Although recognized as one of the greatest songwriters of all time,
Willie Nelson
is a master interpreter who can make any song his own, which is why his covers albums, like 2024's poignantly rustic
Last Leaf on the Tree
, are often his most affecting. Produced and recorded with his son
Micah Nelson
, the album finds the 91-year-old
Nelson
easing into a handful of thoughtfully curated songs by artists from across the musical spectrum. It's an intimate vibe he's been conjuring on and off for much of his career, following each big studio album, like 2024's
The Border
, with a more pared-down recording of standards and cover tunes. As a singer,
brings an immense gravitas and pathos to these performances with his trademark light vocal warble, punctuated by just a hint of aged grit. It's a style that grabs you from the start with his sun-dappled reading of the
Tom Waits
title track, a song whose lyrics underscore the overall feeling of looking back on one's life while also cherishing each small moment. Equally poetic moments follow, as his take on
Beck
's "Lost Cause,"
Warren Zevon
and
Jorge Calderon
's "Keep Me in Your Heart," and his transcendent rendition of
the Flaming Lips
' "Do You Realize??" There's an earthy, live-in-studio quality to the album as
Micah
frames his father in woody acoustic guitars, piano, pedal steel, and, as on "Color of Sound" (one of the three originals that pop up at the end of the album), the haunting Andean lute. There are also vital contributions by several close associates, including founding
Doors
drummer
John Densmore
, guitarist
Daniel Lanois
, harmonica player
Mickey Raphael
, and percussionist
Magatte Snow
. With
,
have crafted a relaxed album of subtle virtuosity, as if every song could be the last. ~ Matt Collar