| American Classic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 25, 2009 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | Blue Note | |||
| Producer | Tommy LiPuma | |||
| Willie Nelson chronology | ||||
| ||||
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.
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]
| Aggregate 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]
Pop Matters 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.
| 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 |
| 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 |
Everything Must Go is the ninth studio album by American rock group Steely Dan. It was released on June 10, 2003, by Reprise Records, and was the band's second album following their 20-year studio hiatus spanning 1980 through 2000, when they released Two Against Nature. Everything Must Go is the band's most recent studio album and their last with founding member Walter Becker before his death in 2017.
A Time to Love is the twenty-third studio album by Stevie Wonder, his first since Conversation Peace in 1995. Originally to have been completed in 2004, it was finally released to stores on October 18, 2005, following an exclusive digital release on Apple's iTunes Music Store on September 27.
The Look of Love is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer Diana Krall, released on September 18, 2001, by Verve Records. It became Krall's first album to top the Canadian Albums Chart. In 2002, the album earned Al Schmitt the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, and received the Juno Award for Album of the Year in Canada.
Live in Paris is the first live album and video album by Canadian singer Diana Krall, released on October 1, 2002, by Verve Records. The album was recorded during Krall's sold-out concerts at Paris's Olympia from November 29 to December 2, 2001, and includes songs from her albums Only Trust Your Heart (1995), All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio (1996), When I Look in Your Eyes (1999), and The Look of Love (2001).
Stardust is the 22nd studio album by Willie Nelson, released in April 1978. Its ten songs consist entirely of pop standards that Nelson picked from among his favorites. Nelson asked Booker T. Jones, who was his neighbor in Malibu at the time, to arrange a version of "Moonlight in Vermont". Impressed with Jones's work, Nelson asked him to produce the entire album. Nelson's decision to record such well-known tracks was controversial among Columbia executives because he had distinguished himself in the outlaw country genre. Recording the album took only ten days.
Christmas Songs is the eighth studio album by Canadian singer Diana Krall, performed with The Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. It was released on October 26, 2005, by Verve Records. This is Krall's first full-length album of Christmas songs, and her first studio album with a big band. The album was released on vinyl for the first time on October 14, 2016.
Stardust... the Great American Songbook, Volume III is the third studio album of pop standards by British musician Rod Stewart, released on 19 October 2004 by J Records, and his 22nd album overall. The album was dedicated to the Tartan Army.
From This Moment On is the ninth studio album by Canadian singer Diana Krall, released on September 19, 2006, by Verve Records. The album debuted atop the Canadian Albums Chart, making it Krall's third consecutive number-one album. It was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards.
I Can't Stop is the 27th studio album by American soul singer Al Green. It was released by Blue Note Records on November 17, 2003, in the United Kingdom and on November 18 in the United States. Produced by Willie Mitchell, the album was Green's first since 1995, his first for Blue Note, and his first collaboration with Mitchell since 1985's He Is the Light; it was also Green's first entirely secular recording since the 1970s.
Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles is a live tribute album by country singer Willie Nelson and jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. It was recorded during concerts at the Rose Theater in New York City, on February 9 and 10, 2009. The album received mixed reviews, in which the instrumentation of Marsalis' orchestra was praised by the critics.
Kisses on the Bottom is the fifteenth solo studio album by Paul McCartney, consisting primarily of covers of traditional pop music and jazz. Released in February 2012 on Starbucks' Hear Music label, it was McCartney's first studio album since Memory Almost Full in 2007. The album was produced by Tommy LiPuma and includes just two original compositions by McCartney: "My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts". The former features jazz drummer Karriem Riggins. Kisses on the Bottom peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart and number 5 on the US Billboard 200, while also topping Billboard magazine's Jazz Albums chart.
Thirty Miles West is the seventeenth studio album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released on June 5, 2012, and is Jackson's first album on his own Alan's Country Records in a joint venture with EMI Nashville. The album includes the singles "Long Way to Go," "So You Don't Have to Love Me Anymore" and "You Go Your Way."
Band of Brothers is the 63rd studio album by country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. The album marks Nelson's return to writing after sixteen years, with nine out of the fourteen tracks being new original songs.
Django and Jimmie is the sixth and final collaborative studio album by American country music artists Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. It was released on June 2, 2015, by Legacy Recordings. The album was Haggard's final studio album prior to his death of pneumonia in April 2016, 10 months after its release.
Wallflower is the twelfth studio album by Canadian singer Diana Krall, released on February 3, 2015, by Verve Records. The album was produced by David Foster. The album's supporting tour, Wallflower World Tour, began in Boston on February 25, 2015.
For the Good Times: A Tribute to Ray Price is the 65th solo studio album by country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson, released on September 19, 2016. The album features cover versions of songs recorded by Ray Price, who had died in 2013. Nelson, a former member of Price's Cherokee Cowboys and friend, recorded the twelve-track album at Ocean Way Studios, where Price had recorded his final album, Beauty Is. Engineered by Fred Foster and Bergen White, the album features Vince Gill on six tracks. The content spans Honky Tonk and Countrypolitan.
God's Problem Child is the 66th solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. It was released on April 28, 2017, by Legacy Recordings. The album features new songs co-written by Nelson and producer Buddy Cannon. Using their frequent method, Cannon and Nelson wrote the songs exchanging the lyrics in text messages, while Nelson later recorded his vocals in the studio.
Turn Up the Quiet is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian singer Diana Krall, released on May 5, 2017, by Verve Records.
Love Is Here to Stay is a collaborative studio album by American singer Tony Bennett and Canadian singer and pianist Diana Krall. It was released on September 14, 2018, by Verve Records and Columbia Records. The album features the New York–based jazz group the Bill Charlap Trio. An exclusive CD edition containing two bonus tracks was released at Target, while a red-colored opaque vinyl of the album was made available exclusively through Barnes & Noble.
This Dream of You is the fifteenth studio album by Canadian singer Diana Krall, released on September 25, 2020, by Verve Records. The album spawned two singles released in August 2020.
