American Classic

While I normally am not drawn to country music, I do love the unique voice of Willie Nelson. His rendition of the older, popular standards on this CD is wonderful!!! I play it over and over again! Willie Nelson always sings straight from his heart! He makes us listeners feel as if he is sharing the ups and downs of his personal life experiences with each of us personally. I can't get enough of this talented, special man's voice and his style of singing! The older he gets, the better he sounds and communicates his music!

That's exactly what this album is sure to become. This fits in with the style of Stardust but yet different. Standards, Jazz and pure Willie! Sit back relax and enjoy the great music presented here. The only thing that I wish they kept was the original name of the album which was going to be named after the title track "The Nearness of You". The name American Classic and Willie Nelson go together so well in fact you wouldn't even need to make it that obvious but it is none the less just that.Willie's vocals sound great paired up with that of Norah Jones on "Baby it's Cold Outside". This very smooth, romantic jazz infused album of standards will get many listens.. that I am sure of. In fact it's not even jazz infused it's pure jazz!Willie's albums in my opinion only seem to get better with age. It is so nice and comforting once or twice a year you can return to something so familiar yet so new. Willie's sound like the man himself never seem to get old. I dare you to find another artist of his magnitude that still does what he's been doing for over 40 years. I never tire listening to this american classic.. Willie Nelson.

Willie sounds great on this new disc of American song standards. This music puts me in a good mood. The musicians on the disc are so good. I love Mickey Raphael on the bluesy harmonica on the track "Since I Fell You". Joe Sample plays the piano on the "On The Street Where You Live". This song is pleasant to listen to. Joe provides the musical arrangements for these tracks. Every track sounds new and fresh, so Joe does his job well here. Willie duets with Diana Krall on "If I Had You" and Norah Jones on the track "Baby It's Cold Outside". Their vocal talents give these classic tracks a sensual sound that I love. "Angel Eyes" is a song about missing a loved one. This song sounds very romantic. Because Of You is a very pretty song. I like the sax playing on this track. I like the sentimental feeling Willie sings with on the track "Come Rain Or Come Shine". "Always On My Mind" is Willie's original song. I have never heard this song featuring piano playing before, and it sounds beautiful. This is a very enjoyable disc of music from Willie Nelson.

Being a huge fan of Willie Nelson's I was excited when I first heard 'American Classic' being played as background music at a 'Barnes & Noble' store I was in. I was told that it was a follow-up album to his "Stardust" smash album from 1978 which is fantastic. So I purchased both on CD here at 'amazon'In comparing the two, 'American Classic' lacks the acoustic guitar treatment that Willie played on 'Stardust' and sounds more like a "Tony Bennett" album with it's lush, full arrangements. The songs he picked to do are all good, with "On the street where you live" and "Since I fell for You" being the best tracks in my opinion. I'd say in conclusion that 'Stardust' is the better of the two albums, yet they're both great to play back to back if you're a true fan.

All of Willie's music is good

What a job he did on the standards Les McCann, Ray Charles and Steve Tyrell would be pleased with his rendition

Wonderful music from a genre which is not what you would typically attribute to Willie Nelson. I bought a copy of it for my best friend. I especially like the duet between Willie Nelson and Norah Jones of "Baby, It's Cold Outside."

Having listened and seen Willie for about 30 years now, I am afraid, I feel, that this is his worst album yet. I realize that there are many Willie "purists" that rate him for his longevity and their ultimate love for Willie. If I rated him purely for that, he would have received a 10. Unfortunately, the only saving grace on the whole CD was Come Rain or Shine. Each song on this CD sounded the same. I felt like I was in a seedy bar in New York and the bartender was telling me that they were closing. All of the tables had chairs on them except mine and the bar tender was wiping the bar glasses off. Willie's voice at his age was not meant to be showcased as it was. And the style of music actually fought against him. He would have been much better off doing this CD acoustically with his guitar. I can listen to Sinatra or Bennett do Fly me to the Moon, but he was mismatched on almost every song. It seemed to me to be like KC and the Sunshine Band doing Willie's songs. I am sure that not everyone will agree and hope you enjoy this CD. I also can't stand it when anyone else attempts the "Standards" when they have no business doing them, such as Rod Stewart. I saw Willie last November in concert, and he was fantastic. I had great expectations for this and was embarassingly disappointed. My hope is that he will live to do another, and that this one is not his final work. I urge anyone to listen to the samples before purchasing. I hope you like it. I sincerely do.

So, you take a dozen classics from the Great American Songbook and you give them to Willie Nelson. Then, you mix in guest appearances by Diana Krall and Norah Jones, add renowned jazz cats Christian McBride (bass), Joe Sample (piano), and Louis Nash (drums) stir in Mickey Raphael on harmonica, season with a flourish of strings and what have you got? Well, you've got an album that is right up there with his 1978 masterpiece,  Stardust The astonishing thing about Willie Nelson is that, at the age of 76, his voice remains as strong and resonant as it always did and as totally irresistible. So too, is his ability to make these venerable old songs sound as fresh and original as the day that they were written and helped by the tight jazz trio that makes every note shine and sparkle. These songs have been sung by Frank Sinatra, Vic Damone, Elvis Presley et al but on this album Willie makes them his own.From the swinging "On The Street Where You Live" to the lilting "Ain't Misbehaving"and the hauntingly beautiful "Always On My Mind" Willie makes it clear that he was just born to sing these songs. He does it without any apparent effort, without pretension and with a passion for his craft that the years have not dimmed.This is a magical collection and the surprise is that it has taken the original Country Outlaw over thirty years to reprise "Stardust" to such glorious effect. Stardust

Willie Nelson never fails to surprise and never fails to entertain. No matter what genre he adopts he always excels. Be it classic 'Country', Blues, Soul Music or Jazz his unique style always shines through. In this album he demonstrates how a phenomenal talent can can reach far beyond the 'Country Fan' and should be in everybody's collection of music to relax to and appreciate. Buy it and enjoy.

He may not have the sweetest voice but boy can he put a sentimental song over,well worth the purchase.

Ci si sente solo gratificati quando esce un cd come "American Classic". Ottimo il lavoro di Johnny Mandel negli arrangiamenti per orchestra che fanno da cornice ai duetti di Willie Nelson con i cantanti ospiti di questa incisione. Willie Nelson è semplicemente geniale.

tapa partida cd y por dentro de la tapa tambien rota