American Classic

Not to be confused with U.S. Classic.

2009 studio album by Willie Nelson

American Classic

Studio album by

Willie Nelson

Released| August 25, 2009
Genre|

* Country
* outlaw country
* jazz
* traditional pop

Label| Blue Note
Producer| Tommy LiPuma
Willie Nelson chronology
| Willie and the Wheel
(2009)  | American Classic
(2009)  | Country Music
(2010)

|
|

American Classic is the 57th studio album by American country music artist Willie Nelson, released on August 25, 2009. It focuses on the American popular songbook and standard jazz classics, and includes guest appearances by Norah Jones and Diana Krall.

## Recording

[edit]

In 2008, Nelson met at his ranch in Austin, Texas with his producer Tommy Lipuma, and jazzman Joe Sample to select the songs for the album. The twelve songs selected were a collection of classics, that included a re-recording by Nelson of Always on My Mind. A duet with Barbra Streisand was planned for the recording of the album, that ultimately was not performed.[1] The photo in the cover of the album was taken in Nelson's ranch by photographer Danny Clinch.[2]

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsAggregate scores

Source| Rating
Metacritic| 67/100[3]
Review scores
Source| Rating
AllMusic| [4]
Rolling Stone| [5]

Rolling Stone rated the album with three stars out of five, receiving a mixed review: "Nelson can be kind of lazy [...] he only occasionally sounds like he's trying. [...] But his band pushes the music into airless cocktail-jazz territory, and Nelson often sounds glib and unengaged."[6]

The New York Times praised Nelson's band but criticized his performance of the songs: "(American Classic) follows the lineage of “Stardust” in one sense, with a menu of songbook fare. But in another sense it feels like a capitulation.Its sound is lustrous, its personnel impeccable. What’s missing is the sense of conviction that Mr. Nelson brings to his strongest work. [...] What redeems much of “American Classic” is the singularity of Mr. Nelson’s voice, along with the deceptive shrewdness of his singing".[7]

The Austin Chronicle rated the album with two stars out of five. The publication criticized the arrangements: "American Classic is tender and light, and Nelson inhabits the songs easily [...] Unable to recapture the shock of reinvention that was Stardust, producer Tommy LiPuma rests Nelson's slowly distilled vocals atop a band of jazz ringers that squares the Texan with the tradition rather than upsetting it, and only Joe Sample's piano steps up to push the songs beyond their ready-made standard status".[8]

Prefix Magazine rated the album with eight points out of ten. The magazine gave a positive review to the album: "Country star (Willie Nelson) seems quite comfortable flying to the moon and singing among those stars. Nelson’s weathered voice is complemented by refined instrumentals from a collective of seasoned jazzmen [...] At the age of 76, the Texas native proves that there is still plenty of stardust left under his cowboy hat".[9]

PopMatters rated the album with four points out of five, the bad review focused in Nelson's phrasing and the arrangements: "Nelson’s signature phrasing has become a vehicle for his laziness, as his words sound hollow and forced [...] certain performances sound like a man going through the motions. [...] Nelson’s lackluster vocals put the listener to sleep. He murmurs the verses, and seemingly wakes up for a few seconds to sing the louder chorus. Then he goes back to his nodding-out rumblings. While LiPuma and Nelson bonded over Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys and Django Reinhardt, and tried to incorporate those sounds into the arrangements, the sweeping, cinematic string sections do not resemble the Playboys’ fiddle or Reinhardt’s distinct gypsy sound".[10]

The album was nominated at the 52nd Grammy Awards for Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

## Track listing

[edit]

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "The Nearness of You"| Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington| 4:44
2.| "Fly Me to the Moon"| Bart Howard| 2:51
3.| "Come Rain or Come Shine"| Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer| 3:57
4.| "If I Had You" (featuring Diana Krall)| James Campbell, Reginald Connelly, Ted Shapiro| 4:22
5.| "Ain't Misbehavin'"| Fats Waller, Harry Brooks, Andy Razaf| 2:56
6.| "I Miss You So"| Jimmy Henderson, Bertha Scott, Sid Robin| 4:32
7.| "Because of You"| Arthur Hammerstein, Dudley Wilkinson| 3:24
8.| "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (featuring Norah Jones)| Frank Loesser| 3:59
9.| "Angel Eyes"| Matt Dennis, Earl Brent| 4:34
10.| "On the Street Where You Live"| Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe| 2:57
11.| "Since I Fell for You"| Buddy Johnson| 3:41
12.| "Always on My Mind"| Johnny Christopher, Mark James, Wayne Carson Thompson| 3:28

## Personnel

[edit]

* Willie Nelson - guitar, vocals
* Joe Sample \- piano, arrangements
* Norah Jones \- piano, vocals
* Mickey Raphael \- harmonica
* Diana Krall \- piano, vocals
* Anthony Wilson \- guitar
* Lewis Nash \- drums
* Jeff Hamilton \- drums
* Christian McBride \- bass guitar
* Robert Hurst \- bass guitar
* Jim Cox - Hammond B3 organ
* Jeff Clayton - alto saxophone

## Charts

[edit]

Chart performance for American Classic Chart (2009)  | Peak
position

|

Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] | 52
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[12] | 29
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] | 96
Irish Albums (IRMA)[14] | 3
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] | 3
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] | 16
US Billboard 200[17] | 43
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[18] | 14

## Sources

[edit]

1. ^ Beville Darden (August 28, 2009). "Willie Nelson Revisits Old Standards for New 'Classic'". The Boot. AOL Inc. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
2. ^ Beville Darden (August 26, 2009). "Willie 'Tweets' About Romance, Retirement and New Record". The Boot. AOL, Inc. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
3. ^ "American Classic by Willie Nelson". Metacritic. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
4. ^ AllMusic review
5. ^ "American Classic". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
6. ^ Jody Rosen (August 24, 2009). "Willie Nelson American Classic". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
7. ^ Nate Chinen (August 23, 2009). "American Classic". The New York Times. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
8. ^ Doug Freeman (August 14, 2009). "Texas Platters". Austin Chronicle. Austin Chronicle Corp. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
9. ^ "American Classic". Prefix Magazine. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
10. ^ Sarah Moore (October 13, 2009). "Willie Nelson: American Classic". PopMatters. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
11. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 201.
12. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Willie Nelson – American Classic". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Willie Nelson – American Classic" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
14. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Willie Nelson". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
15. ^ "Charts.nz – Willie Nelson – American Classic". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
16. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Willie Nelson – American Classic". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
17. ^ "Willie Nelson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
18. ^ "Willie Nelson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2022.

* v
* t
* e

Willie Nelson

* Albums
* Singles
* Songs
* Filmography
* Awards

Studio albums|

| 1960s|

* ...And Then I Wrote
* Here's Willie Nelson
* Country Willie: His Own Songs
* Country Favorites – Willie Nelson Style
* Make Way for Willie Nelson
* The Party's Over
* Texas in My Soul
* Good Times
* My Own Peculiar Way

|

1970s|

* Both Sides Now
* Laying My Burdens Down
* Willie Nelson and Family
* Yesterday's Wine
* The Words Don't Fit the Picture
* The Willie Way
* Shotgun Willie
* Phases and Stages
* Red Headed Stranger
* The Sound in Your Mind
* The Troublemaker
* To Lefty from Willie
* Waylon & Willie
* Stardust
* One for the Road
* Sings Kristofferson
* Pretty Paper
* The Electric Horseman

1980s|

* San Antonio Rose
* Honeysuckle Rose
* Family Bible
* Somewhere Over the Rainbow
* Always On My Mind
* In the Jailhouse Now
* WWII
* Pancho & Lefty
* Tougher Than Leather
* Take It to the Limit
* Without a Song
* Angel Eyes
* City of New Orleans
* Music from Songwriter
* Me & Paul
* Partners
* The Promiseland
* Island in the Sea
* Seashores of Old Mexico
* What a Wonderful World
* A Horse Called Music

1990s|

* Born for Trouble
* The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?
* Clean Shirt
* Across the Borderline
* Moonlight Becomes You
* Six Hours at Pedernales
* Healing Hands of Time
* Just One Love
* Augusta
* Spirit
* How Great Thou Art
* Teatro
* Night and Day

2000s|

* Tales Out of Luck (Me and the Drummer)
* Milk Cow Blues
* Rainbow Connection
* The Great Divide
* Nacogdoches
* It Always Will Be
* Countryman
* You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker
* Songbird
* Last of the Breed
* Moment of Forever
* Willie and the Wheel
* American Classic

2010s|

* Country Music
* Remember Me, Vol. 1
* Heroes
* Let's Face the Music and Dance
* To All the Girls...
* Band of Brothers
* December Day
* Django and Jimmie
* Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin
* For the Good Times: A Tribute to Ray Price
* God's Problem Child
* Willie Nelson and the Boys
* Last Man Standing
* My Way
* Ride Me Back Home

2020s|

* First Rose of Spring
* That's Life
* The Willie Nelson Family
* A Beautiful Time
* I Don't Know a Thing About Love
* Bluegrass
* The Border
* Last Leaf on the Tree
* Oh What a Beautiful World

Live albums|

* Country Music Concert
* Willie Nelson Live
* Willie and Family Live
* VH1 Storytellers: Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson
* All of Me – Live in Concert
* Willie Nelson & Friends – Stars & Guitars
* Live and in'
* Live at Billy Bob's Texas
* Outlaws and Angels
* Songs for Tsunami Relief: Austin to South Asia
* Two Men with the Blues
* Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles

Compilations|

* Columbus Stockade Blues
* Country Winners
* The Best of Willie Nelson
* Spotlight on Willie Nelson
* Country Willie
* What Can You Do to Me Now
* The Longhorn Jamboree Presents: Willie Nelson & His Friends
* Willie – Before His Time
* Face of a Fighter
* There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight
* Sweet Memories
* Always
* Willie Nelson: His Very Best
* Greatest Hits (& Some That Will Be)
* The Minstrel Man
* The Best of Willie Nelson
* 20 of the Best
* Collector's Series
* Half Nelson
* Love Songs
* Yours Always
* The Hungry Years
* Any Old Arms Won't Do
* Super Hits
* Super Hits, Volume 2
* Revolutions of Time...The Journey 1975/1993
* Willie Standard Time
* 16 Biggest Hits
* Good Ol' Country Singin'
* All the Songs I've Loved Before: 40 Unforgettable Songs
* Crazy: The Demo Sessions
* The Essential Willie Nelson
* Songs
* 16 Biggest Hits, Volume II
* One Hell of a Ride
* Playlist: The Very Best of Willie Nelson
* Legend: The Best of Willie Nelson
* Naked Willie
* Lost Highway

Books|

* Willie: An Autobiography
* The Facts of Life: And Other Dirty Jokes
* Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road
* It's a Long Story: My Life
* Pretty Paper

Related articles|

* Trigger
* The Family
* Farm Aid
* Fourth of July Picnic
* Willie Nelson statue
* BioWillie
* Willie's Reserve
* Willie's Place
* Willie's Roadhouse
* Luck Films
* Pedernales Country Club
* The Highwaymen
* Outlaw country
* Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award
* The Western Express
* Bobbie Nelson
* Shirley Collie Nelson
* National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
* Come and Toke It
* Wanted! The Outlaws

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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