Maps of Music

Country Music (2010)

Where the lyrics of Country Music take you, and where it was really made.

Willie Nelson's first traditional album began as an idea during a golf game in California, and it came out in 2010 as his first release of that decade.

Key places

Recorded in Nashville (2010)

Recording site Sound Emporium Studios — The album was recorded in Nashville at Sound Emporium Studios, where Nelson and producer T Bone Burnett worked on the country standards. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Country Music: 58th studio album by country artist Willie Nelson
• A compilation of country music standards
• Produced by Grammy-winning T Bone Burnett
• Released April 20, 2010 by Rounder Records
• According to Nelson, the first traditional album he has ever recorded
• His first release in the 2010s

Background

• Nelson said the album reflects his ideal of country music
• The sound features mandolins, fiddles and steel guitars
• He compared the album to his 1978 pop standards success Stardust
• Nelson and T Bone Burnett had the idea to make an album together while playing a golf game in California

Recording

• The album was recorded in Nashville
• Nelson said the songs are plainly country songs and that no one would argue otherwise
• He added that the band ventures into all kinds of music, but this record is country music

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Willie Hugh Nelson on April 29, 1933, in Abbott, Texas.
• Wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band, Bohemian Polka, as a guitarist at age nine.
• Attended Baylor University for two years before dropping out to pursue music.
• Moved to Nashville in 1960 and joined Ray Price's band as a bassist.

Career

• Songs such as "Crazy" (Patsy Cline), "Funny How Time Slips Away" and "Pretty Paper" became hits for other artists.
• Debut album ...And Then I Wrote was released in 1962; joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1965.
• Helped lead the outlaw country movement after moving to Austin, Texas in 1972.
• Red Headed Stranger (1975) was a critically acclaimed concept album; the single "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" became his first number one hit.
• Co-founded Farm Aid in 1985 with Neil Young and John Mellencamp.
• Acted in over 30 films, including The Electric Horseman (1979).
• Received a Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance for "Ride Me Back Home" (2019).
• Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Billboard described the album as front-porch, rural and rustic country music
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt the album lacked the immediacy of Nelson's recent works
• Erlewine also criticized a production that put a layer of gauze between the listener and the singer
• Engine 145's Juli Thanki gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and praised the musical arrangements and song choices
• Thanki found Nelson's vocals inconsistent on a few tracks, namely Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down and Dark as a Dungeon
• Slant Magazine gave the album four stars out of five
• Slant critic Jonathan Keefe praised the song collection, Burnett's production and Nelson's first-rate performances
• BBC Music praised Nelson's voice and his performance of traditional country covers
• The Washington Post called the album a calm, contemplative and remarkably consistent album
• The Washington Post singled out Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down for praise
• PopMatters said that both Burnett and Nelson trusted the songs to carry the record

Records

• Debuted at number 4 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart
• Number 20 on the Billboard 200
• Number 5 on the Canadian Top Country Albums chart
• Nominated for Best Americana Album at the 2011 Grammy Awards
• Sold 45,348 copies as of May 19, 2010

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Nelson and T Bone Burnett came up with the idea while playing a golf game in California
• Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down is a traditional hymn that critics singled out for praise
• The album is Nelson's first traditional album, according to Nelson himself
• The album was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Americana Album category in 2011

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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