Willie Hugh Nelson was born April 29, 1933. Since then he has been a musician as a singer-songwriter, poet, author, actor and activist. His success with the albums Shotgun Willie (1973), Red Headed Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978) have made Willie Nelson well recognized in country music. He is a mainstay of outlaw country that developed in reaction to the more conservative Nashville sound.
Stardust was the 23rd studio album for Nelson and spanned pop, jazz and country. Booker T. Jones produced this work in 10 days. When the dust settled, the album met with mostly positive reviews peaking at number one in Billboard’s Top Country Albums and number 30 in the Billboard 200. In 1979, Nelson garnered a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for Georgia On My Mind.
His craggy voice is filled with the type of flaws that would break most other musical acts and yet somehow he makes rougher edges work for him and work for him well. Logic defying, his disarming voice somehow comes on strong with its vocal persuasion that has won him a sizeable following. Like a chilled out, easygoing grandpa with more vision than skill that blurs musical genres into perfect musical sense.
The wistful moments of this album earn Mr. Nelson a resounding eight out of 10 from us at Aloha Promises Forever. After dancing slow with Ally through all these pop standards, I admit that I might even give this a 9 were it not for the missed notes and other distractions that beg a few questions. All in all, maybe it’s that his errors mesh with his spot on performances so well that it all comes across more human than human in ways that leave a sentimental touch on my heart. I am fairly sure that producer Booker T Jones (of Booker T and the MGs fame might just agree with me on this one.
Stardust may be listened to here:
ALOHA PROMISES FOREVER 