''A Beautiful Time'' is the 72nd solo studio album by

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

, released on April 29, 2022, on his 89th birthday. Produced by

Buddy Cannon Buddy Cannon (born April 20, 1947 Lexington, Tennessee) is an American country music songwriter and record producer. Active since the late 1970s, he is known primarily for his work with Willie Nelson and as Kenny Chesney's record producer, for w ...

, the album includes original songs by Nelson, as well as covers of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and Leonard Cohen. On February 10, 2022, Nelson released the single "I'll Love You Till the Day I Die" a song written by

Chris Stapleton Christopher Alvin Stapleton (born April 15, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky. In 2001, Stapleton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to ...

and

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

. ''A Beautiful Time'' won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards while Crowell and Stapleton's lead single "I'll Love You Till the Day I Die" was a nominee in the Best Country Song category at the same awards.

Critical reception

''A Beautiful Time'' received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 84 out of 100 based on four reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

praised the record's "earned wisdom and wry humor", concluding that "it's still a marvel to hear him find sustenance and surprises within his music". Liz Thomson of ''

The Arts Desk ''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...

'' called the album "classic Nelson" while '' No Depression'', though acknowledging that the remote recording meant that the musicians performed without "other players to bounce off", praised Nelson's vocals and guitar playing and gave their verdict that it "is a delightful album from beginning to end". Veteran critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

ranked it as the fourth best album of 2022.

Track listing

Personnel

Performance * Barry Bales – upright bass *Jim "Moose" Brown – piano, B-3 organ, synthesizer, Wurlitzer *Buddy Cannon – background vocals *

Melonie Cannon Melonie Cannon is an American singer, blending country and bluegrass on her solo albums and session work. Willie Nelson said, "Melonie Cannon is one of the best singers I know." Biography Early years Cannon was born in Jackson, Tennessee, but her ...

– background vocals * Chad Cromwell – drums *Fred Eltringham – drums, percussion *Kevin "Swine" Grant – upright bass *Mike Johnson – steel guitar *Catherine Marx – Wurlitzer, piano, B-3 organ *James Mitchell – electric guitar *Willie Nelson – lead vocals,

Trigger Trigger may refer to: Notable animals and people ;Mononym * Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers ;Nickname * Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist * "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster ;Surname * Bru ...

Mickey Raphael Michael Siegfried "Mickey" Raphael (born November 7, 1951) is an American harmonica player, music producer and actor best known for his work with Willie Nelson, with whom he has toured as part of The Family since 1973. He has performed or reco ...

– harmonica *Bobby Terry – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar, bass, piano * Lonnie Wilson – drums, percussion Production *Buddy Cannon – production *Tony Castle – recording, mixing *

Steve Chadie Steve Chadie (born 2 May 1968) is an audio engineer who has worked extensively with Willie Nelson. His recordings with Nelson include vocals and guitar on “Last Man Standing”, “My Way” (for which he received a Grammy for Best Traditional ...

– recording *Shannon Finnegan – production coordinator *Andrew Mendelson – mastering Other personnel *Frank Harkins – art direction and design *

Pamela Springsteen Pamela Colleen Springsteen (born ) is an American actress and photographer. She had a short acting career, and is best known for playing the role of serial killer Angela Baker in the cult slasher/comedy/horror films '' Sleepaway Camp II: Unhapp ...

– photography

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beautiful Time, A Willie Nelson albums 2022 albums Legacy Recordings albums Albums produced by Buddy Cannon Grammy Award for Best Country Album