Naked Willie [PA] [Digipak]

Performer: Willie Nelson
Engineer: Tony Castle
Producer: Chet Atkins; Danny Davis; Felton Jarvis; Mickey Raphael
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel: Willie Nelson (vocals); Charlie McCoy (guitar, piano, vibraphone); Chet Atkins, Chip Young, Grady Martin, Jerry Reed, Pete Wade, Ray Edenton, Velma Smith, Wayne Moss (guitar); Jimmy Day, Buddy Emmons (steel guitar); David Paul Briggs , Bill Pursell, Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano); Glen Spreen (harpsichord, organ); Johnny Bush, Jerry Carrigan, Buddy Harman (drums). Audio Remixer: Tony Castle. Liner Note Authors: Chet Flippo; Mickey Raphael. Recording information: RCA Studios, Nashville, TN (06/08/1966-11/29/1970). Photographer: Harry "Rockbarry" Benson. Long before he became a long-haired, convention-defying outlaw icon, Willie Nelson was a buttoned-down Nashville cat, courting the country mainstream by making records full of the sugary strings and outsized backing-vocal groups that were de rigeur at the time. The thing is, there were some great songs and strong vocal performances underneath it all, and NAKED WILLIE goes back in time to rewrite history. It presents the basic band-and-vocal tracks as they were originally laid down, without any of the aforementioned adornments that were added after the fact. Pulling back those layers of overproduction does indeed shine a spotlight on just how good Willie already was, even early in the game.

Dirty Linen (p.47) - "Instead of Nelson's vocals being thin and reedy, here they're warmer and much more natural....The arrangements are starker, though not austere, and Nelson's vocals and guitar playing are more prominent, as they should be." Mojo (Publisher) (p.119) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he unadorned versions offer an intimacy and power that will surprise those familiar with Nelson's well-scrubbed RCA era....His magic was there all along." Record Collector (magazine) (p.98) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "'I Just Dropped By' and 'Happiness Lives Next Door' reveal themselves to be tear-inducing laments to loneliness'..."

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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