Songbird is an album by Willie Nelson released by Lost Highway Records on October 31, 2006. It was produced by contemporary country rock musician Ryan Adams. Adams, along with his band the Cardinals, performed on the album’s eleven tracks. It peaked at #87 on the Billboard 200 on November 18, 2006^[1]

Music

Only two brand new compositions, Nelson’s “Back to Earth” and Adams’ “Blue Hotel,” appear on Songbird. “Rainy Day Blues,” “We Don’t Run,” and “Sad Songs and Waltzes” are original Nelson tunes, but they were released on earlier records.

Most of the songs from the album are cover tunes with new interpretations. The credit for covering these songs goes to Adams, who "...felt confident with all the selections."^[2] In the same interview, Nelson points out that he was tentative about recording songs that had already been recorded as good as these were. He summed up the album by stating, 'It'll always be the Ryan Adams project, as far as I'm concerned.'^[3]

Track listing

1. “Rainy Day Blues” (Willie Nelson) – 5:32
2. “Songbird” (Christine McVie) – 2:40
3. “Blue Hotel” (Ryan Adams) – 3:30
4. “Back to Earth” (Willie Nelson) – 2:59
5. “Stella Blue” (Robert Hunter, Jerry Garcia) – 6:23
6. “Hallelujah” (Leonard Cohen) – 4:53
7. “$1000 Wedding” (Gram Parsons) – 3:05
8. “We Don’t Run” (Willie Nelson) – 4:19
9. “Yours Love” (Harlan Howard) – 3:03
10. “Sad Songs and Waltzes” (Willie Nelson) – 3:17
11. “Amazing Grace” (Traditional Arr. by Ryan Adams) – 4:49

Personnel/ Credits

All information taken from the Songbird CD release:

• Willie Nelson- acoustic guitar, vocals
• Ryan Adams- acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar
• Jon Graboff- pedal steel
• Brad Pemberton- drums
• Neal Casal- piano, guitar
• Catherine Popper- bass guitar
• Mickey Raphael- harmonica
• Glenn Patscha- Hammond B-3
• “Hallelujah” background vocal arrangements: Melonie Daniels, Darius Booker, Tiffany Palmer
• “Hallelujah,” “Blue Hotel,” “$1000 Wedding” choir: Tiffany Anderson, Karen Bernod, Darius Booker, Melonie Daniels, Felicia Graham, Tiffany Palmer, Carlos Ricketts, Horace V. Rogers
• Carlos Ricketts- choir arranger
• Produced by Ryan Adams
• Engineered by Tom Gloady, Jamie Candiloro at Loho Studios (New York, NY)
• Second Engineers- Jim Keller, Gus Oberg, Eddie Jackson, Peter Doris
• Mixed by Jamie Candiloro at Avatar Studios (New York, NY)
• Mastered by Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering (New York, NY)
• Art Direction and Design by Craig Allen
• Photography by Danny Clinch (cover), Jon Graboff

Notes

External Websites

• Willie Nelson's "World Headquarters" - Official Site
• Willie Nelson - MySpace Page
• Willie Nelson - Lost Highway Artist Page
• Ryan Adams - Official Site
• Ryan Adams - MySpace Page

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