Six Hours at Pedernales (1994)

“With special guest Curtis Potter” is a bit misleading. Though Willie opens this album singing “Nothing’s Changed, Nothing’s New,” most of these tracks seem to feature Curtis Potter front and center with Willie accompanying. This seems to be another of Willie’s generous outings where he records with an old friend as a kind of thank you. Who else does this? I’ve never heard of Curtis Potter, but I gather he’s a big name in Western Swing, and he certainly sounds like Ray Price. Some would consider his voice to be “better” than Willie’s in a conventional or technical way. And yet, it has none of the qualities that make a voice distinct or intriguing. This gets at the paradox that great artists seem to distinguish themselves by the subtle ways they sing poorly, behind the beat, off key, just enough to create a hiccup, a tension, a crack, and then flirt with perfection. In other words, true perfection, true greatness, seems to be more of a tenuous dance between perfection and imperfection. Pure perfection is too clean and antiseptic.

Buddy Emmons is on steel, but I don’t recognize the other musicians. The lyrics of this first song written by Ray Pennington capture many of Willie’s major themes. “That same old feeling keeps hangin’ on.” Like the local memory, feelings personified haunt Willie palpably. This song has that same wry tone as “Funny How Time Slips Away.” In Willie’s mind, and nowhere else, “Nothings Changed.” Memories embalm love and time.

Willie’s interpretation of “Are You Sure” (and even his attempt at singing harmony with Curtis) make this track worth a second listen. The strings cloy, and the drums create an inappropriately bouncy background for these melancholy songs. Ditto for Willie’s vocals on “The Party’s Over.” Now “Turn Me Loose and Let Me Swing” may be worth the price of this CD. It’s all Willie.

Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood” still turns me on

Like Bob Wills and the “Rose of San Antone”

They both played great music,

They just called it different names

But if you put it all together

It would still come out the same.

Willie didn’t write it, but he may as well have. He loves jazz, and who can tell the difference when he sings blues, bluegrass, jazz, pop, country, swing, rock, or gospel?

Willie also takes the lead on Mel Holt’s “Once You’re Past the Blues.” He tells himself he “needed the blues.” He sings, “the blues help me to get over you.” Really? Blues as therapy, as twelve steps. “Sometimes the blues are necessary.” He’s not “recommending the blues,” but, of course, he is. He’s “just saying how they work for me.” In “It Won’t Be Easy,” he sings, “Would you reconsider if you knew I still loved you, if you knew it still mattered?” In other words, if you knew you were always on my mind, if you knew I always loved you in theory, would you love me in practice? Huh? “Stray Cats, Cowboys, and Girls of the Night” gets at the age-old Willie theme of looking for home on the road. “Nowhere is somewhere called home.” The title is the best part of the song. The fiddle is Johnny Gimble-esque. “The Best Worst Thing” is another clever title that the song doesn’t quite live up to. Cleverness isn’t enough. You need credibility.

This collection concludes with two Willie classics: “It Should Be Easier Now” and “My Own Peculiar Way.” Willie’s interpretations are worth checking out for comparison purposes. Willie essentially sings a duet with the steel on “It Should Be Easier Now,” and Curtis and Willie actually sing together better than almost anyone besides Shirley Nelson. Overall, not one of my favorite Willie albums, but worth comparing a few tracks. Willie makes some interesting vocal forays on some of these standards from his repertoire.