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Willie Nelson
The Complete Atlantic Sessions
Part Three: Live at the
Texas Opry House
(Atlantic/Rhino)
The Music Box's #3 boxed set of 2006
First Appeared in The Music Box, July 2006, Volume 13, #7
Written by John Metzger
Willie Nelson
Live at the Texas Opry House
(Atlantic/Rhino)
For the better part of the past 30-odd years, Willie Nelson has taken the
same, basic approach to his concerts, and imbued with a rock ’n‘ roll attitude,
they typically have served as rousing showcases for his full body of work. By
constructing medleys from his songs, he has been able to develop a tighter
narrative framework for his performances, while also squeezing even more of his
best-loved material into each set. The roots for his traveling sideshow
initially were planted in the early ’70s, and the scrapped album Live at the
Texas Opry House offers an early glimpse at where it all began. Recorded
over the course of two nights in 1974, just a few months after Phases and
Stages was released, the collection begins with a rousing rendition of
Whiskey River that exudes a free-spirited playful air. Likewise, his
autobiographical road tale Me & Paul assumes an easy-going country lilt.
What makes Live at the Texas Opry House truly shine, however, is how
well the instrumentalists worked together to bring the material to life. Fiddler
Johnny Gimble, for example, singlehandedly orchestrated Funny How Time Slips
Away; pianist Bobbie Nelson shaded Walkin’ with the redemptive
strains of Amazing Grace; and, driven by Mickey Raphael’s chugging
harmonica, Nelson’s frenzied guitar, and a stampeding rhythm section, Bloody
Mary Morning was tackled at breakneck speed and fused to Bob Wills’ Take
Me Back to Tulsa. It’s only fitting that the final track on the endeavor is
a previously unreleased studio jam titled Willie’s After Hours during
which the band spends nearly 14 minutes fully exploring a smoky, blues-baked
groove. Once liberated from Nashville, Nelson’s adventurous ambitions began to
bubble to the surface of his work, and taken in full, The Complete Atlantic
Sessions captures a rising star whose fame and fortune lurked just around
the corner. 
This is the second installment of a three-part series, which will examine The Complete Atlantic Sessions
album by album. The entire set is rated: ½
Part One: Shotgun Willie
Part Two: Phases and Stages
The Complete Atlantic Sessions is available from Amazon.com.
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2006 The Music Box
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