Phases and Stages

Performer: Willie Nelson
Artist: Eric Weissberg; Johnny Gimble
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Willie Nelson (vocals, acoustic guitar); Fred Carter Jr. (acoustic, electric & 12-string guitar, dobro); John Hughey (pedal steel guitar); Eric Weissberg (banjo); Johnny Gimble (fiddle, mandolin); Al Lester (fiddle); Barry Beckett (keyboards); David Hood (bass); Roger Hawkins (drums); Jeannie Greene, Pete Carr, George Soule (background vocals). Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound, Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Includes liner notes by Willie Nelson. Personnel: Pete Carr (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Fred Carter, Jr. (acoustic guitar, electric 12-string guitar); John Hughey (pedal steel guitar); Johnny Gimble (mandolin, fiddle); Barry Beckett (keyboards); David Hood (bass guitar); Roger Hawkins (drums); Jeannie Green (background vocals). Willie Nelson spent the first two decades of his career in Nashville, unsuccessfully chasing success as a mainstream performer. Frustrated, he returned to his home in Texas, where it dawned on him that there might be an audience for country music among the South's many young "longhairs," whom Nashville disdained. Nelson started playing Texas rock clubs and was pleasantly surprised to find that he was correct: Texas kids were hungry for country music. Nelson set about fashioning a style suited to his new audience, one that embraced such elements of rock and roll as long instrumental jams and "concept" albums. During this period Willie recorded three albums that set the tone for the "outlaw" country movement he would soon spearhead: SHOTGUN WILLIE, TROUBLE MAKER, and PHASES AND STAGES, which is the first of many albums on which Willie strings songs together to tell a single story. The first half of PHASES AND STAGES recounts a break-up from the woman's point of view; the second half tells the same story, but from the man's perspective. Among the many outstanding tracks on this classic album are "Sister's Coming Home," "I Still Can't Believe You're Gone," and "Pretend I Never Happened."

Willie Nelson began working in a conventional Nashville style and had great success as the songwriter of Faron Young's hit "Hello Walls" and others, but he was initially unable to make it as a performer. In the 1970s, he and Waylon Jennings made history with their outlaw country sound and image, growing their hair long and utilizing a raw, rock-influenced sound that endeared them to millions of country fans and rockers alike. Subsequently, Nelson ventured into Sinatra territory with STARDUST, an album of standards that became a huge success and established him as a singer who transcended genre boundaries. Throughout the '80s, '90s, and into the 21st century, he crossed over into pop and back again continually, even releasing an album of reggae covers, working with artists as diverse as Julio Iglesias and Ryan Adams.

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