Product Description:
Personnel: Willie Nelson (vocals, guitar); B.B. King (vocals, guitar); Dr. John (vocals, piano); Johnny Lang, Susan Tedeschi, Francine Reed (vocals); Derek O'Brien, Jimmie Vaughn, Kenny Wayne Shepherd (guitar); Riley Osbourn (piano, Hammond B-3 organ); John Blondell (bass); George Rains (drums).
Engineers: Stuart Sullivan, Larry Greenhill.
Recorded at Pedernales Studio and Arlyn Studios, Austin, Texas; Cello Studios and The Village StudiosLos Angeles, California; Orefin Studios, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
MILK COW BLUES was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.
Though he's best known as a country artist, Willie Nelson has always been bigger than that. He's recorded albums of everything from popular standards to guitar instrumentals with equal aplomb. So this blues album should come as no surprise to longtime fans, especially given the fact that the kind of sophisticated, urbane, Charles Brown-style blues he tackles on much of MILK COW BLUES was a key component of some of Nelson's early work.
Willie's joined here by a bevy of guest artists; blues stars both new and old, including B.B. King and Susan Tedeschi. The lion's share of the cuts here are duets, where the seemingly egoless Nelson is happy to share the spotlight with his talented friends. For all the sparks those duets generate, however, its a tribute to the man's unique gifts that the most effective tracks turn out to be Willie's solo turns.
Entertainment Reviews:
Rolling Stone - 9/28/00, p.58
3.5 stars out of 5 - "...Unforced and natural...emotionally rich, musically savory and languidly blue....a sagebrush poet's autumnal meditation on faded love and the wages of the sporting life..."
Spin - 11/00, p.208
7 out of 10 - "...The first blues record of his career....he lays in the cut like he's been singing this music for years....he burns the melody down to ashes, never letting a howl do what a moan can do better."
Q - 1/01, p.113
3 out of 5 stars - "...A sterling showcase for Nelson's bluesier side..."
CMJ - 10/2/00, p.25
"...The warmth of his laid-back personality is injected into every moment of MILK COW....a mellow, rainy-day record..."
No Depression - 11-12/00, pp.110-3
"...A tribute to his Zen Mastery of the music....Willie sounds very much at home..."
Mojo (Publisher) - 11/00, p.101
"...He's in fine voice, as are some of the gang of celebrity guests..."
Tracks:
