The Essential Willie Nelson
The Essential Willie Nelson | ||||
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Greatest hits album by Willie Nelson | ||||
Released | April 1, 2003 | |||
Recorded | 1961–2003 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 120:00 | |||
Label | Sony BMG | |||
Producer | Nick Shaffran, Al Quaglieri | |||
Willie Nelson chronology | ||||
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The Essential Willie Nelson is a two-disc compilation of Willie Nelson songs. This digitally remastered compilation covers five decades of Nelson's recording career, and is part of Sony's Essential series of compilation albums. A 2009 release in limited Essential 3.0 series came with a bonus disc of eight fan-favourites and rarities. The album was re-released with an updated track listing on October 16, 2015.
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
David Quantick of Q wrote, "[T]he songs here sound fresh and almost youthful. The arrangements are sparky, too... All the sheer scope of Nelson's writing is displayed."[2] In a retrospective review, AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that "The Essential Willie Nelson gets about as close as a set could to providing the basics".[1]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Night Life" | Willie Nelson | Single A-side of Bellaire 107 (1960) | 2:32 |
2. | "Hello Walls" | Willie Nelson | ...And Then I Wrote (1962) | 2:24 |
3. | "Crazy" | Willie Nelson | ...And Then I Wrote (1962) | 2:52 |
4. | "Funny How Time Slips Away" | Willie Nelson | ...And Then I Wrote (1962) | 3:03 |
5. | "I Never Cared For You" | Willie Nelson | Monument single A-side (1964) | 2:32 |
6. | "The Party's Over" | Willie Nelson | The Party's Over and Other Great Willie Nelson Songs (1967) | 2:29 |
7. | "Good Times" | Willie Nelson | Good Times (1968) | 2:28 |
8. | "Me and Paul" | Willie Nelson | Yesterday's Wine (1971) | 3:49 |
9. | "Shotgun Willie" | Willie Nelson | Shotgun Willie (1973) | 2:39 |
10. | "Bloody Mary Morning" | Willie Nelson | Phases and Stages (1974) | 2:49 |
11. | "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" | Fred Rose | Red Headed Stranger (1975) | 2:21 |
12. | "Good Hearted Woman" (with Waylon Jennings) | Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson | Wanted! The Outlaws (1976) | 2:59 |
13. | "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time" | Lefty Frizzell, Jim Beck | The Sound in Your Mind (1976) | 2:06 |
14. | "Uncloudy Day" | Josiah Kelley Alwood | The Troublemaker (1976) | 4:40 |
15. | "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" (with Waylon Jennings) | Ed Bruce, Patsy Bruce | Waylon & Willie (1978) | 2:23 |
16. | "Georgia on My Mind" | Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell | Stardust (1978) | 4:21 |
17. | "Blue Skies" | Irving Berlin | Stardust (1978) | 3:35 |
18. | "All of Me" | Seymour Simons, Gerald Marks | Stardust (1978) | 3:54 |
19. | "Heartbreak Hotel" (with Leon Russell) | Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden, Elvis Presley | One for the Road (1979) | 3:03 |
20. | "Help Me Make It Through the Night" | Kris Kristofferson | Sings Kristofferson (1979) | 4:01 |
21. | "Whiskey River" (live, April 1978) | Johnny Bush | Willie and Family Live (1978) | 3:31 |
22. | "Stay a Little Longer" (live, April 1978) | Bob Wills, Tommy Duncan | Willie and Family Live (1978) | 3:25 |
Total length: | 1:08:16 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" | Sharon Vaughn | The Electric Horseman (1980) | 3:06 |
2. | "Faded Love" (with Ray Price) | Bob Wills, Billy Jack Wills | San Antonio Rose (1980) | 3:51 |
3. | "On the Road Again" | Willie Nelson | Honeysuckle Rose (1980) | 2:33 |
4. | "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" | Willie Nelson | Honeysuckle Rose (1980) | 4:31 |
5. | "Always on My Mind" | Johnny Christopher, Mark James, Wayne Carson | Always on My Mind (1982) | 3:32 |
6. | "Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning" | Gary P. Nunn, Donna Farar | Always on My Mind (1982) | 4:21 |
7. | "Pancho and Lefty" (with Merle Haggard) | Townes Van Zandt | Pancho & Lefty (1983) | 4:48 |
8. | "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (with Julio Iglesias) | Hal David, Albert Hammond | 1100 Bel Air Place (1984) | 3:34 |
9. | "City of New Orleans" | Steve Goodman | City of New Orleans (1984) | 4:52 |
10. | "Seven Spanish Angels" (with Ray Charles) | Troy Seals, Eddie Setser | Friendship (1984) | 3:52 |
11. | "Forgiving You Was Easy" | Willie Nelson | Me & Paul (1985) | 2:49 |
12. | "Highwayman" (with Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson) | Jimmy Webb | Highwayman (1985) | 3:04 |
13. | "Living in the Promiseland" | David Lynn Jones | The Promiseland (1986) | 3:22 |
14. | "Nothing I Can Do About It Now" | Beth Nielsen Chapman | A Horse Called Music (1989) | 3:19 |
15. | "Graceland" | Paul Simon | Across the Borderline (1993) | 4:46 |
16. | "Everywhere I Go" (with Emmylou Harris) | Willie Nelson | Teatro (1998) | 3:52 |
17. | "Slow Dancing" (U2 featuring Willie Nelson) | Bono, The Edge | "If God Will Send His Angels" CD single B-side (1997) | 4:02 |
18. | "Mendocino County Line" (with Lee Ann Womack) | Matt Serletic, Bernie Taupin | The Great Divide (2002) | 4:33 |
19. | "One Time Too Many" (with Steven Tyler and Aerosmith) | Steven Tyler, Richie Supa | previously unreleased, recorded 1987 | 5:23 |
Total length: | 1:14:22 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
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1. | "Remember Me" | Scotty Wiseman | Red Headed Stranger (1975) | 2:52 |
2. | "I Love You a Thousand Ways" | Lefty Frizzell, Jim Beck | To Lefty from Willie (1977) | 2:59 |
3. | "Love Me Tender" | George R. Poulton, Ken Darby | Porky's Revenge! (1985) | 2:32 |
4. | "Midnight Rider" | Gregg Allman, Robert Kim Payne | The Electric Horseman (1979) | 2:57 |
5. | "Philadelphia Lawyer" | Woody Guthrie | Folkways: A Vision Shared (1988) | 2:59 |
6. | "Why Do I Have to Choose" (with Waylon Jennings) | Willie Nelson | Take It to the Limit (1983) | 3:12 |
7. | "Let It Be Me" | Gilbert Bécaud, Manny Curtis, Pierre Delanoë | Always on My Mind (1982) | 3:33 |
8. | "Still Is Still Moving to Me" | Willie Nelson | Across the Borderline (1993) | 3:29 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Night Life" | Willie Nelson | Single A-side of Bellaire 107 (1960) | 2:32 |
2. | "Hello Walls" | Willie Nelson | ...And Then I Wrote (1962) | 2:24 |
3. | "Crazy" | Willie Nelson | ...And Then I Wrote (1962) | 2:52 |
4. | "Funny How Time Slips Away" | Willie Nelson | ...And Then I Wrote (1962) | 3:03 |
5. | "The Party's Over" | Willie Nelson | The Party's Over and Other Great Willie Nelson Songs (1967) | 2:29 |
6. | "I Gotta Get Drunk" | Willie Nelson | Both Sides Now (1970) | 2:13 |
7. | "Yesterday's Wine" | Willie Nelson | Yesterday's Wine (1971) | 3:12 |
8. | "Me and Paul" | Willie Nelson | Yesterday's Wine (1971) | 3:49 |
9. | "Family Bible" | Willie Nelson | Yesterday's Wine (1971) | 3:10 |
10. | "Bloody Mary Morning" | Willie Nelson | Phases and Stages (1974) | 2:49 |
11. | "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" | Fred Rose | Red Headed Stranger (1975) | 2:21 |
12. | "Good Hearted Woman" (with Waylon Jennings) | Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson | Wanted! The Outlaws (1976) | 2:59 |
13. | "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time" | Lefty Frizzell, Jim Beck | The Sound in Your Mind (1976) | 2:06 |
14. | "Uncloudy Day" | Josiah Kelley Alwood | The Troublemaker (1976) | 4:40 |
15. | "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" (with Waylon Jennings) | Ed Bruce, Patsy Bruce | Waylon & Willie (1978) | 2:23 |
16. | "Georgia on My Mind" | Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell | Stardust (1978) | 4:21 |
17. | "Blue Skies" | Irving Berlin | Stardust (1978) | 3:35 |
18. | "Heartbreak Hotel" (with Leon Russell) | Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden, Elvis Presley | One for the Road (1979) | 3:03 |
19. | "Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)" | Kris Kristofferson | Sings Kristofferson (1979) | 5:51 |
20. | "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" | Sharon Vaughn | The Electric Horseman (1980) | 3:06 |
21. | "Faded Love" (with Ray Price) | Bob Wills, Billy Jack Wills | San Antonio Rose (1980) | 3:51 |
22. | "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" | Willie Nelson | Honeysuckle Rose (1980) | 4:31 |
23. | "Whiskey River" (live, April 1978) | Johnny Bush | Willie and Family Live (1978) | 3:31 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Originally from | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "On the Road Again" (Live) | Willie Nelson | Honeysuckle Rose (1980) | 2:33 |
2. | "Always on My Mind" | Johnny Christopher, Mark James, Wayne Carson | Always on My Mind (1982) | 3:32 |
3. | "Pancho and Lefty" (with Merle Haggard) | Townes Van Zandt | Pancho & Lefty (1983) | 4:48 |
4. | "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (with Julio Iglesias) | Hal David, Albert Hammond | 1100 Bel Air Place (1984) | 3:34 |
5. | "City of New Orleans" | Steve Goodman | City of New Orleans (1984) | 4:52 |
6. | "Seven Spanish Angels" (with Ray Charles) | Troy Seals, Eddie Setser | Friendship (1984) | 3:52 |
7. | "Forgiving You Was Easy" | Willie Nelson | Me & Paul (1985) | 2:49 |
8. | "Highwayman" (with Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson) | Jimmy Webb | Highwayman (1985) | 3:04 |
9. | "Living in the Promiseland" | David Lynn Jones | The Promiseland (1986) | 3:22 |
10. | "The End of Understanding" (with Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson) | Willie Nelson | The Road Goes On Forever (1995) | 2:41 |
11. | "Across the Borderline" | Ry Cooder, John Hiatt, Jim Dickinson | Across the Borderline (1993) | 4:40 |
12. | "Still Is Still Moving to Me" | Willie Nelson | Across the Borderline (1993) | 3:29 |
13. | "I Never Cared For You" | Willie Nelson | Teatro (1998) | 2:18 |
14. | "Just Breathe" (with Lukas Nelson) | Eddie Vedder | Heroes (2012) | 4:02 |
15. | "I Wish I Didn’t Love You So" | Frank Loesser | Let's Face the Music and Dance (2013) | 4:18 |
16. | "From Here to the Moon and Back" (with Dolly Parton) | Dolly Parton | To All the Girls... (2013) | 4:01 |
17. | "The Wall" | Willie Nelson, Buddy Cannon | Band of Brothers (2014) | 3:29 |
18. | "Band of Brothers" | Willie Nelson, Buddy Cannon | Band of Brothers (2014) | 2:51 |
19. | "Who'll Buy My Memories?" (with Bobbie Nelson) | Willie Nelson | December Day: Willie’s Stash, Vol. 1 (2014) | 2:47 |
20. | "Unfair Weather Friend" (with Merle Haggard) | Marla Cannon-Goodman, Ward Davis | Django and Jimmie (2015) | 4:14 |
21. | "It's All Going to Pot" (with Merle Haggard and Jamey Johnson) | Buddy Cannon, Jamey Johnson, Larry Shell | Django and Jimmie (2015) | 2:56 |
22. | "Roll Me Up" (with Snoop Dogg, Kris Kristofferson and Jamey Johnson) | Willie Nelson, Buddy Cannon, Rich Alves, John Colgin, Mike McQuerry | Heroes (2012) | 3:25 |
Charts
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA)[7] | Platinum | 944,700[6] |
References
- ^ a b AllMusic review
- ^ a b Quantick, David (April 1996). "Willie Nelson: The Essential Willie Nelson". Q: 129.
- ^ "Willie Nelson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ "Willie Nelson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt (October 9, 2019). "Top Country Catalog Album Sales: October 9, 2019". RoughStock. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
- ^ "American album certifications – Willie Nelson – The Essential Willie Nelson". Recording Industry Association of America.
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2020s |
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- Country Music Concert
- Willie Nelson Live
- Willie and Family Live
- VH1 Storytellers: Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson
- All of Me – Live in Concert
- Willie Nelson & Friends – Stars & Guitars
- Live and in'
- Live at Billy Bob's Texas
- Outlaws and Angels
- Songs for Tsunami Relief: Austin to South Asia
- Two Men with the Blues
- Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles
- Columbus Stockade Blues
- Country Winners
- The Best of Willie Nelson
- Spotlight on Willie Nelson
- Country Willie
- What Can You Do to Me Now
- The Longhorn Jamboree Presents: Willie Nelson & His Friends
- Willie – Before His Time
- Face of a Fighter
- There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight
- Sweet Memories
- Always
- Willie Nelson: His Very Best
- Greatest Hits (& Some That Will Be)
- The Minstrel Man
- The Best of Willie Nelson
- 20 of the Best
- Collector's Series
- Half Nelson
- Love Songs
- Yours Always
- The Hungry Years
- Any Old Arms Won't Do
- Super Hits
- Super Hits, Volume 2
- Revolutions of Time...The Journey 1975/1993
- Willie Standard Time
- 16 Biggest Hits
- Good Ol' Country Singin'
- All the Songs I've Loved Before: 40 Unforgettable Songs
- Crazy: The Demo Sessions
- The Essential Willie Nelson
- Songs
- 16 Biggest Hits, Volume II
- One Hell of a Ride
- Playlist: The Very Best of Willie Nelson
- Legend: The Best of Willie Nelson
- Naked Willie
- Lost Highway
- Willie: An Autobiography
- The Facts of Life: And Other Dirty Jokes
- Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road
- It's a Long Story: My Life
- Pretty Paper
- Trigger
- The Family
- Farm Aid
- Fourth of July Picnic
- Willie Nelson statue
- BioWillie
- Willie's Reserve
- Willie's Place
- Willie's Roadhouse
- Luck Films
- Pedernales Country Club
- The Highwaymen
- Outlaw country
- Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award
- The Western Express
- Bobbie Nelson
- Shirley Collie Nelson
- National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
- Come and Toke It
- Wanted! The Outlaws
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