Willie Nelson Announces The Border, His 75th Solo Album Of New Material
Willie Nelson absolutely refuses to slow down. Last year, the country legend released Bluegrass, which was billed as his 151st album. This summer, he’ll headline another edition of his touring Outlaw Music Festival, sharing the bill with legends like Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, and Allison Krauss. Now, Nelson has announced The Border, which is being billed as his “75th solo album of new material” (and his 152nd overall, including collaborative LPs). At this point, I hope he’s paying a full-time archivist to keep track of how many dang albums he’s put out. The Border is set to come out this spring, a month after Nelson’s 91st birthday.
Willie Nelson recorded The Border with producer and longtime collaborator Buddy Cannon, and it includes four new songs that Nelson and Cannon wrote together, as well as some newly written songs by some songwriters that Nelson admires, including Rodney Crowell, Shawn Camp, Mike Reid, and Bobby Tomberlin. But the first single and title track isn’t actually new material. It’s a song that Rodney Crowell, another Texan country veteran, first released five years ago.
Rodney Crowell and Allen Shamblin wrote “The Border” from the perspective of a border worker who sees some terrible sights and who comes home every night in a bulletproof vest: “From the shacks and the shanties come the hungry and poor/ Some to drown at the crossing/ Some to suffer no more.” Nelson’s voice, beaten and weathered but still strong, gives it some extra gravity. Below, listen to “The Border” and check out the album’s tracklist.
TRACKLIST:
01 “The Border”
02 “Once Upon A Yesterday”
03 “What If I’m Out Of My Mind”
04 “I Wrote This Song For You”
05 “Kiss Me When You’re Through”
06 “Many A Long And Lonesome Highway”
07 “Hank’s Guitar”
08 “Made In Texas”
09 “Nobody Knows Me Like You”
10 “How Much Does It Cost”
The Border is out 5/31 on Sony.