'Classic' not Willie Nelson's best

Willie Nelson, "American Classic" (Blue Note)

Willie Nelson is one of music's greatest - few can argue that. His popularity crosses genres, entertainment mediums and socio-economic boundaries.

Even as he creeps up on 80, he's cool, he's smart, he's - just as the title of his latest album suggests - an "American Classic."

Yet "American Classic" is his second CD this year (the first was with Asleep at the Wheel), and he put out two CDs last year (and we're not counting the constant flow of rereleases). With all this material to sift through, an album like "American Classic" is in danger of becoming background music.

The album harkens back to "Stardust," Nelson's 31-year-old genre-bending trendsetter (and a half-dozen others he's done since). That album of standards commanded attention with its pitch-perfect treatment of familiar songs like "Georgia on My Mind" and his sunny version of "Blue Skies."

There's nothing wrong with "American Classic," but it doesn't have the gravitas of that forerunner. Nelson steps into producer Tony LiPuma's arrangements of jazz standards like "Ain't Misbehavin'," "The Nearness of You" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (with a playful Norah Jones), hits his mark and moves on to the next song. Nelson finished up his part on 11 of 12 cuts in a tidy four days of recording in New York, then headed to L.A. to record "If I Had You," with Diana Krall.

Easy as pie for a guy like Willie. Maybe a little too easy.

Check this out: Some of Nelson's appeal has been his ability to keep material fresh for decades with different treatments of old favorites that reflect newfound wisdom or experience. "Always on My Mind," the final track of the album, revisits Nelson's gospel choir-inflected original. There are still strings, but the song comes off feeling far more personal.

- Associated Press