Great People; excellant tunes
Fine older country standards preformed by two "old hands" at the throttle. As for Willie Nelson of course everyone not living in a cave somewhere is well familiar with the myriad of songs he's written and certainly the many he's recorded. Leons reputation should also at least be in the back of any ones mind that's over 30 or so, from his early career through his association with Joe Cocker and still playing that backyard size piano as backup with various notable bands. All and all I consider the working together of two such musical greats an absolute credit to the rather crass and certainly fickle music industry a hit of large proportions.

Road classic from 1979
When this was first released, I found myself on a long summer road trip through several states, and my cassette copy got extensive play. This is great for listening while rolling down the highway. Both Willie and Leon are in great form. This CD was apparently out of print for a while, but it's back and at a bargain price. This album is great fun, showcases the many talents of Leon Russell, and Willie's voice is at it's best. You can't go wrong. Standouts: "Trouble In Mind", "Danny Boy", "Summertime", "Stormy Weather", "One For My Baby And One More For The Road".

An odd duck in Willie's now huge catalogue of creativity...
This 1979 collaboration was issued as a double LP, after Willie became a big star due to his "Red Headed Stranger" masterpiece (still his best album ever.) It predates his "Stardust" LP of Great American Songbook standards, but the final nine tracks of the 20 on here are in that vein. That style isn't my favorite Willie, however. The first 11 songs on here, the ones in which Leon Russell gets to sing sometimes, are the best. "Detour" and "I Saw the Light" are great, and so are "The Wild Side of Life" and "Riding Down the Canyon" (an even better version can be found on Ramblin' Jack Elliot's "Friends" CD with Arlo Guthrie.) The biggest flaw here, in my view, is a terrible version of "Trouble in Mind" which features Maria Muldaur on vocal and Bonnie Raitt on guitar. To me, it is way overproduced and mishandled...compare it to Cisco Houston's powerful and spare version, for instance. For true Willie fans, who don't have this hard-to-find one on the shelf yet, it is worth the asking price. For casual fans, you can skip this and not have missed any classic Nelson performances.

Won't you make the music easy and sad?
This 1979 album is a collaboration between Willie Nelson and Leon Russell. It was originally released as a double album, with the two records being quite different from each other.

The first record featured Willie and Leon singing and playing mostly country & western songs, accompanied by the members of Willie's band. This is very enjoyable music, with Willie and Leon obviously having a lot of fun playing these oldies. "Heartbreak Hotel" was released as a single and became a #1 Country hit.

The second record featured Willie singing mostly pop standards, accompanied only by Leon's keyboard playing. Quite a different feel from the first half of the album. Willie is great at singing this type of material and Leon provides tasteful, understated accompaniment. This is very good, especially their outstanding take on Frank Sinatra's "One For My Baby".

Taken together, the two halves of the album equal one fine CD.

One For The Road a Must for Willie and Leon Fans
This is a great work by two of the best artists of our time. Leon Russell's first ever album was country and for my money that is his best venue. The first half of this CD are duets by Willie and Leon and are some of Willie's best of many duets he has done with other singers.