Willie Nelson- Last Leaf on the Tree
Label: Legacy
Producer: Micah Nelson
It seems that with every review of a new Willie Nelson album, which despite his 91 years of age remains a semi-annual occasion at the least, we begin by rightfully lionizing both the frequency and quality of the man’s musical output. And this is an ever-important distinction to make; because while it will always be impressive that a man of his age can even complete a new album on the level that he does, it’s all the more remarkable just how consistently great the Red-Headed Stranger’s records have been throughout this seemingly infinite autumnal season of his career and life. Simply put, it’s easy to take for granted that Willie will provide us with a trove of great songs each year. This is why it’s so vitally important to slow down and truly appreciate Last Leaf on the Tree. While I’m not naive to the fact that Nelson probably already has his next two albums (at minimum) in the can and set for release in 2025, there’s a growing sense of mortality and finality glowing in the performances found throughout this record. This is particularly prescient on the opening title track, an excellently curated cover from the latter-day catalog of Tom Waits, that stands among one of Nelson’s finest late-in-life performances. With his youngest son, Micah Nelson at the soundboard, the legend is framed in a cozy and fluid soundscape that is at once lush and rustic. It provides a simple and beautifully unobstructed ambience to compliment Willie’s increasingly frail voice and guitar work, both of which are only further layered in a unique level of grit, beauty and soul that can only come with this magnitude of age. Willie has always been as prolific an interpreter as he has a writer, and Last Leaf also proves to be one of his records where he writes very little of the material; in this case all but the final two songs are from the outside, and what an excellently curated batch of songs does it prove to be. In addition to the moving Waits cover, Willie and Micah unearth gems from a vast well of notable writers spanning from Neil Young, Warren Zevon, and Keith Richards to Nina Simone and Beck. They prove to precisely form the kind of quirky and lovely collection needed to match the unassumingly beautiful sound that’s been crafted for this record. Again, while there is a new sense of mortality lingering throughout the overall core of this record, not every track addresses it head-on, and certainly not every track focuses on the somber aspects of life’s final season. Many of these performances carry a relaxed and assured sense of contentment and peace. Nelson uses these moments to comfort and remind us that there can still be romance, connection, growth, and joy in this final stage of life. It’s an important message whether you have a loved one nearing this phase, or whether you’re nearing it yourself. Or, perhaps you’re simply struggling to cope with the fact that an American treasure like Willie Nelson is at this stage himself. Nelson’s timeless sage and wisdom continue to be a gift, and a lesson for the level of grace and love we should all aspire to, at any age. This is a significantly special late-career triumph from Willie Nelson. It’s one that I firmly believe would be even further hailed on the same level as records like American Recordings, Van Lear Rose, Wagonmaster, and Ghost On the Canvas had Nelson been emerging from a down-period like the artists behind those classics had at the time of their respective releases. The fact that he has produced this in the midst of an already excellently audacious run of records is all the more reason for celebration and acclaim.
Track Listing:
- “Last Leaf” (Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan)
- “If It Wasn’t Broken” (Sydney Lyndella Ward)
- “Lost Cause” (Beck)
- “Come Ye” (Nina Simone)
- “Keep Me In Your Heart” (Warren Zevon, Jorge Calderon)
- “Robbed Blind” (Keith Richards)
- “House Where Nobody Lives” (Waits)
- “Are You Ready For the Country?” (Neil Young)
- “Do Your Realize?” (Wayne Coyne, Sreven Drozd, Michael Ivins, David Fridmann)
- “Wheels” (Micah Nelson)
- “Broken Arrow” (Young)
- “Color of Sound” (Willie Nelson, M. Nelson)
- “The Ghost” (W. Nelson)
The 706 
Leave a comment