DISQUS

DISQUS Hello! newcritics is using DISQUS, a powerful comment system, to manage its comments. Learn more.

Community Page

newcritics

the best in web criticism
Jump to original thread »
Author

Willie’s World

Started by tomwatson · 10 months ago

Little, Brown missed the mark in subtitling Joe Nick Patoski’s absorbing new biography of Willie Nelson ‘An Epic Life’.
Willie’s story is more of a tall tale. Like Daniel Boone, Willie belongs both to American history and American myth. Huckster. ... Continue reading »

8 comments

  • kathleenmaher

    10 months ago

    Thanks for review, Jason. Ever the uneducated, enthusiastic but opinionated listener, I've long felt Willie Nelson fits no genre in American music except his own. That means I recognize his music whenever it's in the air, and that his music always makes me feel happier than I felt before the sound waves reached my ears.
    reply
  • Jason_Chervokas

    10 months ago

    Kathleen, it's true, Ray Charles was really Willie's only peer in terms of their enormous and encompassing visions of American music.
    reply
  • Joe Nick

    10 months ago

    What about Louis Armstrong?

    And thanks for the review, Jason. I linked it up on my blog, joenickp.blogspot.com
    reply
  • Jason_Chervokas

    10 months ago

    Joe Nick, loved the book. Couldn't put it down in fact. Thanks for the kind comments on your blog.

    I suppose I still felt at the end that I wish I knew more about where inside the man the songs come from; and for all the obvious selflessness of the man you portray, there was also something in the portrayal that left me feeling like Willie's pursuit of the road and his muse could also be seen as the simple pursuit of personal pleasure at a fairly high emotional cost to his wives and children. Maybe that's more of a criticism of the man than the book. But what do I know, I only know the man through the music and, now, your excellent book.

    What about Armstrong? Armstrong was a prime mover, an original, he has no peers. Even artists as great as Willie and Ray are standing on Armstrong's shoulders.
    reply
  • Jason_Chervokas

    6 months ago

    Kathleen, it's true, Ray Charles was really Willie's only peer in terms of their enormous and encompassing visions of American music.
    reply
  • DJ Walter

    5 months ago

    Willie Nelson is perhaps the best of his kind. An I agree with the idea that he does kinda have his own style. I really like the way you write by the way very nice post.
    reply
  • Jason_Chervokas

    4 months ago

    Kathleen, it's true, Ray Charles was really Willie's only peer in terms of their enormous and encompassing visions of American music.
    reply
  • johnjonatan

    2 months ago

    Willie's World-Class Cacao. Willie's Wonky Chocolate Factory,. Website Concept and Design by Taxi Studio Website Realisation, Content Management (CMS) and ...
    practice golf balls
    reply
Please login to comment.
Returning? Login