Let's Face the Music and Dance is the 61st studio album by American country singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. Nelson's second album under his contract with Legacy Recordings, it was released on April 16, 2013. The album produced by Buddy Cannon featured a collection of standards that Nelson and his sister Bobbie played throughout their careers.
| Let's Face the Music and Dance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 16, 2013 | |||
| Studio | Pedernales Recording (Spicewood, Texas) | |||
| Genre | Country, Rock, Jazz, Pop | |||
| Length | 48:17 | |||
| Label | Legacy Recordings | |||
| Producer | Buddy Cannon | |||
| Willie Nelson chronology | ||||
| ||||
Recording
editComposed of pop, jazz, rock, and country music standards, the set also included a new version of Nelson's original "Is the Better Part Over" from his 1989 album A Horse Called Music. The album was recorded at Nelson's Pedernales studio in Austin, Texas, was produced by Buddy Cannon and later mixed by Butch Carr at Budro Music Repair Shop in Nashville, Tennessee.[1] The album focuses in his musical relation with his sister, Bobbie, as the standards were played by them during their childhood and throughout their musical career.[2]
Release and reception
editThe second album by Nelson under his contract with Legacy Recordings, it was released on April 16, 2013.[1][3][4]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 68/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [6] |
| The Austin Chronicle | [7] |
| Exclaim! |   [8] |
| Daily Record | Favorable.[9] |
| PopMatters | [10] |
Allmusic rated the album with three stars out of five, Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the musicality, describing Nelson and The Family's sound as "one seamless unit".[6] The Austin Chronicle also rated the album with three stars out of five, and referred to Nelson's upcoming birthday, calling it "An exquisitely contemplative turn into 80".[7]
Meanwhile, Exclaim! praised Nelson's guitar playing and described the band as a "small combo playing songs as timeless as (Nelson's) wonderfully idiosyncratic voice".[8] Daily Record also favored his guitar playing as well as voice, also remarking Nelson's tendence to feature covers, instead of original songwriting in his recent recordings.[9] Popmatters rated the album with seven stars out of ten. The review praised Nelson's coordination with the band, describing the record as "a welcome effort; it’s comfortable, graceful, and uniformly pleasant".[10]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let's Face the Music and Dance" | Irving Berlin | 3:23 |
| 2. | "Is The Better Part Over" | Willie Nelson | 2:39 |
| 3. | "You'll Never Know" | JC Young, Mack Gordon | 3:32 |
| 4. | "Vous Et Moi" | Django Reinhardt | 3:23 |
| 5. | "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" | Roy Turk, Fred E. Ahlert | 3:42 |
| 6. | "Matchbox" | Carl Perkins | 2:40 |
| 7. | "Twilight Time" | Buck Ram | 4:07 |
| 8. | "I Can’t Give You Anything But Love" | Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields | 3:45 |
| 9. | "I’ll Keep On Loving You" | Moon Mullican | 3:38 |
| 10. | "I Wish I Didn’t Love You So" | Frank Loesser | 4:18 |
| 11. | "South Of The Border" | Jimmy Kennedy; Michael Carr | 3:51 |
| 12. | "Nuages" | Django Reinhardt | 3:37 |
| 13. | "Marie (The Dawn Is Breaking)" | Irving Berlin | 3:07 |
| 14. | "Shame On You" | Spade Cooley | 2:25 |
| Total length: | 48:17 | ||
Personnel
edit- Willie Nelson - acoustic guitar, lead vocals
- Jim "Moose" Brown - Hammond B-3 organ
- Paul English - snare drums, gut string guitar
- Bobbie Nelson - piano
- Micah Nelson - charango, percussion
- Mickey Raphael - harmonica
- Kevin Smith - upright bass
Charts
edit| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Top Country Albums | 16[11] |
| US Billboard 200 | 49 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Legacy Recordings Set to Release Let's Face The Music And Dance, The New Album From Willie Nelson and Family, on Tuesday, April 16". Legacy Recordings. The Sacramento Bee. January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Dukes, Billy (March 6, 2013). "Willie Nelson Shares Stories, Inspiration Behind 'Let's Face the Music and Dance' Album – Exclusive Video". Taste of Country. tasteofcountry.com. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
- ^ "Willie Nelson - Let's Face the Music and Dance". CMT.com. Country Music Television. Archived from the original on February 28, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ^ Stromblad, Cory (January 18, 2013). "Willie Nelson Sets Release Date for New 'Let's Face the Music and Dance' Album". Taste of country. tasteofcountry.com. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
- ^ "Let's Face the Music and Dance by Willie Nelson". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Let's Face the Music and Dance". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ^ a b Freeman, Doug (April 12, 2013). "Willie Nelson Let's Face the Music and Dance (Sony Legacy". Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ^ a b Schneider, Jason (April 12, 2013). "Willie Nelson & Family Let's Face the Music and Dance". Exclaim!.ca. Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 2013-04-30. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
- ^ a b Biese, Alex (April 21, 2013). "Willie Nelson at 80: 'Let's dance'". Daily Record. Gannett, Inc. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
- ^ a b Leftridge, Steve (May 6, 2013). "Willie Nelson and Family: Let's Face the Music and Dance". PopMatters. PopMatters Meida, Inc. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
- ^ Jessen, Wade (April 25, 2013). "Casey Donahew Band Brings 'Red Dirt' Sound To Top 10". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 6, 2013.