Willie Nelson

Stardust

Columbia Records

God knows perfect albums don't grow on trees. Everything has to line up exactly, and then the artist has to get lucky to make sure it comes out right. Willie Nelson had already taken the country by storm with his breakthrough 1975 album Red Headed Stranger and three other successful follow-ups. And then he decided to throw a curveball. He and producer Booker T. Jones picked ten songs from the great American songbook, and recorded them with absolute clarity. There is not a wasted note on the entire album, and Nelson's voice is a study in utter empathy, capturing the essence of how the music's meant to be heard. From the title song "Stardust" to "Someone to Watch Over Me," it's like a calm has settled over the land and this man of infinite grace comes into our midst. He sings in a way that makes us hear songs we know by heart as if we've never heard them before. That's real art, and Willie Nelson has never looked back. The second disc is a compilation of similar selections collected from nine other Nelson releases, and though it's a welcome addition, Stardust is the shining sun, the one that lights up the sky and spreads a glow all over us. Thirty years later, there is still nothing like it.