Willie Nelson - "Last Leaf On the Tree"
He ain't dead yet, and he's still got it
Willie Nelson has been a living legend for, literally, my entire life. He’s 91 years old (he’ll hit 92 in April) and still going. I grew up with his music, among other Country legends, and he’s one of the ones who has managed not to disappoint me as an adult.
And he has remained incredibly prolific, releasing, on average, more than one album per year (he’s been releasing albums for 62 years, and Last Leaf on the Tree is his 76th). He frequently releases multiple albums in a year, and only rarely takes years off.1 As it is, Last Leaf on the Tree is his second release of 2024.
It’s important to note that this frenetic pace is only sustainable because Nelson comes from an age where it was less important to write your own material. Purchasing from dedicated songwriters was the norm. As such, of Last Leaf’s 13 tracks, only two (the last two) were written by Willie; a third, “Wheels”, was written by his son Micah.
Micah Nelson, born in 1990, is only slightly younger than I am, but is old and experienced enough that Willie’s manager, Mark Rothbaum, suggested that maybe Micah should produce an album for his father. Last Leaf on the Tree is the result. As Medium tells in their review, Micah Nelson grew up more entranced by “trailblazing indie artists like The Flaming Lips and Beck”, and indeed pursued his own definitely-not-Country musical projects for a while.
That influence can be heard almost immediately on Last Leaf. While the opening and title track, “Last Leaf” (a cover of Tom Waits’ song), plays as a straightforward tired-old-man song with very pared-down instrumentation, the next song, “If It Wasn’t Broken” brings in a lively bass-and-drum combo that I definitely didn’t expect in a Willie Nelson song. Especially with Willie in his nineties.
Reportedly, Micah Nelson used his dad’s 1996 album, Spirit, as a starting point for the production. That album used more minimalist production techniques. The resulting compositions on Last Leaf are a blend of minimalist instrumentation and clever mixing which keeps the songs lively and interesting. The album’s third track, “Lost Cause”, is a prime example of this.
Micah’s indie-fueled creativity enhances Nelson’s skill and star power — Micah ensures that Trigger is front-and-center in the mix, but he also makes wild leaps like using actual foliage for percussion in “Last Leaf”.
Nelson, of course, is incomparable. Even worn down, as he is, Last Leaf is evidence that he isn’t done living or making music. Or distrusting cops, per “Robbed Blind”.
Music is in his blood, and he’s going to make it for as long as he’s alive.
I won’t be trying to keep up with every single album Nelson releases — I’m already having issues keeping up as it is. But I do recommend this album for anybody who would like a taste of some real Country music, albeit with sorta lo-fi Outlaw vibes. If you liked Johnny Cash’s version of “Hurt” — where you can hear the age and experience in his voice — you might enjoy this album, though nothing here quite hits that level of emotionality. At most, “Last Leaf” sees Nelson defiantly holding on after most of his friends and peers have passed on.
I added this album to my list purely out of nostalgia. Frankly, I didn’t expect it to be genuinely good. Much less this good.
Rating: Blue
The most recent three gap years for Nelson are:
2015
2007
2003