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2003 greatest hits album by Willie Nelson
The Essential Willie Nelson is a two-disc compilation of
Willie Nelson songs. This digitally remastered compilation covers five decades of Nelson's recording career, and is part of Sony's Essential series of compilation albums. A 2009 release in limited Essential 3.0 series came with a bonus disc of eight fan-favourites and rarities. The album was re-released with an updated track listing on October 16, 2015.
Reception
David Quantick of
Q wrote, "[T]he songs here sound fresh and almost youthful. The arrangements are sparky, too... All the sheer scope of Nelson's writing is displayed."
[2] In a retrospective review,
AllMusic editor
Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that "The Essential Willie Nelson gets about as close as a set could to providing the basics".
[1]
Track listing
Disc one Title Writer(s) Originally from 1. "
Night Life "
Willie Nelson Single A-side of Bellaire 107 (1960) 2:32 2. "
Hello Walls " Willie Nelson
...And Then I Wrote (1962)2:24 3. "
Crazy " Willie Nelson ...And Then I Wrote (1962)2:52 4. "
Funny How Time Slips Away " Willie Nelson ...And Then I Wrote (1962)3:03 5. "
I Never Cared For You " Willie Nelson Monument single A-side (1964) 2:32 6. "
The Party's Over " Willie Nelson
The Party's Over and Other Great Willie Nelson Songs (1967)2:29 7. "Good Times" Willie Nelson
Good Times (1968)2:28 8. "Me and Paul" Willie Nelson
Yesterday's Wine (1971)3:49 9. "Shotgun Willie" Willie Nelson
Shotgun Willie (1973)2:39 10. "
Bloody Mary Morning " Willie Nelson
Phases and Stages (1974)2:49 11. "
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain "
Fred Rose
Red Headed Stranger (1975)2:21 12. "
Good Hearted Woman " (with Waylon Jennings)
Waylon Jennings , Willie Nelson
Wanted! The Outlaws (1976)2:59 13. "
If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time "
Lefty Frizzell ,
Jim Beck
The Sound in Your Mind (1976)2:06 14. "
Uncloudy Day " Josiah Kelley Alwood
The Troublemaker (1976)4:40 15. "
Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys " (with Waylon Jennings)
Ed Bruce ,
Patsy Bruce
Waylon & Willie (1978)2:23 16. "
Georgia on My Mind "
Hoagy Carmichael ,
Stuart Gorrell
Stardust (1978)4:21 17. "
Blue Skies "
Irving Berlin Stardust (1978)3:35 18. "
All of Me "
Seymour Simons ,
Gerald Marks Stardust (1978)3:54 19. "
Heartbreak Hotel " (with
Leon Russell )
Mae Boren Axton ,
Tommy Durden ,
Elvis Presley
One for the Road (1979)3:03 20. "
Help Me Make It Through the Night "
Kris Kristofferson
Sings Kristofferson (1979)4:01 21. "
Whiskey River " (live, April 1978)
Johnny Bush
Willie and Family Live (1978)3:31 22. "
Stay a Little Longer " (live, April 1978)
Bob Wills ,
Tommy Duncan Willie and Family Live (1978)3:25 Total length: 1:08:16
Disc two Title Writer(s) Originally from 1. "
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys "
Sharon Vaughn
The Electric Horseman (1980)3:06 2. "
Faded Love " (with
Ray Price ) Bob Wills, Billy Jack Wills
San Antonio Rose (1980)3:51 3. "
On the Road Again " Willie Nelson
Honeysuckle Rose (1980)2:33 4. "
Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground " Willie Nelson
Honeysuckle Rose (1980)4:31 5. "
Always on My Mind "
Johnny Christopher ,
Mark James ,
Wayne Carson
Always on My Mind (1982)3:32 6. "
Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning "
Gary P. Nunn , Donna Farar Always on My Mind (1982)4:21 7. "
Pancho and Lefty " (with
Merle Haggard )
Townes Van Zandt
Pancho & Lefty (1983)4:48 8. "
To All the Girls I've Loved Before " (with
Julio Iglesias )
Hal David ,
Albert Hammond
1100 Bel Air Place (1984)3:34 9. "
City of New Orleans "
Steve Goodman
City of New Orleans (1984)4:52 10. "
Seven Spanish Angels " (with
Ray Charles )
Troy Seals , Eddie Setser
Friendship (1984)3:52 11. "
Forgiving You Was Easy " Willie Nelson
Me & Paul (1985)2:49 12. "
Highwayman " (with Waylon Jennings,
Johnny Cash &
Kris Kristofferson )
Jimmy Webb
Highwayman (1985)3:04 13. "
Living in the Promiseland "
David Lynn Jones
The Promiseland (1986)3:22 14. "
Nothing I Can Do About It Now "
Beth Nielsen Chapman
A Horse Called Music (1989)3:19 15. "
Graceland "
Paul Simon
Across the Borderline (1993)4:46 16. "Everywhere I Go" (with
Emmylou Harris ) Willie Nelson
Teatro (1998)3:52 17. "Slow Dancing" (
U2 featuring Willie Nelson)
Bono ,
The Edge "
If God Will Send His Angels " CD single B-side (1997) 4:02 18. "
Mendocino County Line " (with
Lee Ann Womack )
Matt Serletic ,
Bernie Taupin
The Great Divide (2002)4:33 19. "One Time Too Many" (with
Steven Tyler and
Aerosmith )
Steven Tyler ,
Richie Supa previously unreleased, recorded 1987 5:23 Total length: 1:14:22
2015 re-release disc two Title Writer(s) Originally from 1. "
On the Road Again " (Live) Willie Nelson
Honeysuckle Rose (1980)2:33 2. "
Always on My Mind "
Johnny Christopher ,
Mark James ,
Wayne Carson
Always on My Mind (1982)3:32 3. "
Pancho and Lefty " (with
Merle Haggard )
Townes Van Zandt
Pancho & Lefty (1983)4:48 4. "
To All the Girls I've Loved Before " (with
Julio Iglesias )
Hal David ,
Albert Hammond
1100 Bel Air Place (1984)3:34 5. "
City of New Orleans "
Steve Goodman
City of New Orleans (1984)4:52 6. "
Seven Spanish Angels " (with
Ray Charles )
Troy Seals , Eddie Setser
Friendship (1984)3:52 7. "
Forgiving You Was Easy " Willie Nelson
Me & Paul (1985)2:49 8. "
Highwayman " (with Waylon Jennings,
Johnny Cash &
Kris Kristofferson )
Jimmy Webb
Highwayman (1985)3:04 9. "
Living in the Promiseland "
David Lynn Jones
The Promiseland (1986)3:22 10. "The End of Understanding" (with Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson) Willie Nelson
The Road Goes On Forever (1995)2:41 11. "Across the Borderline"
Ry Cooder ,
John Hiatt ,
Jim Dickinson
Across the Borderline (1993)4:40 12. "Still Is Still Moving to Me" Willie Nelson
Across the Borderline (1993)3:29 13. "
I Never Cared For You " Willie Nelson
Teatro (1998)2:18 14. "
Just Breathe " (with
Lukas Nelson )
Eddie Vedder
Heroes (2012)4:02 15. "I Wish I Didn’t Love You So"
Frank Loesser
Let's Face the Music and Dance (2013)4:18 16. "From Here to the Moon and Back" (with
Dolly Parton )
Dolly Parton
To All the Girls... (2013)4:01 17. "
The Wall "
Willie Nelson ,
Buddy Cannon
Band of Brothers (2014)3:29 18. "Band of Brothers"
Willie Nelson ,
Buddy Cannon Band of Brothers (2014)2:51 19. "Who'll Buy My Memories?" (with
Bobbie Nelson ) Willie Nelson
December Day: Willie’s Stash, Vol. 1 (2014)2:47 20. "Unfair Weather Friend" (with Merle Haggard) Marla Cannon-Goodman, Ward Davis
Django and Jimmie (2015)4:14 21. "
It's All Going to Pot " (with Merle Haggard and
Jamey Johnson ) Buddy Cannon,
Jamey Johnson , Larry Shell Django and Jimmie (2015)2:56 22. "
Roll Me Up " (with
Snoop Dogg , Kris Kristofferson and Jamey Johnson) Willie Nelson, Buddy Cannon, Rich Alves, John Colgin, Mike McQuerry Heroes (2012)3:25
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
Studio albums
1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
Live albums Compilations Books Related articles