Album review: new Willie Nelson record Oh What a Beautiful World covers Rodney Crowell

I first heard “Banks of the Old Bandera” when Rodney Crowell’s album The Houston Kid debuted in 2001. I love that record and still feel it’s Crowell’s most artistic and intellectually stimulating recording, which is no small observation. I felt “Bandera” sounded like a Willie Nelson song. It only took twenty-four years, but Willie covered this song, and eleven other songs penned by Rodney Crowell on his newest release Oh What A Beautiful World, which dropped April 25, 2025. If you clicked the link, you saw a limited edition white vinyl only available from Willie’s website.

Nelson has recorded Crowell songs from as far back as 1978 (Till I Gain Control Again, Willie and Family Live). In the seventy-seven studio albums Willie has released over the years we’ve seen beautiful concept albums, experimental projects, and records comprised of one individual’s songs, Willie Nelson Sings Kristofferson and For The Good Times: A Tribute to Ray Price. It is fitting the Red-Headed Stranger covers an entire album of Rodney Crowell.

Crowell is a masterful writer, a craftsman and wordsmith who you could argue is a musical genius. Nelson first covered Crowell in 1983 and included covers of his songs on last year’s celebrated release, The Border. Willie personally selected the twelve tracks recorded on this new album and covers them brilliantly.

Let us just get the obligatory laudatory remarks out of the way. Willie is indeed ninety-two as of April 29, 2025. While we must observe his impressive longevity and ability to still sing and play so well, let’s not lose the beauty of this record being in awe of his ability to defy mortal odds of a fateful world.Oh What a Beautiful World is first and foremost a solidly performed, produced, and inspired work of art, and country album. Each song is tailored to Willie’s musical style, the sign of a well-crafted and covered song. These songs, some old, some newer, are classics. All the tracks possess common and relatable messages, all with lifting or haunting melodies, smart phrasing, while using words economically like the poets Crowell and Nelson are . It’s just plain good is what it is. I’d suggest it may be hard to make a poor record with such quality writing and musicianship, but Nashville manages to mangle quality music daily. Lucky for us this project is in capable hands.

Buddy Cannon, Willies long time producer is at the helm on the production. Rodney Crowell lends his quality vocals to the title track, making the lead track a duet technically. A small pride of musicians including Jim “Moose” Brown, James Mitchell, Bobby Terry, Glen Woft, and the ever-faithful Mickey Raphael conjure up superb instrumental backing while never stepping on the toes of the songs. Willie Nelson adds expert and familiar guitar work from Trigger as well.

All songs are written by Rodney Crowell, except “What Kind of Love”, penned with Roy Orbison, and Will Jennings, “Open Season On My Heart”, written with James T. Slater, and “Stuff That Works”, co-written with legendary songsmith, Guy Clark.

I keep listening to this album. Over and over. In my office, while driving, right now while I type away my trivial and often forgotten little words of praise and appreciation. I keep listening. It isn’t that I know the songs, or Willies voice, it’s just the mix of everything blended down to perfection. A timeless piece which feels as if it has known me longer than I’ve been alive. We find such comfort in music. For as long as we have communicated, music has lit the world. Here, Willie is like a beacon, reminding us we are all human, we are all loved, and in essence of the simplest complexities, the same, allowing us to remember beyond all the political tormoral we face today, it is still “A Beautiful World”.

Track Listing

 What Kind of Love

Banks of the Old Bandera

They Flyboy and The Kid

Forty Miles From Nowhere

I Wouldn’t Be Me Without You

Making Memories of Us

Oh What A Beautiful World

Open Season On My Heart

Shame on the Moon

She’s Back In Town

Still Learning How to Fly

Stuff That Works