Album Review: Willie Nelson – Moment of Forever
The lastest Wille Nelson album, Moment of Forever, was produced by Nashville superstar Kenny Chesney and by the first track Chesney is attempting to play the part of Daniel Lanois, acclaimed U2 producer, who produced Willie’s 1998 album Teatro. The production on the first track shares the atmospheric U2-esque pop-rock quality of the Teatro album, but with a heavier sheen, embodied by shimmery sounds, a chorus giving a mystical “whooaaa” chant, and shakers that are supposed to make the song sound spiritual I’d guess. On the very first track, Chesney establishes what will be the biggest problem with this album–he doesn’t have a good idea of what is “cool,” and he doesn’t have very good taste.
This album had a lot of potential to do something very important: to introduce a whole new generation to the genius of Willie Nelson, and to the sublimity of the true country song. What’s more is that Chesney seems genuinely interested in making a good record. You can tell that he’s actually trying, and though he shows a laudable restraint many times throughout the record, the instances where he comes on too strongly simply outweigh the instances where he does something right.
It’s a shame too, as Willie and Chesney managed to pick a number of really solid songs for the record. The Kris Kristofferson/Danny Timms-penned title track, The Buddy Cannon song “When I was Young and Grandma wasn’t Old,” the Paul Craft tune “Keep me from Blowing Away,” and Nelson’s own “You Don’t Think I’m Funny Anymore” and “Always Now” are all fine offerings, and with the right production, along with a handful of other solid songs, could have made up an album that would be able to stand next to Red Headed Stranger, Spirit, Phases and Stages, and the other classics in Willie’s discography.
“Always Now” deserves special recognition. It is the reflection of an aging poet and it explores the challenge of maintaining a sense of personal continuity in a changing world. It’s outlook is Buddhist, but Willie presents it as approachable and homey. It’s a fine example of weighty country music and probably the finest new Nelson song to appear on a record since his 1990’s renaissance. Chesney, however, does his best to detract from its weight and greatness with a conga drum intro and island style percussion throughout.
It’s telling that the next song on the album, the Chesney-penned “I’m Alive,” is the song that Chesney doesn’t get fancy with on production. It seems as if Chesney feels that this song can speak for itself and he wants to make sure that its message gets across. Naturally, its message is that of mindless positivism. “It’s so damn easy to say that life’s so hard/Everybody’s got their share of battle scars/As for me, I’d like to thank my lucky stars that I’m alive and well.”
Not everybody shares my disdain of “feel-good country” but Willie Nelson’s creative legacy as a writer and performer is built on songs that examine life’s troubles, heartaches, and pain. Songs like “Sad Song and Waltzes,” “Crazy,” and “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” stand in direct contrast to the message of “I’m Alive,” which pushes the notion that being “alive and well” should be sufficient to end reflection and encourage happiness.
Very lame, Mr. Chesney.
Speaking of lame, “The Bob Song” alone would be enough to take a star or two away from this album. All you need to know about it is that it has a spooky pirate narrator, pirate-synth flute, casts Willie as a pirate, mistakes itself for being wise, and was written by Big Kenny. ‘Nuff Said.
Also, I love horns, but I despised the horns on this album. When they appear on “Taking On Water” and “Gotta Serve Somebody” they are of the cheesy, 80s, pop, whitebread R&B variety. This aspect of the record was very much a corporate, soulless take on Willie’s Shotgun Willie country-funk sound of the early 70s.
In conclusion, the final story on Willie’s latest is twofold. First, Kenny Chesney has bad taste. From “The Bob Song” to the incredibly lame Walt Disney outros on many of the tunes, to the decision to leave “I’m Alive” the starkest musically, to the decision to muddle the opening track and “Always Now” with silly musical additions to make them seem “cool,” Kenny is flying the poor taste flag and shows why he shouldn’t make a habit of producing other artists. The second story is that this was an overall disappointing album. What might have made up many of the good moments were tarnished by production, and the bad moments were many and close together.
Now I can anticipate people asserting that I’m being too harsh because of my high expectations, but shouldn’t we be able to expect good things from Willie Nelson? I mean, if we can’t expect a solid record from him, who can we expect one from?
Should you buy the record? Eh, if you have a few bucks to spare and want to hear a few good new Willie songs sure, but don’t expect greatness. All and all you’d be better off buying individual tracks as downloads.
The last thing I’ll say is this: Johnny Cash, Porter Wagoner, and Loretta Lynn all helped to cement their enduring artistic legacy in the latter part of their recording careers by releasing albums that were uncompromising. The problem with Moment Of Forever, is that in many critical ways, it was a highly compromised record.
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Trackback URI for this postFebruary 7, 2008
[...] Willie Nelson – Moment Of Forever The lastest Wille Nelson album, Moment of Forever, was produced by Nashville superstar Kenny Chesney and by the first track Chesney is attempting to play the part of Daniel Lanois, acclaimed U2 producer, who produced Willie’s 1998 album Teatro. The final story on Willie’s latest is twofold. First, Kenny Chesney has bad taste. From “The Bob Song” to the incredibly lame Walt Disney outros on many of the tunes, to the decision to leave “I’m Alive” the starkest musically, to the decision to muddle the opening track and “Always Now” with silly musical additions to make them seem “cool,” Kenny is flying the poor taste flag and shows why he shouldn’t make a habit of producing other artists. The second story is that this was an overall disappointing album. What might have made up many of the good moments were tarnished by production, and the bad moments were many and close together. Should you buy the record? Eh, if you have a few bucks to spare and want to hear a few good new Willie songs sure, but don’t expect greatness. — Ben Cisneros [...]
March 4, 2008
[...] not the case. I probably couldn’t review it any better than the fine folks over at the9513, they seem to hit every point pretty well — even from the opening track, which as they even [...]
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January 24, 2008 at 9:19 am Permalink
The examples you give of aging artists who made strong statements recently have something in common with this latest Willie release, a “star” producer who was viewed as an unorthodox choice in some ways (different ways for each). Each of them managed to still have their own voices resonate loudly through each disc. Even Willie’s most recent collabo with Ryan Adams bore the stamp of Adam’s taste and sound, yet was still “very Willie”. It is sad that it seems that this may not be the case with this disc.
January 24, 2008 at 9:26 am Permalink
You know, it’s worth saying that an argument can be made that for an artist like Cash, his most artistically compelling work came at the end of his career. His earlier music is surrounded by nostalgia and our image of the man in black, but the “American” recordings really get to the heart of the man.
I agree that I’d like to hear something like that from Willie. I’d like to hear something epic, something where he recognizes both hiss legacy and his age.
His voice is not strong on this album. Not by a long shot. And that would be OK if they album didn’t make a conscious effort to pretend that it is.
January 24, 2008 at 10:53 am Permalink
your comments about chesney are right on, but the dig on big kenny is way off. the man can write a song.
January 24, 2008 at 12:45 pm Permalink
Jim–
I love the first two of Cash’s American recordings, and parts of the the others, but you really think they’re better, or more representative of Cash’s heart, than “I Walk the Line,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Still Miss Someone,” “Big River,” “Five Feet High and Rising” and several others from early in his career?
I don’t think my love for those songs has anything to do with nostalgia or my image of Cash. To me, they rank with the most powerful American music ever made. I also think the sound of the Tennessee Two was so distinct and so perfect for Cash at the time that it achieves a stature above everything else he did. He made a lot of great music later on, including the American Recordings, but I just can’t say it equals the early work, much less tops it.
On the other hand, part of my enjoyment of the American recordings is wrapped up in the idea of these records as a personal, late-in-life statement of a great artist. They can’t be separated from what I know about Cash and wield the same power. A few of the tracks might stand alone as classics, outside of any context, but not in the way the early material does.
As for Willie, part of why he is so cool is that he never worries about whether what he’s doing is going to be perceived as cool or not. He likes collaborating with different people in different situations, that’s pretty obvious, and I think for him it’s about the moment, not the “product,” so to speak. Sometimes he hits that sweet note, sometimes he doesn’t. Did he collaborate with Ryan Adams and Kenny Chesney (and don’t discount that Buddy Cannon was sitting in the co-producer’s chair next to Chesney) because he was looking for a hit or a return to big sales or because he wanted to collaborate with younger musicians and see what they came up with? You’d have to ask him.
January 24, 2008 at 12:51 pm Permalink
We have to compare them apples to apples, then. If you were to ask me if I thought “Hurt” was artistically compelling as “I Walk The Line,” I’d say yes.
The problem is that many of Cash’s songs don’t come close to the standard set by the ones you mentioned (and many that you don’t). Which is understandable, considering how much music he recorded.
But if you cherry pick Cash’s best and then say “well, are the American records as good as…” then of course, in that case, my argument will not hold water.
But I will say again, as I’ve said before on The 9513, that I believe cash is a slightly overrated songwriter. There are many Cash songs that are point for point country music cliches, even for his era. And if we were to look at his entire body of work, I think we could make a case that the later records reach some heights that the earlier records fall just a bit short of.
Is part of that because those recordings exclude music that he would previously cut? I think that’s a fair question.
January 24, 2008 at 3:50 pm Permalink
I agree with M.C. I don’t think that American Recordings solidified Cash’s legacy so much as changed it. Those albums bear little resemblance to what Cash recorded for most of his career and those that find a resemblance do so mostly through an American Recordings revisionism.
January 24, 2008 at 7:57 pm Permalink
well, i agree about the horns. they sound cheesy. but all in all, i think this is a good record. of course it’s not ‘red headed stranger’. nothing is except ‘red headed stranger’.
willie’s songs are the strongest material here. along with dylan’s ‘gotta serve somebody’, which flat-out rocks. so does ‘gravedigger’. i highly recommend the album. it has some very high moments (no pun intended) and some interesting ones that don’t quite pan out. but hey, he’s willie nelson and we’re not. :)
maybe willie thinks chesney needs practice producing artists. in which case, he’s right. :) if you live in the moment (and not the past or the future), then you’re willing to go with the flow and see what others bring to the table.
as for me, i’d love to hear willie do another all acoustic affair like ‘the irs tapes’ or ’spirit’. there’s nothing more beautiful or poetic than his voice and that beat-up guitar. no horns, bells, whistles, saxophone solos, nothing. just him and his guitar. when it all comes down to it, that can’t be improved upon.
and if someone starts being a willie nelson fan because of ‘moment of forever’, so be it. they’ve got a lot of great listening ahead of them.
January 24, 2008 at 10:17 pm Permalink
I love the album. Maybe some cuts were over-produced, but I still liked them. Keep me from Blowing away is such a pretty song, and I liked the horns on the Dylan cover. I like that it was 8-minutes long, and gave a chance for lots of guitar, lots of Mickey Raphael solos, and the saxaphone, or whatever that was. The hidden track was fun, too: listening to Willie teaching a song to the guys in the studio, listening to everyone laugh. I thought the covers they picked were inspired; loved Gravedigger, especiall. I think you were a little harsh!
January 25, 2008 at 8:19 am Permalink
Kenny Chesney sucks?! Who knew?!! ;)
I like the album, then again I had very low expectation for it. Willie is gregarious with his career and will work with practically anyone. This may be the reason his later years won’t be on a scale of Cash’s or Loretta’s. It’s against his nature to be choosy at this point of his career. His fault is that he sees none in others.
Jim – Ive said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t know if your just being contrary but you couldn’t be more wrong about Cash. The man had a long career and had some stinkers along the way. You play music for 30+ years and have them all be “Hey Porter.” Nostalgia? Dude we’re talking about country music. Besides alcohol, cheating and violence it’saprt of the basic staples of the genre.
January 25, 2008 at 8:43 am Permalink
well, it’s probably true that willie’s ultimate fault is that he sees none in others. if only we were all that way. :)
i might note that his version of randy newman’s ‘louisiana’ is one of willie’s greatest performances. truly devastating work. that song alone is worth the price of admission.
January 25, 2008 at 1:07 pm Permalink
Jim, what do you mean, ’something epic’ from Willie? I love it that he keeps singing different kinds of music, has fun recording with other people. Have you heard his show with Wynton Marsalis from last January, in NY? It’s epic.
January 25, 2008 at 3:20 pm Permalink
Willie eats epic for breakfast.
January 25, 2008 at 3:57 pm Permalink
‘billboard’ magazine just gave it a glowing review. they call it ‘one of his best’. hmmmm…their reviews are usually spot-on. :)
anyway, i’ll be getting it. it’s willie nelson. there’s always something great in there.
January 25, 2008 at 4:23 pm Permalink
Willie, Epic, a Priest and a Rabbi walk into a bar…stop me if you have heard this one…
January 25, 2008 at 4:32 pm Permalink
Yes, Billboard’s reviews are always very objective…
January 25, 2008 at 4:33 pm Permalink
I think adulation for Willie is going to cause most reviews to be biased. I heard a DJ on the radio this morning say that it’s the best Willie album since Stardust, which is a gross overstatement. As far as I’m concerned, I think Ben’s review has been the most honest so far. I didn’t particularly care for this album. There were a few bright spots, but a lot of them were drowned out by the production. And “The Bob Song” is terrible. The intro sounds like Powerman 5000. We’ve already seen a few comments suggesting that this album ought to get a free pass simply because it’s Willie.
January 25, 2008 at 4:41 pm Permalink
I liked Ben’s review, don’t get me wrong. He put a lot into it, it’s thoughtful, honest. It’s hard to write reviews! I thought Chet Filip’s CMT review was good; I always like to read what he has to say.
But, I know I’m not impartial, I like everything Willie sings. He could sing the phonebook to me, and I’d enjoy just hearing his voice. Except for the Bob Song, and oh, I never liked ‘To all the girls I’ve loved before,’ either, although it’s fun to see Willie sing it in concert, and hear him sing Julio’s part with a Spanish accent. And that song ‘Just can’t say goodbye,’ is a little creepy, about killing the girl. Other than that, though…. :)
I would love to get to pick out songs for a Willie Nelson album; what a task that must have been for Cannon and Chesney.
I like all this talk about Willie! The video to the song, “You Don’t Think I’m Funny Anymore,” filmed at his Austin ranch, with Jessica Simpson, all the Wilson brothers (Andrew, Owen, Luke), Johnny Bush, Woody Harrelson, and a cast of thousands, debuts on MTV on Feb. 9th. That will be fun!
Gotta run, tickets to Wille’s Waco show go on sale in a couple minutes….
January 25, 2008 at 6:44 pm Permalink
OH MY GOD! YOU JUST KILLED KENNY…
Way to go Ben, you are my new hero! Someone who stands up to the almighty quesny machine!
I just wonder if he tried to make a pass to Willie in the control room. Show him his small pirate hook…
January 25, 2008 at 10:02 pm Permalink
I haven’t heard this album yet, but reading the comments reminded me of something Willie himself once said (I’m paraphrasing): “If you don’t like my new album, don’t worry about it. I’ll have another one out in two months.”
January 25, 2008 at 10:22 pm Permalink
That’s good, Kevin.
January 26, 2008 at 1:10 pm Permalink
Thanks for all the feedback guys.
February 5, 2008 at 11:12 am Permalink
Bought the album this weekend, I agree with the review for the most part, most of the songs are good to very good, with “The Bob Song” being the only really awful track.
February 20, 2008 at 12:28 am Permalink
I love Willie. I don’t love Kenny. I love the album, but not in a critical way… I just love Willie too much to not love it. I understand with a few of your sentiments here and there, but overall… it’s still Willie and Trigger and it’s powerful. My favorite track is the Kristofferson cut, the title track. I can’t listen to it without welling up inside. Willie is great at taking chances, and although this may not have been a favorite of yours, I love that he did it. Happy Almost 75th, Willie!
March 16, 2008 at 4:15 pm Permalink
What in the world is Kenny Chesney doing trying to produce a record for Willie Nelson? He can’t “produce” himself. Who signed off on this project? Chesney is a moderate-at-best talent who caught the Lucky Train years ago and worked so hard he beat Country fans into submission; convincing them he is a major talent and “star”. But Willie is more talented, important and artistic than Chesney could ever hope to be in his wildest dreams. Letting a pretender work with a legend is not the best idea in the world. So if the record is not great, should we be surprised?
March 16, 2008 at 4:32 pm Permalink
Kenny Chesney has a lot of talent and catchy songs. He’s smart with marketing the whole beach image too!
I don’t think anybody would argue that Willie Nelson is more talented than themselves.
I think Willie knows he’s not going to have the commercial success he used to, so why not do something fun.
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