rediscovery of the week - willie nelson - teatro

Willie Nelson's Teatro.

 

This was produced by Daniel Lanois in 1998 and recorded in his studio in Oxnard, California which was constructed in a converted 1920s movie theatre called El Teatro.

 

Lanois and Emmylou Harris feature on almost every song, and the whole record has a wonderful vibe which reminds me of Emmylou's Wrecking Ball, though sparser and with a kind of Mexican desert-y feel. Most of the songs are reworkings of older Willie Nelson songs, some stretching back to the 1960s, although there is a stunning cover of Lanois' own "The Maker" which Nelson really makes his own.

 

The whole album sounds incredibly dusty, especially Nelson's marvellously creaky voice. It's the sort of album that actually makes me thirsty just listening to it… I need a cold beer and a sit down by the porch door while watching the sun set over the dry, scorched plains…