The Great Divide

Performer: Willie Nelson
Artist: Rob Thomas; Bonnie Raitt; Lee Ann Womack; Brian McKnight; Kid Rock; Alison Krauss; Sheryl Crow
Producer: Matt Serletic
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Willie Nelson (vocals, acoustic guitar); Heitor Periera (guitar); Greg Leisz (pedal steel, dobro); Mickey Raphael (harmonica); Matt Rollings (piano, Wurlitzer piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Bonnie Raitt, Bryan McKnight, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Rob Thomas, Lee Ann Womack, Allison Strauss. Engineers: David Thoener, Steve Marcantonio, Noel Golden. "Mendocino County Line" (w/ Lee Ann Womack) won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals. THE GREAT DIVIDE was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Country Album and Best Recording Package. "Mendocino County Line" (w/ Lee Ann Womack) was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Country Song. Personnel: Willie Nelson (vocals, acoustic guitar); Rob Thomas , Kid Rock, Lee Ann Womack, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Brian McKnight (vocals); Heitor Teixeira Pereira (whistling, guitar, background vocals); Reggie Young (guitar); Greg Leisz (dobro); Gabe Witcher, Alison Krauss (fiddle); Mickey Raphael (harmonica); Dan Higgins, Bruce Fowler (horns); Matt Rollings (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer organ); Greg Phillinganes (keyboards); John "J.R." Robinson , Kenny Aronoff (drums); Brad Dutz (percussion); Danny Saber, Christopher Wade Damerst (programming); Matt Serletic (electronics, background vocals); Curtis Young, Dennis Wilson , The Water Sisters, Harry Stinson, John Wesley Ryles, Lisa Silver, Louis Dean Nunley, Michael Black (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Jay Goin; David Thoener; Derek Carlson. Recording information: 20th Century Fox Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Conway Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Hook Studios, North Hollywood, CA; Newman Scoring Stage; Ocean Way Nashville, Nashville TN; Record Plant Recording Studio, Hollywood, CA; Rumbo Recorders, Conoga Park, CA. Director: Stacey Robinson. Photographer: Mark Seliger. Like most star-studded superstar comeback albums of the late '80s, '90s, and 2000s, Willie Nelson's The Great Divide isn't meant for longtime fans of the artists, or even the artists themselves; it's meant for listeners who always liked the idea or persona of the featured artist, but never liked the artist's music. That's certainly the case with The Great Divide, which finds Willie Nelson inexplicably recast as an adult alternative artist, singing songs written by Rob Thomas -- who, not coincidentally, led Carlos Santana to the biggest hit of his career in 1999 -- and other professional tunesmiths, all corralled by producer Matt Serietic. Since professionals are involved -- including Nelson himself, who gives an admirable vocal performance throughout -- this is an accomplished, classy album, but it sure as hell isn't a Willie Nelson album. The closest it comes is on the title track, the only song co-written by Nelson himself, and the Bernie Taupin co-written numbers, including a pretty good deliberate ballad called "Let Stand in Open Country" featuring Kid Rock. The rest is radio-ready adult pop, produced fairly well but not inherently interesting, no matter how professional it is. And that's the problem with the record; sure, it may get those who like Nelson the star, but if it alienates those who love his music, including his legions of quiet masterpieces from The Troublemaker to Rainbow Connection, then what's the point? ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Much like Willie Nelson's millennial all-star effort MILK COW BLUES, THE GREAT DIVIDE is an outing that features a wide assortment of famous folks duetting with Willie in the vein of Santana's comeback effort SUPERNATURAL. Spearheading DIVIDE is Matchbox Twenty's Rob Thomas, who not only wrote three songs and duets on one ("Maria [Shut Up And Kiss Me]") but recruited Matt Serletic (who's also twisted knobs for Thomas's band and Carlos Santana) to produce. The result is a contemporary pop album that lands far afield from Nelson's outlaw roots, aside from the wistful, Mexicali-flavored title track co-written by jazz guitarist/longtime friend Jackie King, and Willie's second cover in a year of Mickey Newbury's left-field nugget "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)." Elsewhere, the Red-Headed Stranger collaborates with Sheryl Crow (the R&B-flavored "Be There For You"), Kid Rock (the outlaw ballad "Last Stand In Open Country"), Bonnie Raitt (the elegiac "You Remain"), and Brian McKnight (the Sting-like adult pop of "Don't Fade Away"). Nelson even follows in Miles Davis's footsteps by resurrecting Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" and giving it a sprightlier interpretation.

Rolling Stone (1/31/02, p.54) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A glossy, tuneful and turned up to ten...The best moments here are the ones in which Nelson just does his thing all by his bad self..."

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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