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Early Willie Nelson... Feb 23, 2008
...but still amazing. Willie never fails to please, and this is proof. If you want just one CD of Willie's early years, you ought to check this one out. It's got all of the really big early hits, with Rhino's enhanced sound.
You get some rarities, as the title states. I don't want to ramble, so all I'm going to say is that if you like early Willie, and you want most (if not, all) of his really big early hits, they are all here.
Highly recommended for the Willie fan. ENJOY!!!
 I guess Nashvile was the roughest. Apr 11, 2007
Willie Nelson didn't become a country music superstar until 1975, when he was 42 years old. He had been trying to make it for over 20 years before he had his breakthrough hit, "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain". Before that, he was best known as a songwriter; having written hits for Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Faron Young, Billy Walker, Roy Orbison and others. He had some moderate success as a recording artist, with his biggest hit being "Touch Me" in 1962, which was a #7 Country hit. That song is on this CD, along with a few other minor hits and several non-hits. This material shows that Willie's unique singing style had been there from the beginning. Because he was so unique, prodcers often didn't know what to do with him, and sometimes stuck him with arrangements that didn't really suit him. Most of the material here works well, although not as well as when Nashville just gave up and let Willie do his own thing. This is a good sampler of Willie's early years. My personal favorite is the autobiographical "Me and Paul".
Great Cd Dec 30, 2006
I ordered this for a member of the family looking for a few particular songs. This cd had them all and then some. He was very satisfied with the quality of the cd. I was very satisfied with Amazon service and fast shipping of seller. Great cd for all those long time Willie Nelson fans!
An Eclectic and Visionary Collection Sep 25, 2006
This fascinating collection of early singles, rarities, and album tracks off of early Liberty and RCA recordings of Willie finds him searching for his voice, yet is entirely satisfying and remarkably consistent. It's a great record.
The early recordings of some of Willie's best known songs -- "Nite Life," "Crazy," "Healing Hands of Time," "Hello Walls" -- all benefit from the spare, open, and nuanced arrangements found here.
Willie's early rockabilly efforts are particularly successful -- "Rainy Day Blues" sounds a bit like early Mose Alison, and "Everything But You" could have fit easily onto a Johnny Cash or Elvis Sun Session recording.
Willie's bright and tasteful arrangement of "Bring Me Sunshine" -- perhaps the only song here that is not about a lost love and feeling blue and lonely -- clearly presages the work he would do a decade later with Booker T and the MGs on Stardust. I hope the album that track came off of is re-released in its entirety soon. Finally, his clever and economical songwriting style is highlighted in "One in a Row," one of his finest songs on an otherwise superlative album.
Fans of Willie would be well-served to pick up this early collection, it does not disappoint.
Outstanding Album May 15, 2006
Let me start by saying that I'm not a big fan of Willie Nelson's voice and delivery of a song. But, I doubt if there will ever be (or has ever been) a songwriter of Willie's caliber....well, maybe Don Gibson? Still, this collection of early Willie Nelson is amazing, and in my opinion, his best vocal work. I'm especially partial to "Mr Record Man", "One in A Row", and "Man With the Blues". There's also an assortment of Willie Nelson penned numbers made famous by others, including "Hello Walls" and "Funny How Time Slips Away". While his take lacks the smoothness of Faron Young and Ray Price, it is interesting to see how Willie envisioned their delivery. It would be worth your time and money to grab this CD while it's still available. It presents a glance into a Willie Nelson that most folks didn't realize existed; a Willie Nelson that didn't quite fit into the Nashville Sound formula.
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