Willie Nelson, the star who wasn't supposed to be

For old stuff, my favorite is Red Headed Stranger (1978) -- elegant in its own, very spare way; lyrical and moving. A great and pure Western album. For "newer" stuff, I think Across The Borderline (1993) has many terrific tunes on it, with covers of Hiatt, Lovett, Dylan, P Simon, Cooder included. The few or handful of duets on it are very nicely done. Don Was, producer, gets a really nice sound out of the sessions.

It was brought to my attention that I typed in the wrong year for Red Headed Stranger...should be 1975. This is Willie singing about his outlaw alter ego. Actually, it's hard for me to choose between RHS and Phases and Stages, from a year earlier. To me, one of these two is essential.