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The first words from Willie Nelson's lips, "The sun is filled with ice and gives no warmth at all / the sky was never blue," warn the listener something is happening here. In a converted Mexican movie theater, producer Daniel Lanois surrounds the 65-year-old Nelson with the most startling and assured musical vision of his career: lush, rippling guitars, and swelling, splashing drum tracks, doubled and tripled over, sometimes in a Latin mood. Lanois allows Nelson freedom to solo in and around his sonic dreamwork, and with the presence of longtime fellow travelers Mickey Raphael, Emmylou Harris, and sister Bobbie, the record clearly smacks of Nelson's style and lyrical vision. The original material is decades old, but little known, and generally as haunting as Lanois's arrangements. (Only one song should have remained in the vaults: the emotionally-curdled "I Just Can't Let You Say Good-Bye.") So much could have gone wrong on this pairing. It's a thrill to hear how much truly goes right. --Roy Francis Kasten

Product Description

Continually renewing his artistic vision throughout a career that spans more than 35 years and over 100 albums, Willie Nelson delivers his 2nd release for Island Records. On Teatro, Nelson teamed with producer Daniel Lanois, fresh from his Grammy-winning collaboration with Bob Dylan. With his trademark voice, songs and guitar front and center, Willie offers a soul-searching rumination on love. Highlights include special guest vocalist Emmylou Harris and the 1st single, "The Maker."

Review

Emmylou Harris and jazz pianist Brad Mehldau ... give Nelson's idiosyncratic guitar room to roam free and add a fascinating dimension to his sound. -- USA Today

[Nelson's] Texas-rooted sound has always had a south-of-the-border tinge, which [producer Daniel] Lanois accentuates with Teatro's bubbling percussion. -- Entertainment Weekly, ISBN13: B00000AFB6 ISBN10: B00000AFB6 Material Type: audioCD