And if you have a soft spot in your heart for old tunes and the old west, hearing Willie & Leon harmonizing on Sioux City Sue and Don't Fence Me In will make you smile.

I had this album on tape many years ago, but somehow lost it. I've mourned the loss ever since. Just now I found the empty cassette box, and realized I might be able to find the album on Amazon. I'm ordering it because it's a treasure chest of rare beauties.

22 of 22 found the following review helpful:


Excellent covers of classic songs  Mar 30, 2003 By Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan"
Despite equal billing, this is really a Willie Nelson album with Leon as his special guest. The songs are mostly, if not exclusively, covers of old songs. Many are from the Great American Songbook, but there are others including Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis Presley), Danny Boy (a traditional Irish folk song), I saw the light (Hank Williams) and Wild side of life (Hank Thompson).

In typical Willie Nelson style, many of these songs are done in a more laid-back style - this is particularly noticeable on Don't fence me in (the Cole Porter song that was a huge success for Bing Crosby and the Andrews sisters) and Heartbreak hotel. Whether you enjoy these versions will depend on your personal taste. I enjoy them as a contrast to the originals, but the originals are still the best.

Willie and Leon are more in keeping with the originals on ballads such as Always (the Irving Berlin classic) and Far away places (one of my favorite Margaret Whiting songs).

If, like me, you enjoy Willie's other interpretations of old standards, especially the albums Stardust, Somewhere over the rainbow, Without a song and What a wonderful world, then you will enjoy this set.

21 of 21 found the following review helpful:


This album's a gem,and contains songs unobtainable elsewhere  Oct 07, 1999 By rick lindskog
This one should be in the stable of every Willie Nelson fan. It also features Leon Russell, but he is clearly the sideman on this album. It contains many old sentimental favorites (Autumn Leaves,Danny Boy), haunting torch songs ( Because of You, Stormy Weather), and even western ballads (Don't Fence Me In, Ridin' Down the Canyon). The selection of songs is fantastic. One drawback is the age of the album, which has a channel-to-channel vascillation. One assumes this is to approximate true stereo. I had the eight track of this album years ago, and the CD sounds the same, hence four stars instead of five. But-this minor issue is eclipsed by the talent of Nelson and Russell singing together. Fans of the Stardust album will welcome this collection of twenty songs as an asset to their library. I couldn't imagine not owning a copy.

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:


Slice of Heaven  Jul 18, 2006 By Jonathan Schaefer
For starters I can't believe there are only four reviews for this gem -- this is far better than Over the Rainbow -- the production is polished and it sounds as if everyone is not only in the same studio but on the same page.

I'm not going to knock it down a star, but if I would, it would be due to the fact that this is not Willie and Leon, it's basically Willie. Darn, and Leon was in such fine form also -- their songs however are incredible.

I got this cd because I was following my natural curiosity and looking up Leon (I have always loved Hank Wilson vol 1 right after Carney) and was delighted to find Leon and Willie together.

This collection is KILLER. If you like Willie on Stardust; it's perfect. If you like Willie doing "traditional" country; it's perfect for that also. If you like Willie turning a song inside out and making you love it; you got it -- it's all here.

The man is AMAZING and Leon is pretty darn good too.

Get it -- if you're a Willie fan and you don't have it in your collection, well, shame, shame on you!

8 of 8 found the following review helpful:


Won't you make the music easy and sad?  Mar 02, 2008 By Johnny Heering "trivia buff"
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.

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