Two Men With The Blues - Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis

I so wanted to love this album, as it sounded like it could be a classic. 2 musical legends, geniuses in their own right, one from the jazz field, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, and one from the country scene, Wille Nelson. This had the makings of something great, or so I thought!

Right away the album title grabbed my attention and had me thinking this was going to be a bluesy affair. Well, there's a hint of it on the album, but only a ...
...called 'blues' you'll ever have the displeasure of hearing. To be fair Marsalis plays well on here (the only redeeming factor about the project), but Nelson sounds like he's going through the motions and can't wait to get out of the studio. There's a serious lack of what all good blues music has - and that's 'feel', or 'soul', call it what you will, but any blues fan will know what I mean. This just sounds cold, calculated, unfeeling. It's boring ... more

I so wanted to love this album, as it sounded like it could be a classic. 2 musical legends, geniuses in their own right, one from the jazz field, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, and one from the country scene, Wille Nelson. This had the makings of something great, or so I thought!

Right away the album title grabbed my attention and had me thinking this was going to be a bluesy affair. Well, there's a hint of it on the album, but only a hint. This is possbly the most insipid collection of so called 'blues' you'll ever have the displeasure of hearing. To be fair Marsalis plays well on here (the only redeeming factor about the project), but Nelson sounds like he's going through the motions and can't wait to get out of the studio. There's a serious lack of what all good blues music has - and that's 'feel', or 'soul', call it what you will, but any blues fan will know what I mean. This just sounds cold, calculated, unfeeling. It's boring to the 'n'th degree.

I love Willie Nelson's voice. I'm not a typical country fan , but when someone has as unique a vocal as say Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, or Johnny Cash then I'll always give them a listen... till now.

What's worse is the track listing on the album is a full of absolute gems from years gone by - including such staples as Georgia On My Mind, Stardust, Caldonia, Basin Street Blues. Each of these, and the rest of the songs on the album, should sound amazing if these guys were both on top form, but the versions are highly recommended as a cure for insomnia, they're just lacking that 'oomph' to get them out of first gear.

Overall, possibly the most disappointing album I've ever bought. Sadly I can't give it a zero star rating, so One will have to do. The only person with the blues here is myself, having parted with money for this. 

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