Willie Nelson – The Border Review

Seventy-five solo studio albums. Willie Nelson is a workhorse. That staggering number does not include his collaborative efforts, either. The Border, his latest flicker of country nostalgia, is a jumble of covers and originals. Its eponymous single takes the Rodney Crowell and Allen Shamblin song and sheds light on what becomes the great consistency yet overall shortcoming of Nelson. He may have more than a few dozen albums under his belt, but few are of overwhelming quality. This latest single, ahead of The Border’s release, shines a light on how few artists have the longevity needed to secure consistency over almost seventy years. Nelson continues with a love of the genre and a fascination with creation, but it does not mean every effort is a sharp one or a necessarily career-changing experience. Some, like The Border, exist as comfortable and enjoyable stock for the hardened fans of Nelson. 

A charming trail song powerhouse was not expected yet here it is. Wonderfully calming instrumental work provides this gliding charm yet the desire to turn homeward provides a tense adventure, kindled well by Nelson. Hundreds of albums litter his career and yet The Border sounds like an example of the very best. Gifted with this longevity and consistency in a genre now kept alive by specialists, the greats of the once-popular acoustic flurry are in their twilight years. Give it a decade and there is nobody to replace the legends. It means the likes of Nelson, whose collected discography would take some months, if not years, to appreciate properly, are in no short supply. Quantity and quality are married by this track, a bold and confident scope within as a solitary traveller of the road seeks their fortune. 

Where its similar tone and acoustic twang are a comfortable fit for those with a desire to listen to all they can of the country genre, there is a challenge to be found in the lyrical competency. Nelson has the inevitable luxury of being a musician in his final years and with it comes an ever-present tone of reflection. There is no way around it and to enjoy it is to accept it will inevitably mark the core. But The Border holds a different light, a strong undertaking of how the experiences as a country constant have changed him, not how he has changed the landscape of the genre. From this vantage point in adapting the life of a border guard comes a perspective on the troubles and politics of the time, a heavy burden of the middleman in this fight. Nelson adapts this with the shuffling dismay of a refined musician.  

This should be no surprise yet The Border marks a shock challenge from Nelson. He does not take these final albums for granted and, if anything, it is remarkable to hear challenging momentum in his songs still. The Border may be a cover but it is as intense as the most personable of Nelson’s discography. A track hellbent on studying the heartbreak and horror of working a job which exposes us to the worst of life and the impact it has on us. Roles in this life which chew up those in a position of observance are laid out and Nelson provides a necessary openness, a considered understanding of those less fortunate, all from the uncomfortable bird’s eye view of a man paid to oversee it.