A confident solo debut that proves there’s more to him than just his last name.
Being the son of Willie means Lukas Nelson knows a little something about pedigree, and for his first solo studio album “American Romance”, he decided to up the stakes even more by hiring none other than Shooting Jennings – son of Waylon and Jessi Colter – to produce. But with legacy, there comes a level of expectation, especially given Nelson is not new to the music industry, having previously fronted his own band, Promise of the Real, for over 15 years, but if he’s feeling the pressure, it’s certainly not evident on the record.
The opener ‘Ain’t Done’ makes it immediately clear that Nelson doesn’t take anything for granted: “God ain’t done with you / Every time you win, every time you lose,” he sings on the chorus of the song that’s vaguely reminiscent of The Band’s ‘Weight’ in its rolling musical tone, “There’s a guarantee with every evening sun / Nothing lasts and God ain’t done.” ‘Pretty Much’ swells dramatically from its acoustic start to become a rousing musing on death and the loved ones that we all hope will surround us when the time comes.
Nelson is no slouch in the vocals department, and on Motown-leaning ‘Make You Happy’, his voice is really allowed to shine, especially hitting the high notes when he sings “Makin’ somethin’ / Out of nothin’ / ‘Cause there ain’t nothin’ / Like your lovin’” with unbridled soulful joy. With an easy, down-home porch jam about it, ‘Outsmarted’ isn’t somewhere you might expect a mention of Mad Men’s Don Draper, but still the reference feels comfortable as Nelson looks back on the wildness of youth: “Against my better nature / I went hog-wild, wasting paper / I was madder than Don Draper / Suckin’ in that holy vapor.”
Stephen Wilson Jr. joins Nelson as a co-writer and co-vocalist on ‘Disappearing Light’, the only track on the album produced by Anderson East and not Jennings. It’s a piece of raw vulnerability and, even on first listen, an album standout. The pair’s vocals meld together perfectly as the song builds before getting to its final, heartbreakingly honest refrain: “I fear the disappearing light is mine.” The Tom Petty-tinged ‘Born Running Out of Time’ finds Nelson tired from the never-ending journey of a gigging musician, while on the gentle ‘Montana’, he croons of memories of a past love that he’s unable to forget.
‘Friend in the End’ looks at the often overlooked beauty of lifelong friendship, with Sierra Ferrell’s smooth vocals offering an added element of sweetness as she and Nelson harmonise on the chorus: “And the clouds blew south, and the rain thinned out / And the sky was all sunlight again / I guess I just found me a friend / I think I can call you my friend in the end.” ‘American Romance’ takes a sweeping, romantic look at small town life in the USA, Nelson’s voice moving and effective, its rise and fall matching the cadence of his words.
If being the son of a bona fide country legend and having Jennings as his producer weren’t kudos enough, Nelson has none other than the late, great Kris Kristofferson to count as a reason he pursued a career in music. The album’s last song, the ballad “You Were It”, happens to also be the first song Nelson wrote at the tender age of 11, it’s a song that caught the ear of Kristofferson, who told him at the time: “You’re going to be a songwriter. You don’t have a choice.” Kristofferson was of course right, because it’s not birth that destined Nelson to be a musician, but talent, which is something far greater than any lineage.
