Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release “Last Man Standing”, Willie Nelson’s new studio album (and 11th for the label) on Friday, April 27 … just in time for Willie’s 85th birthday (April 29).
Last Man Standing, comprised entirely of songs newly-penned by Willie Nelson (and longtime collaborator and producer Buddy Cannon), is the worthy successor to Willie’s “God’s Problem Child”, which showcased seven Nelson-Cannon compositions and debuted at #1 on the Country cahrts in the USA. Willie and Buddy have been working together since 2008 with Cannon producing more than a dozen of Willie’s albums.
The songwriting duo deploys a unique strategy of shared composition, beginning with back and-forth text messaging of lyrics with the melodies. On “Last Man Standing”, Nelson and Cannon’s unorthodox generated eleven original songs, “Willie’s a jazz singer and jazz player. He’s an improvisational musician. It’s different every time. Get a good take and go with it,” says Cannon.
With “Last Man Standing” Nelson has added 11 essential new songs to his classic catalog. One of Willie’s most personal and introspective albums to-date, “Last Man Standing” reveals the emotional range of Willie’s concerns, from the deeply reflective (‘Something You Get Through’, to the rollicking and playful ‘Me And You’ & ‘Ready To Roar’.
An album that acknowledges the transience of time while marvelling at the joy, beauty and surprise the world has to offer, “Last Man Standing” finds Willie Nelson rolling at a creative peak, writing and singing and playing with the seasoned wit and wisdom that comes from the road.