Across The Borderline

About

Though it not’s readily apparent from the airy production, nor from the impressive marquee of guests—which includes the likes of Paul Simon, Sinéad O'Connor, Bob Dylan, and dozens more—Willie Nelson's 1993 album <i>Across the Borderline</i> is one of his most ambitious effort. At the very least, it reminded audiences why Nelson had long been such a creative and commercial force. <i>Stardust</i> had been a pop succe, and <i>Always on My Mind</i> had found the singer breaking into the adult-contemporary world. But there’s something about the range of <i>Borderline</i> that feels especially impressive, in part because Nelson makes it all sound so natural. There’s plenty to offer here, both in the material Nelson turns into his own—from his comfortably stoic take on Simon’s “Graceland” to his impressionistic version of Peter Gabriel’s “Don’t Give Up”—to the wide of expanse of sound. <i>Across the Borderline</i> finds Nelson tackling old Chicago blues (Willie Dixon’s “I Love the Life I Live”), as well as new Tejano ballads (“Across the Borderline”), and is augmented by tasteful guitar lick, not to mention judicious touches of congas and pedal steel. It sounds very much like a Willie Nelson album—while also redefining, once again, just how a Willie Nelson album can feel. .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

Start your shelf to read the full take →