Willie Nelson – Workin’ Man Blues Review

At least the seemingly generative artificial intelligence slop covers have come to an end. Culled before they became a bigger problem. Workhorse Willie Nelson is back in the studio again, and this should be no surprise. He is beyond prolific. No artist, bar Bob Dylan, is quite like him. Workin’ Man Blues is another in a set of songs which hears Nelson interpret the songwriters of today. He did as much with Last Leaf on the Tree, a collection of covers where everyone from Tom Waits to The Flaming Lips was given the stylish Nelson treatment. Nelson isn’t too far from his best, either, and there’s a consistency to his works which continues to drive his discography parallel with popular country newcomers. Long may it continue. Workin’ Man Blues may be an expectedly warm, acoustic-driven cover of the Merle Haggard classic, but it’s an incredibly welcome and warm piece of work. Nothing less should be expected from Nelson at this stage of his career.  

Those lighter guitar strums should not be taken for granted. Keeping the thrills of classic country music alive is a hard-fought battle. Too much dreck and wasted talent in the genre, not just from the new voices, either. Part of the problem is a reliance on relatable clichés, as though each songwriter has a sponsorship from Jack Daniels and Ford. But these are the classic structures of a style of country songwriting which hears the revolution of American industry at play. The fact it has stuck around so long is not a credit to the ongoing successes of manufacturing but a worrying moment to see how the country has not offered anything worth singing of since then. It is the same across the globe, where countries like the United Kingdom inspire a kick against the times because what’s happening here and now is of little inspiration. 

Influence is everything on the future songwriters, and for the US, it’s rather telling that even the legends are looking back, not forward. Nelson sings great still, plays well, and is backed by a strong instrumental selection as he covers Workin’ Man Blues. More upbeat than his most recent albums but no less charming or focused. Drinks in the tavern and a song for the working man is fine enough as a cover, and Nelson offers no suggestion of adding more to it. Gone are the days when this simple route would be enough as a song of its own. Charming cover work and a soft blues-like swing to the song is what Nelson offers. Life is not as black and white as Haggard’s day, but the colourful charms Nelson can bring to a song through those harmonica blows and constant, flowing acoustics, are what keep Workin’ Man Blues alive.  

Nelson fans are in no short supply of new work from the veteran guitarist. It would take years to truly dig into and interpret all of his releases, and the constant offer of new material is a delight. An instrumental drive which sounds like a jam, a still-solid voice working hard in a genre with less quality as the years go on. Nelson is a flagship, a cornerstone of the genre, and for good reason. Workin’ Man Blues is successfully adapted, though it feels almost inevitable given the closeness of Nelson and Haggard’s works. Still, we mustn’t take that familiarity and similarity for granted. Nelson is a firm hand of the country genre, and his charms are irreplaceable. It makes even the most easy-going covers feel like an experience, however niche it may be. Workin’ Man Blues is a soft and steady delight from a veteran of the game.