Countryman (Lost Highway, 2005)

*GUEST REVIEW*
The biopic Walk The Line has been showing in the cinema for months, Candi Staton has recently released a lovely country soul album, and alt country beards abound. So country is cool. Countryman is Willie Nelson's reggae offering. There are two highpoints of this album. Nelson's vocals are soulful and rootsy, and the backing vocals are soaked in gospel. However the music is neither country or reggae. It's a strange hybrid that seems rather out of time with the vocals on most tracks. Turn the vocals off and reggae by numbers gets exposed. This project is billed as being 10 years in the making, but reeks of a contractual obligation. This is a forgettable album bar the lovely cover of The Harder They Come.

- ragudave