Maps of Music

Island in the Sea (1987)

Where the lyrics of Island in the Sea take you, and where it was really made.

A Willie Nelson album where, according to one book, the last tracks were overproduced by Booker T. Jones.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

Title track and "Nobody There but Me" reached No. 27 and No. 82 on the Hot Country Songs charts
"The Last Thing on My Mind" is a cover of a Tom Paxton song
"Nobody There but Me" is credited to Bruce Hornsby, John Hornsby, and Charlie Haden
Spanish Wikipedia says the album included "Nobody There But Me" with Bruce Hornsby & The Range

Willie Nelson produced tracks 1 through 6
Grady Martin produced track 7
Booker T. Jones produced tracks 8 through 10 and handled engineering
Booker T. Jones played drums, keyboards, acoustic guitar, and bass guitar on the album
Mickey Raphael played harmonica and Bee Spears played bass
Bobbie Nelson played piano; Jody Payne played guitar and sang vocals
Denny Purcell did the mastering

1	Island in the Sea	2:22
2	Wake Me When It's Over	3:21
3	Little Things	4:27
4	Last Thing on My Mind	5:23
5	There Is No Easy Way (But There Is a Way)	2:34
6	Nobody There but Me	2:50
7	Cold November Wind	4:21
8	Women Who Love Too Much	4:46
9	All in the Name of Love	5:12
10	Sky Train	3:09

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.

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.

The Philadelphia Inquirer praised Nelson's original compositions.
The Vancouver Sun deemed the album "a trifle better than standard Willie."
The Orange County Register noted that the album's first side featured the unadorned Nelson sound.
USA Today considered the title track to be the album's best song.

The book Willie Nelson: The Outlaw calls the album "a laid-back slice of old-time textures, including Hawaiian music, yodeling, folk, and country, with four [sic] overproduced tracks by Booker T. Jones tacked on at the end."

"Nobody There but Me" is credited to Bruce Hornsby, John Hornsby, and Charlie Haden.
Booker T. Jones co-wrote three songs on the album with Waylon Jennings.
Grady Martin produced "Cold November Wind".
Spanish Wikipedia links the song "Nobody There But Me" to Bruce Hornsby & The Range.