Willie Nelson’s Atlantic Sessions get raided by Rhino for new release

By Patrick Luce Jun 12, 2006, 18:10 GMT

Though Willie Nelson\'s career wouldn\'t surge until his mid-\'70s label switch from Atlantic to Columbia, these recordings rank with his most significant. Before returning from Nashville to his native Texas and signing with Atlantic as its flagship country artist, Nelson had been dismissed as a journeyman writer of hits for others and a struggling recording artist who sang funny. Label honcho and producer Jerry Wexler (better known for his groundbreaking ...more

Rhino Records tips its hat to the Red Headed Stranger and country music icon with Willie Nelson: The Complete Atlantic Sessions – a three-disc collection available from Rhino June 20 for a suggested list price of $39.98.

The Complete Atlantic Sessions contains re-mastered versions of Nelson's two groundbreaking Atlantic releases- his debut 1973 “Shotgun Willie,” and his 1974 follow-up “Phases And Stages.” The two albums will feature expanded studio outtakes, alternate versions, and unreleased music. The third disc “Live at The Texas Opry House” features rare and unreleased performances recorded in Austin in 1974.

Recorded in New York, “Shotgun Willie” marked Nelson's break with Nashville and the city's monolithic sound. Touching on everything from redneck rock and Texas swing to "Sad Songs And Waltzes," the album's freewheeling spirit helped spark the outlaw country movement with songs like the horn-punctuated title track, a cover Bob Wills' "Stay All Night (Stay A Little Longer)" as well as "Whiskey River," Nelson's customary show opener for more than 30 years.

The expanded version of “Shotgun Willie” features 12 bonus tracks, half of which are previously unreleased including alternate takes of "Whiskey River" and "A Song For You" along with outtakes of "Save Your Tears" and "I Drank All Of Our Precious Love Away."

Nelson's follow-up, “Phases And Stages,” was one of country's earliest
concept records and remains one of its best. Telling the story of a failing marriage, the first side of the album is dedicated to songs from his perspective while the other is devoted to songs from her point of view.

Recorded in Muscle Shoals by legendary producer Jerry Wexler, the album featured some of Nelson's most poignant writing including "Pretend I Never Happened," "I Still Can't Believe You're Gone," and "It's Not Supposed To Be That Way." The expanded version of “Phases And Stages” features ten bonus tracks including eight previously unreleased songs such as an alternate versions of "Bloody Mary Morning," "No Love Around," and "Heaven And Hell."

The final disc “Live at The Texas Opry House” contains 16 live performances by Nelson and his band -steel guitarist Jimmy Day; fiddler Johnny Gimble; pianist Bobbie Nelson; bassist, Bea Spears; drummer Paul English; and Mickey Raphael on harmonica. Recorded by Wexler June 29 and 30, 1974 at The Texas Opry House in Austin, the album captures the band blazing through "Whiskey River," "Me And Paul," and "Good Hearted Woman."

While many of the performances featured here debuted on Rhino's out-of-print 1993 album, “The Classic, Unreleased Collection,” five performances are previously unreleased including "Shotgun Willie," "You Look Like The Devil," an electric version of "Bloody Mary Morning" as well as a medley of Nelson's early hits, "Funny How Time Slips Away," "Crazy," and "Night Life."

Willie Nelson: The Complete Atlantic Sessions is now available for pre-order at Amazon. Visit the music database for more information and a complete track listing.