Maps of Music
Oh What a Beautiful World (2025)
Where the lyrics of Oh What a Beautiful World take you, and where it was really made.
Willie Nelson's 77th solo album is made of twelve songs written or co-written by Rodney Crowell, whose songs Nelson has recorded since 1983.
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Recorded in Nashville (2025)
Recording site Nashville — The recording credit lists East Iris and Blackbird, both in Nashville. The point is placed at the city center. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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Album story
Overview
- Oh What a Beautiful World: 77th solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Willie Nelson
- Released April 25, 2025 through Legacy Recordings
- Produced by Buddy Cannon
- Twelve songs written or co-written by Rodney Crowell
- Rodney Crowell sings harmony vocals on the lead single and title track
- Nominated for Best Traditional Country Album at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards
Background
- Nelson first recorded a Crowell song on "'Til I Gain Control Again" from the 1983 Waylon Jennings duet album Take It to the Limit
- He had performed the same song in concert earlier, on the 1978 album Willie and Family Live
- Over the next four decades, Nelson kept recording Crowell songs
- The 2024 album The Border is one prominent example of those recordings
- Nelson personally chose the twelve songs for this album
Recording
- Produced by Buddy Cannon, with credits adapted from Tidal
- The recording credit lists East Iris and Blackbird, both in Nashville
- Willie Nelson sings lead vocals and plays Trigger
- Wyatt Beard and Melonie Cannon sing background vocals
- Jim "Moose" Brown plays organ, piano and Wurlitzer piano
- Bobby Terry plays acoustic, electric and steel guitar, and handles additional engineering
- Mickey Raphael plays harmonica
- Fred Eltringham plays drums and percussion
- Glenn Worf plays bass guitar and double bass
- Tony Castle handles mixing and engineering
- Andrew Mendelson handles mastering
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Tracklist
| 1 | What Kind of Love | 3:42 |
| 2 | Banks of the Old Bandera | 3:26 |
| 3 | The Fly Boy & The Kid | 3:51 |
| 4 | Forty Miles From Nowhere | 4:28 |
| 5 | I Wouldn't Be Me Without You | 3:56 |
| 6 | Making Memories of Us | 4:11 |
| 7 | Oh What a Beautiful World | 4:00 |
| 8 | Open Season on My Heart | 3:52 |
| 9 | Shame on the Moon | 4:27 |
| 10 | She's Back in Town | 3:21 |
| 11 | Still Learning How to Fly | 4:00 |
| 12 | Stuff That Works | 4:02 |
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
- No Depression praised the "radiant" album and Nelson's performances of Crowell's "emotionally resonant" songs.
- Hot Press noted that Crowell's canon mines classic Nelson territory.
- Hot Press added that the album is a splendid record.
- The two reviews look at different sides of the record: Nelson's performances and Crowell's songwriting.
- Taken together, the praise covers both Nelson's delivery and the songs themselves.
Records
- Nominated for Best Traditional Country Album at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.
- Released April 25, 2025 through Legacy Recordings, as Nelson's 77th solo studio album.
- Produced by Buddy Cannon.
- Twelve songs written or co-written by Rodney Crowell, with Crowell singing harmony vocals on the lead single and title track.
- Nelson personally chose the twelve songs for the album.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- Nelson first recorded a Crowell song on the 1983 Waylon Jennings duet album Take It to the Limit, though he had performed "'Til I Gain Control Again" in concert before that.
- Rodney Crowell sings lead and harmony vocals on the title track, Oh What a Beautiful World.
- Mickey Raphael plays harmonica on the album.
- Nelson personally chose the twelve songs himself.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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