The #1 Willie Nelson fan site stillisstillmoving.com gives us a sneak peak of of Texas Monthly’s special tribute cover commemorating Willie’s upcoming 75th birthday. It will also be the first time TM HAS ever done a cover without a word on it in 35 years (well, for the 270,000 or so subscribers) the rest of the newsstand buyers will get a version with just one cover line, featuring Mike Hall’s 12,000-word oral history of soon-to-be-75-year-old Willie’s life.

This is surely one to pick up!

As Willie Nelson fans well know, this year will mark the Texas Yoda’s 75th birthday (April 30th) and on top of the excellent just released box set One Hell of a Ride (Sony Legacy) and some great commemorative t-shirts, Legacy Recordings are posting a series of podcasts with Willie and host and Texas treasure in his own right Rodney Crowell. The first in a series of fifteen podcasts is currently posted.

Willie will bringing his legendary picnic back home and holding it in Selma, Texas. Ray Price, Merle Haggard and David Allan Coe are already confirmed to appear.

Tip of my hat to my pards at the 9513 and the #1 fan run Willie site Still Is Still Moving.

Willie’s collaboration with the likes of Kid Rock, Toby Keith, Sheryl Crow, Julio Iglesias, as well as upcoming work with Ashley “Cowboys Crusher” Simpson and Beyoncé seems to attest to some kind of professional gregariousness. It’s appears as if the man will collaborate with most anyone who bothers to ask no matter how unworthy and that his most consistent flaw professionally is that he see no flaws in his collaborators.

My read on these collaborations are that they are shrewd moves to expand his fan-base, his status as Country musics’ elder statesman and his pocket book. Yeah, Willie is crazy like a red-headed fox. Making great music might have been a secondary reason for these collaborations, but not the primary motivation. This brings me to Willie’s most recent release “Moment of Forever” (Lost Highway - 01.29.08) which is a collaberation with Kenny Chesney and Buddy Cannon producing. Sure Willie may have his eye on the mega-selling stardom Chesney attains in his own career but it’s also resulted in one of the more consistently good releases his done in a long while.

The album starts with the production aping a Daniel Lanois’ aural hall of mirrors in outer space vibe. Whether Emmylou Harris’s Wrecking Ball, U2’s Joshua Tree of Willie’s own Teatro, Lanois ia a master of echoey-atmosphere. This Willie penned cut strikes the right balance of forlornness and fortitude with his singular guitar work given its due. But given the obviously derived production I’m left wondering what would it might have sounded like if the real Daniel Lanois had been at the helm.

The Kris Kristofferson/Danny Timms penned title song is a pure delight. The accompaniment adds just the right mix, especially with the help of Willie’s sister and long-time band member Bobby on piano. “The Bob Song’ was written by Big Kenny of Big and Rich fame. I can imagine Big Kenny bringing his big goof sensibilities and channeling Kenny Chesney’s hillbilly Jimmy Buffet-beach comber vibe and sitting on the beach, drinking a bottle of tequila and writing this. As of yet I have not consumed enough tequila to enjoy this silly, painful song. I actual cringe when I listen to it. (With this song and “Bob” from the Drive By Truckers “Brighter Than Creations Dark”, what is it with sudden bumper-crop of crappy songs with Bob in the title?)

“Louisiana” is a Randy Newman penned song originally titled “Louisiana 1927″ and released on his 1974 album “Good ‘Ol Boys.” Newman wrote the song about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 but it can easily can be used as historical allegory to the recent Katrina flood tragedy. The lyrics have been changed in the version Willie sings to update the story and make the meaning completely contemporary. “The president came down in his big airplane, with his little fat man with a note pad in his hand. President says Fat man, oh isn’t it a shame, What the river has done to this poor farmer’s land?”

Farm Aid comrade Dave Mathews wrote “Gravedigger” for his solo release and this cut may very well do for Willie what Trent Reznor’s Hurt” did for Johnny Cash. Willie bring gravity to the song. It’s contemporary and timeless at once and fits Willie’s darker material like a well-worn boot. “Keep Me From Blowing Away,” written by Paul Craft and just a great waltz with the always expressive Mickey Raphael’s harmonica and Willie’s uniques guitar work on his beloved Trigger. “Takin’ on Water” finds Willie getting a little funky complete with horns.

“Always Now” is a classic Willie penned tear-jerker and sound great, with a Tejano-sounding accordion that adds the right spice. Unfortunately there is a Caribbean-sounding steel-drum in the arrangement, I blame it on Chesney still looking for his lost shaker of salt. The Chesney penned “I’m Alive” is a surprisingly smokey-pop piece. It sounds likes the Burt Bacharach cut Dusty Springfield neglected when recording “Dusty in Memphis.” I believe this is my favorite cut on the album. Damn you Kenny Chesney, DAMN YOU!

“When I Was Young And Grandma Wasn’t Old” is a Buddy Cannon piece that sets a Texas scene that is as walks the like between cliched and sublime and come up in spades. “Worry B Gone” was written by the masterful Guy Clark and is a duet with Chesney is a genuine feeling front-porch ditty. At one point Willie replaces “sip” with “puff” in the line “Just give me one more sip of that Worry B Gone.” Classic! “You Don’t Think I’m Funny Anymore” is Willie writing a song to be being goofy and still it still comes off like it’s made for the ages. “Gotta Serve Somebody” is the classic Bob Dylan tune served up here with slinky-as-funk Memphis-style horns.

I wanted to hate this album, I really, really did. I mean you have the country-beach-comber Kenny Chesney co-producing how could it be good? But good it is. Good, damn good, not great. People looking for the next Phases and Stages, Spirit or Red-Headed Stranger are going to be somewhat disappointed, but given some of the major missteps in Willie’s long career (”Countryman” anyone?) I believe I’ll just breath a sigh of relief and kick back for one more listen.

I was going to embed the video for “Gravedigger” but Universal Music has had YouTube disable embedding for it. Hey idiots, it’s called free publicity!

Billboard.com reports that Legacy Recordings will celebrate Willie Nelson’s 75th birthday (April 30) by rolling out a series of special projects. The first is the April 1 release “One Hell of a Ride,” a four-disc, 100-song boxed set.

The set bundles together music from Nelson’s stints with numerous record labels, beginning with tracks recorded in late 1954/early 1955 for KBOP radio in Pleasanton, Texas.

While the track list is still coming together, look for early 1960s takes on “Night Life,” “Funny How Time Slips Away” and “Crazy” plus iconic covers like Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talkin’,” Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust” and Fred Rose’s “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.”

Liner notes were penned by Joe Nick Patoski, whose Nelson biography, “An Epic Life,” will hit bookstores this spring via Little, Brown.

Meanwhile, on April 29, Legacy will issue “#1s,” a single-disc compilation of Nelson’s chart-topping pop and country hits.

And of course Nelson’s new studio album,the Kenny Chesney and Buddy Cannon co-produced “Moment of Forever,” is due Jan. 29 via Lost Highway.

Look for Willie on the road until the end of time.

(via 9513)

February 1: Mescalero, NM - Inn of the Mountain Gods
February 2: Albuquerque, NM - Route 66 Casino
February 3: Glendale, AZ - Super Bowl Tailgate Party
February 5: Sahuarita, AZ - Desert Diamond Casino
February 8: San Luis Obispo, CA - Madonna Inn Expo Center
February 9: Reno, NV - Peppermill Casino
February 10: Monterey, CA - Golden State Theatre
February 11: Santa Rosa, CA - Wells Fargo Center of the Arts
February 13: Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theatre
February 15: Indio, CA - Fantasy Springs Casino
February 16: Flagstaff, AZ - Ardrey Auditorium
February 17: Farmington, NM - McGee Park Convention Center
March 4: Austin, TX - Travis County Expo Center
March 5: Dallas, TX - Meyerson Symphony Center
March 6: Dallas, TX - Meyerson Symphony Center
March 7: Dodge City, KS - Dodge City Civic Center
March 8: Norman, OK - Riverwind Casino
March 9: Topeka, KS - Kansas ExpoCentre Landon Arena
March 11: Abilene, TX - Abilene Civic Center
March 12: San Angelo, TX - San Angelo Coliseum
March 13: Waco, TX - Heart of Texas Coliseum Waco
March 14: Austin, TX - The Backyard
March 15: Austin, TX - The Backyard
March 18: Richmond, VA - The National
March 19: Norfolk, VA - The NorVa Theatre
March 20: Cherokee, NC - Harrah’s Cherokee Smokey Mount
March 21: Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
March 23: Esbjerg, Denmark - Musikhuset Esbjerg Centre
March 24: Randers, Denmark - Vaerket
March 25: Aalborg, Denmark - Aalborg Kongres & Kulturcenter
April 27: Malmo, Sweden - Baltiska Hallen
April 28: Stockholm, Sweden - Berns Salonger
April 29: Copenhagen, Denmark - Tivolis Concert Hall
May 1: Oslo, Norway - Oslo Concert Hall
May 2: Hamar, Norway - Hamar Ol Amfi
May 3: Halden, Norway - Halden Place D Armes
May 5: Lyngdal, Norway - Fibo Trespo Concert Hall
May 6: Aberdeen, Scotland - Music Hall
May 7: Dundee, Scotland - Caird Hall
May 8: Glasgow, Scotland - Clyde Auditorium
May 9: Glasgow, Scotland - Clyde Auditorium
May 11: Manchester, England - Manchester Apollo
May 13: London, England - Hammersmith Apollo
May 14: London, England - Hammersmith Apollo
May 15: Antwerp, Belgium - Queen Elizabeth Hall
May 16: Paris, France - Grand Rex Theatre
June 14: St. Louis, MO - Fox Theatre
June 21: Tama, IA - Meskwaki Bingo & Casino
June 22: Wisconsin Dells, WI - Crystal Grand Music Theatre
June 23: Oneida, WI - Oneida Ballroom
June 25: Milwaukee, WI - Northern Lights Theater
June 26: Bayfield, WI - Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua
June 27: Council Bluffs, IA - Harrah’s Casino

The fine folks at the 9513 have done a fine job of reviewing the new Willie Nelson cut “Gravedigger” from Willie’s forthcoming release “Moment of Forever” (Lost Highway - January 22nd) and I have to admit though a Dave Mathews penned and Kenny Chesney produced song doesn’t look promising to me on paper, I’ll be damned if the Texas Yoda doesn’t pull it off!

Willie Nelson joined his big sister and the rest of the family band on a two-night stand at the House of Blues in New Orleans as they begin their typically daunting tour schedule, playing two weeks a month from now through Thanksgiving 2008.

Bobbie Nelson just recently released her own CD “Audiobiography” (Justice Records) which traces her life back to her early years in Abbott, Texas when she and  Willie would play at thier home for family and playing solo gigs in piano bars, supper clubs and hotels.

Wayne “The Train” Hancock has hired Huck Johnson to play upright bass in his band and is ready to hit that long and winding road for an upcoming Fall tou. Wayne is reported to be “Totally Stoked” to get back on the road (Wayne, dude, cut back on those Keanu flix.) Catch out Wayne’s fine show when he come to a town near you, especially the one at Joplin Memorial Hall in Joplin, MO with Willie Nelson.

10/27 - Greenville, TX
Kenneth Threadgill Concert,

10/28 - Joplin Memorial Hall
***Opening for Willie Nelson!***
Joplin, MO

10/30 - Knuckleheads
Kansas City, MO

11/02
Beale on Broadway
St. Louis, MO
Cost:N/A

11/09
Pocola, OK
Choctaw Casino,

11/10 Pocola, OK
Choctaw Casino,

11/14 - Kent, OH featuring Don Helms and Joey Allcorn
Kent State Folk Festival @ the Kent Stage

11/15 - Cleveland, OH
Beachland Ballroom,

11/16- Pittsburgh, PA
Diesel

11/17 Maumee, OH
The Village Idiot,

11/18 - Newport, KY
Southgate House

11/22 Austin, TX
Thanksgiving at the Continental Club!

11/23 Houston, TX
Fitzgeralds

DEC 16 Hollywood, CA
Safari Sams

Wayne Hancock “California Blues”

If you find yourself in Austin this Friday and want to make a statement against the so-called drug war and the political idiocy and the abuse of the our countries’ legal system that has resulted from it, then mosey on over to the Austin Freedom Fest at The Backyard. The concert will benefit MPP, NORML and WAMM, and will feature Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel, Jackie “The Jokeman” Martling, Carolyn Wonderland, Paula Nelson, Mark Stepnoski and others to be announced.