Last Leaf on the Tree

Last updated
Last Leaf on the Tree
Willie Nelson - Last Leaf on the Tree.png
Studio album by
Willie Nelson
ReleasedNovember 1, 2024
Studio
Genre Country
Length51:23
Label Legacy
Producer Micah Nelson
Willie Nelson chronology
The Border
(2024)		Last Leaf on the Tree
(2024)
Singles from Last Leaf
  1. "Last Leaf"
    Released: August 15, 2024
  2. "Do You Realize??"
    Released: September 19, 2024
  3. "Lost Cause"
    Released: October 25, 2024

Last Leaf on the Tree is the 76th solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. It was released on November 1, 2024, through Legacy Recordings. [1] Produced and curated by Micah Nelson, the album contains songs from songwriters such as Beck, Tom Waits, Neil Young and Nina Simone, a new version of Nelson's 1962 song "The Ghost" and an original song ("The Color of Sound") cowritten by Willie and Micah Nelson. [2] Micah Nelson identified the through-line of the album as "facing death with grace". [3]

Contents

The album's lead single and title track, a cover of Tom Waits's song "Last Leaf" from the 2011 album Bad as Me , was released on August 15, 2024. [3] The album's second single, a cover of The Flaming Lips' song "Do You Realize??", from their 2002 album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots , was released on September 19, 2024. The third single, a cover of Beck's "Lost Cause" from his 2002 album Sea Change , was released on October 25, 2024.

Background

Nelson's manager Mark Rothbaum first suggested that Micah Nelson should produce an album for his father. [4] Micah Nelson took the minimalist production of Spirit as the starting point for the sound of the album, which was initially conceived as a Tom Waits tribute album before expanding in scope. [4] Texas Monthly described the album as "the closest thing to a true Trigger record since 2013’s Let’s Face the Music and Dance "; Micah Nelson aimed for the iconic guitar "to be the lead character". [5] Last Leaf on the Tree ends with a hidden track, "Looking for Trouble", described by Micah Nelson as "a very unserious moment." [4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 84/100 [6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Arts Desk Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]
FT Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
i Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]

Last Leaf on the Tree received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 84 out of 100 based on four reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [6]

Tim Cumming at The Arts Desk found Last Leaf on the Tree to be "on a higher level" than Nelson's "excellent" previous album The Border , praising Nelson's voice and guitar work, the production and choice of material. [8] No Depression concluded that "On Last Leaf on the Tree, Willie Nelson is still doing what he’s always done best: interpreting the songs of others and writing his own memorable melodies." [11]

Track listing

Last Leaf on the Tree track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Last Leaf"
3:14
2."If It Wasn't Broken"Sydney Lyndella Ward3:23
3."Lost Cause" Beck David Hansen 3:32
4."Come Ye" Nina Simone 3:34
5."Keep Me in Your Heart"
3:35
6."Robbed Blind" Keith Richards 4:03
7."House Where Nobody Lives"Waits4:10
8."Are You Ready for the Country?" Neil Young 3:46
9."Do You Realize??"
3:11
10."Wheels"Micah Nelson3:25
11."Broken Arrow" ( [note 1] )Young6:40
12."Color of Sound"
  • Willie Nelson
  • M. Nelson
3:39
13."The Ghost" (includes hidden track [note 2] )W. Nelson5:11
Total length:51:23

Notes

  1. ↑ Contains a snippet of "Mr. Soul"
  2. ↑ "The Ghost" ends at 3:30, followed by hidden track "Looking for Trouble", which starts at 3:45.

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

Charts

Chart performance for Last Leaf on the Tree
Chart (2024)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [12] 63
Scottish Albums (OCC) [13] 14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [14] 37
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [15] 39
UK Americana Albums (OCC) [16] 5
UK Country Albums (OCC) [17] 1

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References

  1. ↑ DeVille, Chris (August 15, 2024). "Willie Nelson Announces 152nd Album Last Leaf on the Tree". Stereogum . Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  2. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (August 15, 2024). "Willie Nelson Releasing 'Last Leaf on the Tree' Covers LP With Tracks Written By Beck, Tom Waits, Flaming Lips, Neil Young & More". Billboard . Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Grow, Kory (August 15, 2024). "Hear Willie Nelson's Tom Waits Cover Ahead of Album That Finds Him 'Facing Death With Grace'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 Blackstock, Peter (September 10, 2024). "WILLIE NELSON THE LAST LEAF ON THE TREE". Medium . Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  5. ↑ Spong, John (October 30, 2024). "Love, Death, and a Bleating Goat: Inside Willie's Strange and Beautiful New Album". Texas Monthly . Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Last Leaf on the Tree by Willie Nelson". Metacritic. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  7. ↑ Collar, Matt (1 November 2024). "Last Leaf on the Tree review". AllMusic. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Cumming, Tim (1 November 2024). "Album: Willie Nelson - Last Leaf on the Tree". The Arts Desk. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  9. ↑ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (30 October 2024). "Album: Willie Nelson - The Border". FT . Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  10. ↑ Power, Ed (1 November 2024). "Willie Nelson is still full of youthful mischief at 91". i . Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  11. ↑ Carrigan, Henry. "ALBUM REVIEW: On 'Last Leaf on the Tree' Willie Nelson Contemplates Still Standing". No Depression . Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Longplay Charts vom 12. November 2024". Ö3 Austria Top 40 . Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Willie Nelson – Last Leaf on the Tree". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
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