Released in late 1976, at the height of
Willie
mania,
The Troublemaker
is
Willie Nelson
's first all-
gospel
album, but
country gospel
in his hands doesn't sound like traditional
-- it's a
album, through and through, performed with the freewheeling
Family
as support. Consequently, it's every bit as wonderfully idiosyncratic as any of his other mid-'70s work and, in some ways, even more so, because
inspirational
songs and religious material are usually not given arrangements as imaginative and free-spirited as this. Although the album can be divided pretty evenly between
ballads
and rollicking up-tempo numbers, there is the inherent
jazz
-like unpredictability in the performances of
Nelson
and his band that makes even familiar numbers like
"Will the Circle Be Unbroken"
sound spontaneous. Then again, the choice of material also helps, because that song is the most familiar here; while many of the other numbers are also
standards
, they're not recorded nearly as often as
"Circle"
and these song choices also give
a unique, fresh feel. Another interesting thing about the album is that the music, not the message, is at the forefront, which is why it doesn't sound separate from his other mid-'70s peaks. Although it is overshadowed by them both, the sublime subtlety of the performances on
make it sound of a piece with
The Red Headed Stranger
and
Stardust
. It may not be nearly as popular as either, but musically, it's just as satisfying and is one of the quiet highlights in
's vast catalog. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine