Well put together album of mostly covers from legendary songwriter and interpreter of others’ songs.
Willie Nelson needs no introduction; the subject of this review is the legend’s 76th studio album release. “Last Leaf on the Tree” is an album mostly made up of cover versions; with the songs written by some very big names, such as Tom Waits, Warren Zevon, Neil Young, Beck, Nina Simone and The Flaming Lips, the quality of the songs is not in doubt and Nelson is a seasoned interpreter of other people’s songs. The good news is that the record captures Nelson on fine form, both vocally and with the guitar.
One shouldn’t underestimate the contribution to this release of Micah Nelson, Nelson’s eighth and youngest child (who separately performs under the name Particle Kid). Micah plays the majority of the instruments here, including guitars, bass, cello, piano, dulcimer and drums; however crucially, he’s not the one playing Trigger. Micah also produced the record and was responsible for the cover art (he has previously painted the cover art for a number of releases by his brother Lukas’ band, Promise of the Real). Recording took place at Hen House Studios in Venice, California.
According to the press release, the overall theme of the record is “facing death with grace”; perhaps Nelson, now 91 years of age, has realised that none of us can go on forever. Opening track ‘Last Leaf‘ (one of two Tom Waits compositions featured; this one was co-written by Waits’ wife Kathleen Brennan) was the first single release. It’s a slow, atmospheric start to the record, with accordion and Nelson’s acoustic guitar to the fore; Nelson’s voice is full of emotion as he sings “I’m the last leaf on the tree, The autumn took the rest, But they won’t take me“. ‘If It Wasn’t Broken‘ is a song written and recorded by folk-punk musician Sunny War. Hen House Studios is basically in War’s backyard; she used to busk at Venice Beach, a stone’s throw from the studio and she has recorded there, including her “With the Sun” album, from which this song is taken. This is more uptempo, driven by a funky bass line and has a great guitar solo. ‘Lost Cause‘ is a Beck song from the 2002 release “Sea Change“; it was the third single release from Nelson’s album.
On ‘Come Ye‘ Nelson takes this gospel song from Nina Simone’s “High Priestess of Soul” LP (1967) and, while retaining the percussive style of the accompaniment, adds far more atmosphere. ‘Keep Me In Your Heart‘ (a Warren Zevon song), is the standout on the record. This appeared on Zevon’s 2003 LP “The Wind“, which he recorded when terminally ill; it was released a couple of weeks before his death. It has a catchy tune, but the lyrics are poignant; “There’s a train leaving nightly called ‘When all is said and done’, Keep me in your heart for a while“.
‘Robbed Blind‘ is a song from a Keith Richards solo offering “Crosseyed Heart“, about someone who’s been wronged; Nelson’s version elevates a song that seems quite pedestrian in its original form to something far more palatable. ‘House Where Nobody Lives‘ is lifted from Tom Waits’ 1999 opus “Mule Variations“; Trigger is sounding great on this cut and Micah Nelson delivers some tremendous background vocals. The first of two Neil Young songs here, ‘Are You Ready For The Country?‘ from 1972’s “Harvest” LP is another highlight. Long-time Nelson collaborator Mickey Raphael contributes harmonica and jaw harp to this song and Nikita Sorokin’s fiddle playing is prominent. Second single from the LP is a cover of The Flaming Lips’ ‘Do You Realize??‘, a song which first appeared on 2002’s “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots“; Nelson slows the song down and the arrangement, in which the accordion is the prominent instrument, changes the character of the song from the original.
‘Wheels‘, which is a Micah Nelson composition that appeared on a collaboration between Particle Kid and John Doe (listed as Kid Doe) “Lucky Wheel”; on that release the song is performed by Doe. Here the song is slowed down from the Doe version, the arrangement makes it sound very modern and features Sam Gendel’s alto saxophone. The second Neil Young composition is ‘Broken Arrow‘, a song first released by Buffalo Springfield on their 1967 release “Buffalo Springfield Again“. ‘Color Of Sound‘ is an original; composed by Willie Nelson and Micah Nelson, it’s a thought-provoking song, starting “If silence is golden, What color is sound?” and later “All the world is God’s portrait, It was painted out loud“.
Official final song on the album is ‘The Ghost‘, a reworking of a Nelson composition from 1962 (he first recorded it on 1967’s “The Party’s Over and Other Great Willie Nelson Songs“). As you might expect, the 2024 version sounds much more up-to-date than the 1967 incarnation (which features strings). The new version is longer, for one thing, coming it at around three and a half minutes (the original lasts just two minutes 23 seconds) and it features Daniel Lanois on pedal steel guitar. Lyrically it’s dark, “This strange world of darkness that comes with the night, Grows darker when it walks my way, And then it laughs while I listen for the breaking of day, And the ghost of our old love goes away“.
A quirk is the short ‘hidden’ track after a 50-second period of strange noises at the end of the record’s ‘final’ track, the hidden song is ‘Looking for Trouble‘, a light-hearted song that sounds like it was perhaps made up on the spot. As is too often the case when artists place ‘throw-away’ songs, uncredited and hidden, at the end of albums, this is great; literally 49 seconds long, it would be good if this was expanded to become a fully fledged song.
Nelson’s skill as an interpreter of other people’s songs has never been in doubt and the versions of songs on “Last Leaf on the Tree” are sufficiently different to the originals, adding a real freshness to them. Despite the advancing years, Nelson’s voice is sounding good and his guitar playing exemplary. Of course, Trigger the guitar is the true star of the show; the Martin N-20 guitar with the extra hole adjacent to the sound hole (which Nelson has had since 1969 and first appeared on 1969’s “My Own Peculiar Way“) is heavily featured across the LP; it has a distinctive sound and is synonymous with Nelson.
“Last Leaf on the Tree” is a very worthy addition to Nelson’s canon of recorded work; if you like Willie Nelson, then you’re likely to enjoy this, and if you’re not a fan, give it a listen anyway, you may end up being converted.
