Search - Willie Nelson :: Phases & Stages

This 1974 album was actually Willie Nelson's second concept effort. He'd chronicled a man's life from cradle to grave on the brilliantly conceived but barely noticed 1972 RCA album Yesterday's Wine. Recorded in Muscle Shoals, Phases and Stages was an album he'd had in his mind since leaving RCA (where he'd first recorded several of the songs). It applied Willie's compositional insights to the emotional roller coaster that accompanies the breakup of a marriage. To achieve this, he melded new original compositions and older ones into a compelling, seamless exploration of emotions ranging from shock to anger to anguish and, finally, healing and acceptance. The first five numbers chronicle the woman's viewpoint. Nelson explores the male perspective on songs 6 through 11 with sympathetic accompaniment throughout from a rhythm section, Johnny Gimble's fiddle, and John Hughey's pedal steel. Despite being his final Atlantic album (the label soon folded its country division), Phases and Stages continued the upward trend in Willie's fortunes, culminating in his definitive concept album, 1975's Red Headed Stranger. --Rich Kienzle