Try as you might, making it through Willie Nelson’s latest studio album (and 153rd overall, per Texas Monthly) Last Leaf on the Tree with dry eyes might be an impossible task.
Hearing the 91-year-old Texas icon warble the opening lines — “I’m the last leaf on the tree/The autumn took the rest/But it won’t take me” — of the Tom Waits tune “Last Leaf” is a roundhouse punch to the soul, particularly hearing it just weeks removed from the passing of Nelson’s longtime collaborator and fellow Highwayman Kris Kristofferson.
The 13-track collection, out now, was produced by Nelson’s son, Micah, who performs under the moniker Particle Kid. The material here is largely the work of others (Beck, Nina Simone, the Flaming Lips, Neil Young) with a new Willie/Micah work, “Color of Sound,” tucked in toward the end.
Nelson has long been one of the sharper interpreters in modern music and that strength is highlighted again and again throughout Tree. Much has been made of his take on “Do You Realize??” and, yes, it is extraordinarily poignant. But Nelson wrings just as much pathos out of other selections here — Waits’s “House Where Nobody Lives” is simply devastating; Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me in Your Heart” will make you weep.
Trigger is by Nelson’s side as always on Tree, skipping lightly across the surface of most songs, with a few psychedelic flourishes. Sunny War’s “If It Wasn’t Broken” is particularly trippy in subtle ways. And A-list guests, including Daniel Lanois, John Densmore and Mickey Raphael, pop up.
Given Nelson’s continued endurance, it seems foolish to assume this record will be his swan song. “I hope there’s a few more,” Nelson told the Associated Press recently. But if Last Leaf on the Tree were to be the final word, what an apt farewell it would be.
Nelson has, unsurprisingly, maintained a jam-packed calendar the last few months, making a cameo on Beyonce’s latest album, Cowboy Carter, appearing in support of presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Houston and gearing up for the release of “Willie and Annie Nelson’s Cannabis Cookbook,” which he co-wrote with his wife, Annie.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
