1. Whiskey River - featuring Sheryl Crow
2. Good Hearted Woman - featuring Toby Keith
3. Maria - featuring Rob Thomas
4. Mendocino County Line - featuring Lee Ann Womack
5. Always On My Mind - featuring Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora
6. Night Life - featuring Ray Price
7. Dead Flowers - featuring Ryan Adams, Keith Richards & Hank Williams III
8. Lonestar - featuring Norah Jones
9. Stardust - featuring Aaron Neville
10. Don't Fade Away - featuring Brian McKnight
11. Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground - featuring Patty Griffin
12. For What It's Worth - featuring Sheryl Crow & Bill Evans
13. Mama's Don't Let Your Babies - featuring Matchbox 20
14. Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain - featuring Vince Gill
15. Till I Gain Control - featuring Emmylou Harris
16. The Harder They Come - featuring Ryan Adams
17. On The Road Again - Willie Nelson & Family
18. Move It On Over - Willie Nelson & Family

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12895 in Music
• Released on: 2002-11-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Live

Amazon.com
An A-list of musically diverse acolytes surrounds the venerable country icon on this concert recording, which pays richer dividends than its studio-album predecessor, The Great Divide. Artists from Sheryl Crow to Norah Jones and Vince Gill to Keith Richards help celebrate one of the richest legacies in American music. Though some hit-and-miss is inevitable, the teaming with Richards, Ryan Adams, and Hank Williams III on "Dead Flowers" romps all over the Rolling Stones' original, while the duet with mentor Ray Price, who enjoyed an early hit with Nelson's "Night Life," shows a sense of history too often missing from such demographic-driven projects. Other highlights include the sweet-voiced balladry of Jones on "Lonestar" and a luminous rendition of "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain" by Gill. As for the misfires: Adams and Nelson sound like they're in different keys on Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come"; Toby Keith isn't even a poor man's Waylon Jennings on "Good Hearted Woman"; and the very idea of Matchbox Twenty singing "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" is ludicrous. Even when the material and guest vocalists don't mesh, Nelson's guitar punctuation remains an understated (and underrated) delight. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews

Outstanding. Many more "hits" than "misses"
Don't waste your time reading any more reviews--just buy this CD already!

This is hands down one of the best country albums I've heard in years. If you're like me, you'll be a little skeptical about some of these groupings, but after listening to the first few songs, you'll be convinced that Willie Nelson can pair up w/ anyone!

A few stand-outs include Maria w/ Rob Thomas, Mendocino County Line w/ Lee Ann Womack, Night Life w/ Ray Price (this one is awesome!), Lonestar w/ Nora Jones, Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground w/ Patty Griffin, and the two songs w/ Sheryl Crow.

In my opinion, only one "miss" in the bunch, and that's Stardust w/ Aaron Neville. It's one of the few songs on this CD where Nelson's voice is hard to find. (And the vocal stylings of Neville are way overboard.)

This CD really surprised me. Before I heard the first track, I was skeptical. Then I thought maybe the first song was merely a fluke. But, with the exception of Stardust, they either keep getting better or, in the least, hold the standard. It's a great tribute to Willie Nelson, and a CD that'll stay in our rotation here for days to come.

5 Stars For Stars & Guitars
This cd has a nice variety of special musical guests from different genres of music performing some nice new versions of classic tunes. Dead Flowers, Whiskey River, Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground and Till I Gain Control Again are worth purchasing this cd alone.

I'm addicted to this CD!
Sure, I've been a Willie fan for over 20 years, but I don't own every CD he's made...in fact this was the first I've bought in several years. I CAN'T QUIT PLAYING IT! I'm absolutely addicted! Willie's unique voice and guitar music somehow blends so great with other musician's very different styles. Most of the stars Willie sings with on this CD, I either didn't know or didn't like, so it's safe to say I didn't buy it for the star lineup. But the music is SUPERB and the other artists do Willie's song justice! "Maria" is definitely not a chic singing song but I can't get it out of my head. Willie's guitar with Nora Jones' piano is wonderful on "Lonestar". I never imagined Willie and Keith Richards on the same song but I can't get enough of "Dead Flowers", crazy lyrics and all. If you've ever liked Willie and like the "duets" blend with other music styles, you have to get this CD. This CD will reach out across the age groups. I love it and so does my 14 yr old country music fan daughter. The only one I don't like is "Stardust" where Aaron Neville went overboard with his "warbaling" voice. My next quest is "Kicking and Alive", Willie's CD from his 70th Birthday TV show. That duet with Steven Tyler is KICKIN!