Stars and Guitars (2002)

Sheryl Crow doesn’t add much to “Whiskey River” on this live album from 2002. Toby Keith tried to make this version of “Good Hearted Woman” sound like the classic live version with Waylon, but he can’t quite pull it off. The fans aren’t as enthusiastic as they are in the classic version, but I like how Toby says, “Willie” the same way Waylon does on that famous version. The sense I get from that classic version, though, is that it was a Waylon concert and Willie walked on stage and surprised the crowd. Not sure if that’s true, but that’s what it sounds like. You don’t get the same energy here. Rob Thomas, the author of “Maria (Shut Up and Kiss Me),” actually gives Willie room to sing on this live version. The horns and back-up vocals don’t do much for me, but the vocals make this worth owning. “Mendocino County Line” is such a great song for Willie’s voice, and Lee Ann Womack is a great duet partner for Willie. The song gives Willie just the right kind of space he needs for his vocals to stretch out and roam. The strings are a bit much, but Willie’s voice is in rare form. I’m a sucker for the studio version of this song, and this one rivals (or surpasses) the hit version. Willie, of course, takes some liberties in spots, which makes it interesting. “Always On Mind” with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora doesn’t work. I’m glad Bon Jovi respects Willie and wants to sing with him, but I won’t return to this version much. Willie’s solo vocals are actually quite good, and the crowd gets into it, but I’d like to edit out the duet partners. “Night Life” with Ray Price (who made it a hit before Willie did) is one of the highlights of this disc. I like hearing Willie sing with Ray because it lets me hear where Willie got so many of his vocal licks. Ray, like Thelonius Monk, can do so much with the spaces between notes. The piano, sax, and steel work in and out of the vocals unobtrusively, and the backing on this track is so much sparer than the others that the vocals feature more prominently. This may be my favorite track on the album. Keith Richards’ “Dead Flowers” is an interesting selection. I’d like to hear Willie sing this solo. Ryans Adams, Hank Williams III, and Richards dominate this song too much for my taste, but I’m intrigued by the lyrics of this bluesy Stones tune. “Lonestar” with Norah Jones is another interesting choice of song and partner. So far we’ve had Whiskey River, Night Life, Dead Flowers, and Lonestar. I’m too tired to connect the thematic dots between these songs, but I think there’s a pattern. Willie’s vocals are superb, and Norah gives him room to operate. Another spare production with just guitar, drums, bass, and organ. Aaron Neville’s “Stardust” borders on absurd at times. Willie seems to be sitting this one out. This does point out an interesting phenomenon, though. Neville isn’t covering Hoagy Carmichael; he is covering Willie’s 1978 version of Carmichael’s song. Only Willie can cover a song so thoroughly that people then cover his cover. I’m a sucker for Willie’s rendition of “Don’t Fade Away” with Michael Knight, but I may prefer the studio version to this live one. I give this one 4 stars, though. This version of “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” with Patty Griffin pales in comparison to the one on “Songs for Tsunami Relief.” The steel steals the show on this spare track, and Willie only joins in during the last minute. I’d like to hear more of him. True to his humble nature, he lets his friends steal too much of the vocal spotlight. Steven Stills’ classic “For What It’s Worth” is another bold choice. I’d still rather hear the live CSNY version on the acoustic “Four Way Street,” but Bill Evans’ sax makes this one interesting. Willie’s funky, slowed-down version of this 1967 Buffalo Springfield hit intrigues me. Sheryl’s not bad. Matchbox Twenty actually makes something new out of “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.” They actually slow it down and stretch it out instead of speeding it up. That’s the secret to Willie’s music. It often gets better when you slow it down. You can actually get more out of it that way. You can savor each word and syllable and beat. This version gets jazzy and trippy. I wouldn’t have thought it possible. Vince Gill pulls an Aaron Neville and basically sings “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” by himself. This exemplifies the problem with these Willie Nelson and Friends Concerts: too much friends and not enough Willie Nelson. They should be backing him up, not the other way around. “Till I Gain Control Again” is one of my favorite Willie songs (even though Rodney Crowell wrote it). I wanted to like this version more than I did. I thought Emmylou Harris would be perfect, but her vocals actually seem a bit off here. I much prefer the version on Willie and Family Live, though Willie’s vocals and the steel guitar shine. Jimmy Cliff’s reggae classic “The Harder They Come” with Ryan Adams provides a pleasing contrast to the previous ballad. How many people could pull off a transition from Emmylou Harris to Jimmy Cliff so easily? The family band actually disappointed me a bit with “On the Road” and “Move it On Over.” They seemed a bit flat instead of providing the rousing finale for the show I was hoping for. Mickey, as always, pulls his weight on harmonica, and Bill Evans’ sax shines, but these last two just didn’t do much for me.