The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMusicAlbum reviews

Willie Nelson – Band of Brothers

Willie Nelson – Band of Brothers | Album review
18 June 2014
Piri Eddy
Avatar
Piri Eddy
18 June 2014

Willie Nelson has always been a bit of an iconoclast. He was part of the reactionary outlaw country movement, he’s remained an outspoken advocate for the end of marijuana prohibition, and then there’s the fact he’s worked with rapper and weed king Snoop Doog on more than one occasion. His pigtail-toting persona paints him as a bit of an oddball, but he’s always had a political edge. But at 81 years old, and 68 records deep, Band of Brothers finds Nelson taking a classical approach, with a focus on the reflective and retrospective.

Musically, Band of Brothers plays out like you might expect a country album to. There aren’t many left-field detours or heavy-handed experimentations. It’s slumbering, reflective, and usually doesn’t leave second gear. You can imagine everyone sitting around a crackling fire under the moonlight, smoking a joint while Nelson cracks a grin and strums out another tune. The arrangements are accomplished and highly polished, but they often act more as perfunctory backdrops to Nelson’s voice. This is mostly fine, but means the music here doesn’t strike as particularly distinctive.

Nelson’s voice remains the most enduring aspect of Band of Brothers. At times, he barely sings above a whisper, often he’s conversing rather than singing, and his voice has a cracked and creased quality to it. It’s like your grandfather telling stories of his past: his first love, his biggest mistakes and regrets. He’s at his most interesting when he’s singing with a reflective defiance, such as in album opener Bring it On, and single The Wall. In the former, Nelson speaks of meeting adversity head-on, in the latter, he admits to himself how that’s affected him over the years.

Elsewhere, Wives and Girlfriends finds him in a more upbeat mood as he recounts his past relationships. It’s tongue-in-cheek, and shows another side. There are plenty of love songs on this album, however, they aren’t half as interesting as the more personal pieces.

Band of Brothers might not contain anything as immediately iconic as On the Road Again, or as weirdly wonderful as Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die, but Willie Nelson still remains a distinct and idiosyncratic voice, and his writing has enough humour and personality to remain engaging.

★★★★★

Piri Eddy

Band of Brothers was released on 17th June 2014. For further information or to order the album visit Willie Nelson’s website here.

Watch the video for Band of Brothers here:

Related Itemsalbum reviewclassiccountrycroakydieengagingreviewsmokesnoop doggtimelesswillie nelson

More in Album reviews

Lykke Li – EYEYE

★★★★★
Georgia Howlett
Read More

Florence and the Machine – Dance Fever

★★★★★
Ronan Fawsitt
Read More

Warpaint – Radiate Like This

★★★★★
Catherine Sedgwick
Read More

Arcade Fire – We

★★★★★
Ronan Fawsitt
Read More

Blossoms – Ribbon Around the Bomb

★★★★★
Georgia Howlett
Read More

Memorial – Memorial

★★★★★
Mae Trumata
Read More

Fontaines DC – Skinty Fia

★★★★★
Jasper Watkins
Read More

Girlpool – Forgiveness

★★★★★
Charlie Peters
Read More

Patrick Watson – Better in the Shade

★★★★★
Catherine Sedgwick
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Alice Cooper at the O2 Arena
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Decision to Leave (Heojil Kyolshim)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • The Five Devils (Les Cinq Diables)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Stephen Fry enters the Radio Times Hall of Fame in conversation with Alan Yentob at the BFI Imax
    Cinema & Tv
  • Roma Bar Show returns for a second edition in Rome next week
    Food & Drinks
  • Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan
    ★★★★★
    Literature
  • Alice Cooper at the O2 Arena
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Michael Kiwanuka at Alexandra Palace
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Roma Bar Show returns for a second edition in Rome next week
    Food & Drinks
  • “I wanted to sabotage it”: An interview with Mark Jenkin on Enys Men
    Cannes
  • Alice Cooper at the O2 Arena
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Michael Kiwanuka at Alexandra Palace
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Innocent (L’Innocent)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • “You don’t need a green screen if you have Tom Cruise”: Miles Teller, Jay Ellis, Greg Davis and Danny Ramirez on Top Gun: Maverick
    Cinema & Tv
  • Metronom
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

The Human Factor: The Figure in Contemporary Sculpture at the Hayward Gallery | Exhibition review
Graduate Summer Show 2014 at the RCA Battersea | Exhibition review