3. Willie NelsonRed Headed Stranger
I love this album for similar reasons to the Laura Nyro album. It’s music that’s not afraid to be really simple, not afraid to be sparse. There’s a lot of moments where it’s just Willie singing unaccompanied, or with just little bits of guitar. Red Headed Stranger is odd, because it’s such a coherent and singular album, a concept album with a story you can follow, but it’s largely made up of covers and traditional American songs.
What holds the album together is the performance. Nelson is incredible passionate, and very consistent. You can just tell that there are songs that he’s played time and time again, there’s no second thought. It’s automatic, it’s muscle memory. He’s got a really beautiful voice on him too, it’s just a fantastic voice he has.
I forget the exact details of the story. I think it’s about a man who kills his cheating wife, and has to start a new life on the run. I can’t say I necessarily listen to music for lyrics. They’re the last thing I hear, and often I’ll just take away individual lyrics and phrases when listening to a piece of music. With Red Headed Stranger, what I love is the old timey storytelling aspect, the individual songs and the beautiful arrangements, rather than the overarching story itself.
