The third and final volume in the
Ghost
series, produced by
Pat Thomas
and
Russ Tolman
, focuses primarily on tunes
Willie Nelson
cut between the late '60s and early '70s -- just before he signed to
Columbia
and scored with
Red Headed Stranger
. A good portion of the material here comes from working demos, where
Nelson
is backed sparsely by a rhythm section and a pedal steel. Other tunes, like
"Ashamed,"
feature the full
countrypolitan
treatment, while still others fall immediately in between the two extremes.
"What Can You Do to Me Now"
appears here in
's full later voice. It later surfaced on
Willie Nelson & Family
.
"She's Not for You"
is the original single treatment of a tune he later re-cut for
Atlantic
on
Shotgun Willie
, and
"One Step Beyond,"
demoed here, was included on
's first
Liberty
album. Like the other volumes in this series, the quality varies considerably, but the material is top-notch. Also, as on the others,
Kurt Wolff
wrote the liner notes. The only real problem with this series is the lack of accurate documentation for the tunes themselves. Largely it is up to the listener to do the homework, making it a mere curiosity piece for most
fans. ~ Thom Jurek