It's Been Rough and Rocky Travelin': The Earliest Willie Nelson 1954-1963

Sadly, it’s been a month since I’ve blogged, but I have a very good reason to resume today. I just received my birthday present to myself: the amazing Bear Family Records 3-cd compilation of Willie’s earliest recordings. It wasn’t cheap ($135 new on Amazon), but it was worth it. I have only listened to the first few songs on disc one, but the LP-sized booklet with liner notes contains the most detailed info I have seen about Willie’s earliest recordings. It appears to contain pictures of every vinyl single and LP he recorded between 1954-1963. I have heard some of these recordings before (on The Complete Ghost, The Complete Liberty Recordings, and various other compilations), but this may have some alternate takes (for example for songs like “Lumberjack”) that aren’t available elsewhere. Without even listening to the rest of the cds in this set I can tell that my Christmas present to myself will be Bear Family Records’ 8-cd set “Nashville Was the Roughest.” If the pictures and liner notes are anything like this box set, it will be well worth the steep price tag (I think it is closer to $175 on Amazon). I’ll have more info soon as I listen to these discs and read the liner notes.