Across the Borderline

Performer: Willie Nelson
Artist: Bonnie Raitt; Bob Dylan; Paul Simon; Sinead O'Connor; Kris Kristofferson; Milt Hinton; David Crosby; Mose Allison
Producer: Don Was
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel: Willie Nelson (vocals, guitar); Danny Timms (guitar, piano, organ, background vocals); Fred Tackett, John Leventhal, Mark Goldenberg, Reggie Young, John Selelowane, Ray Phiri, Grady Martin, Jody Payne (guitar); Robbie Turner (pedal steel, mandolin, bass); Paul Franklin (pedal steel); Eric Bazilian (mandolin); Johnny Gimble (violin); Mickey Raphael (harmonica); Bobbie Nelson (piano, Hammond B-3); Benmont Tench (Hammond B-3, Wurlitzer, keyboards); David Campbell (harmonium); James "Hutch" Hutchinson, Mike Leech, Bee Spears (bass); Gene Chrisman, Smitty Smith, Paul English (drums); Billy English (percussion); Mingo Araujo (conga); Paulinho da Costa, Debra Dobkin (percussion); Jimmy Bralower (drum samples). Additional guest artists: Mark O'Connor (violin, fiddle); Michael Brecker (keyboards); Mark Isham (trumpet); Don Was (bass); Jim Keltner (drums). Engineers: Rik Pekkonen, Brian Masterson, Richard Travali. If ever there were doubts about the breadth and depth of Willie Nelson's ambitions and talents, Across the Borderline should put them to rest. Nelson surveys roughly two decades of popular music, tackling songs by writers as varied as Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Willie Dixon, and Lyle Lovett. That Nelson covers such a variety shouldn't really come as such a surprise: the songs on Across the Borderline simply consolidate the range of material he's covered previously, from the Bing Crosby-inspired pop standards albums Stardust to the folk-rock of "City of New Orleans." Nelson, along with producer Don Was, assembled a stellar cast of musicians for the album. Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt, and Mose Allison all guest, and a rock band is Nelson's backup unit for most of the tracks. Of course, country music is at the center of Nelson's vast repertoire, and the two Lyle Lovett compositions he chose to cover for Across the Borderline are wonderfully done, with the accompaniment of Nelson's regular backing band. There are also Nelson's own songs, both new ("Valentine") and old (the rather gloomy "She's Not for You"), as well as a writing and singing collaboration with Bob Dylan ("Heartland"). For all the strengths of the other 13 tracks, the most stunning song on the album is Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up." The parts originally sung by Kate Bush on Gabriel's So album are sung here by Sinead O'Connor, a brilliant piece of casting. Nelson and O'Connor's rendition is quietly triumphant and every bit as powerful as Gabriel and Bush's original. The result of the apparently scattershot song selection and numerous musicians is an album that possesses a quiet majesty, further establishing Willie Nelson as one of the most important writers and interpreters of the last half of the 20th century. ~ Martin Monkman At a time when Don Was was still being heralded for the resurrection of Bonnie Raitt's career, he was brought in to helm Willie Nelson's 1993 release ACROSS THE BORDERLINE. The results were spectacular (despite less-than-stellar sales figures) and even included a Raitt/Nelson duet on "Getting Over You." As was the case so many times in the past, Nelson's choice of material wandered all over the map, once again reflecting the Red Headed Stranger's assertation that a good song is a good song whether it's a country one or not. Thus, he duetted with Sinead O'Connor on Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up," had Mose Allison play piano on Willie Dixon's "I Love The Life I Live" and recorded Paul Simon's "Graceland" and "American Tune," with the author providing guitar accompaniment. Other notable songwriters whose material is given the Nelson treatment are John Hiatt ("[The] Most Unoriginal Sin"), Lyle Lovett ("Farther Down The Line," "If I WereThe Man You Wanted") and Bob Dylan ("What Was It You Wanted.") Nelson and Zim even duet on their co-written "Heartland" a song overflowing with images of foreclosed farms and shattered dreams.

Rolling Stone (5/13/93, p.110) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...an album that seasons the singer's own brand of austere, hard-chugging country swing with echoes of everything from English art rock to Paul Simon's South African- flavored folk rock..." Spin (7/93, p.16) - "...In the blessed hands and throat of Nelson, the most pompous, didactic, overwraught hooey can feel as comfy and tender as a well-oiled baseball glove..." Entertainment Weekly (12/31/93) - Cited by Entertainment Weekly as one of 'The Best Country Albums Of 1993' - "...as clear-eyed a portrait of America as anything from John Dos Passos...." Q (1/94, p.86) - Included in Q's list of 'The 50 Best Albums Of 1993' - "...The old outlaw is back in the saddle again...." Q (6/93, p.104) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...this album establishes a new benchmark in country celebrity roundups, so star-studded as to almost defy belief...covers considerable ground...brings full circle the finest traditions of two very different generations of Nashville songsmiths..." Village Voice (3/1/94, p.5) - Ranked #22 in the Village Voice's 1993 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.

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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