Willie Nelson It's Been Rough And Rocky Travelin' [1954-1963] 3CD

Bear Family Records. Release: 2003. 256Kbps.


IT'S BEEN ROUGH AND ROCKY TRAVELIN': THE EARLIEST WILLIE NELSON features 77 tracks by country legend Willie Nelson and includes work recorded between 1954 and 1963, featauring "When I've Sang My Last Hillbilly Song," "No Place For Me," and "Misery Mansion," with a 68 page booklet.

It's little wonder that Bear Family's collection of Willie Nelson's earliest recordings is titled It's Been Rough and Rocky Travelin': not only is it a lyrical lift from "Me and Paul" that fits neatly with their previous set, Nashville Was the Roughest -- an eight-disc box of his '60s RCA recordings -- but Willie's initial path was indeed bumpy, as he skipped through several labels before gaining success as a songwriter, and then spent a long stint at Liberty, where they were never quite sure what to do with him. All of this is documented on Bear Family's three-disc set, which begins in 1954 when Willie cut an audition record for the Texas label Sarg, then running through all of his local independent labels -- including songs he released on his own in 1957, songs that he cut while working as a DJ -- then gathering all of his sides for Pappy Daily's legendary Lone Star independent "D" before concluding with his complete recordings for the California pop label Liberty. If ever recordings could be called formative, it's these sessions. Almost every element of Nelson's music can be heard here, drawing equally from Western swing and honky tonk, all spun sideways by Willie's relaxed, jazzy delivery. There is ample evidence of his sly, skillful interpretive skills and plenty of his classic songs, including "Nite Life," "Crazy," "Funny How Time Slips Away," and "Hello Walls," the latter trio all recorded at the same September 1961 session for Liberty, which arrive just about halfway through this set, where they provide the crest of the wave that begins with the spare, dusty demos that start the first disc.