ALBUM REVIEW: The Beauty of Willie Nelson and Rodney Crowell’s World of Songs

Any world that includes Willie Nelson singing the songs of Rodney Crowell is a beautiful one, indeed. Nelson’s are still remarkably strong into his ninth decade, and he selects 12 of Crowell’s emotionally resonant songs from the past 50 years — ranging from 1976’s “Banks of the Old Bandera” to 2019’s “She’s Back in Town” — on his 77th solo studio album, Oh What a Beautiful World.

The album opens with a twanging guitar solo reminiscent of Roy Orbison on “What Kind of Love.” With a liquid pedal steel line eddying under the throbbing lead, Nelson and his band evoke a spacious landscape against which the tempestuous winds of love and desire blow. Nelson’s raggedly tender vocals capture the bittersweet nostalgia of growing up and looking back in the gorgeous rendition of “Banks of the Old Bandera,” while gentle strumming blends with Mickey Raphael’s harmonica runs, and Jim “Moose” Brown’s twirling piano notes on a mellow performance of “Shame on the Moon.” The layers of pedal steel continue to propel “Still Learning How to Fly” as the song spirals into the musical stratosphere. Nelson’s shimmering take on “Making Memories of Us,” captures the depth of the song’s hope and promise.

One of the album’s highlights comes on the title track, as Crowell and Nelson trade vocals on the celebratory ode to the bits of beauty — large and small — that surround them. Raphael’s harmonica lines and Nelson’s lead playing help “Oh What a Beautiful World” canter along, with swaying Mexicali rhythms.

The album closes with Nelson’s intimate rendering of Crowell’s and Guy Clark’s “Stuff That Works,” a tribute to the people and objects that animate everyday life and make it worth living. As the song goes, “it’s the stuff you always reach for when you fall.”

Nelson celebrates his 92nd birthday on April 25 with the release of Oh What a Beautiful World, but he’s given listeners a gift to treasure: His tribute to fellow Texan songwriter Crowell proves radiant.

Willie Nelson’s Oh What a Beautiful World is due out April 23, 2025 via Sony Legacy.