I bought this classic album when I was in Texas (it seemed like it would make more sense listening to it there) after reading a history of the album in a Rolling Stone article.
A concept album about a roaming preacher who had done a bad thing (he killed his wife and her lover) and has gone on the lam, Red Headed Stranger is perhaps the strangest country western album ever. But man o man is it great.
Done in the form of a musical, Nelson wrote the whole thing (according to the lore in the article) on a road trip from California to Texas. The storyline, the songs, everything was recorded by his wife on a pad of paper as they drove through the night.
That's the way to write. The only song Nelson didn't write was the hit "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain" which is a cowboy classic from the 1940's. It's a tremendous addition here. Willie Nelson sings it with soul and though it's just over two minutes long, leaves a lasting impression.
The story is great, the piano (by Nelson's sister Bobby) is a central instrument and you can smell the bar rooms where that kind of soulful piano is played. "Just As I Am" (the hymn) shows up a couple of times and fits right in.
The whole album was recorded in just under two days and helped start the outlaw country movement, which gives a little legitimacy to what is otherwise a bankrupt genre.
A classic with soul and a bit of dust on it.
5 stars
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