''Both Sides Now'' is the tenth studio album by country singer Willie Nelson, released in 1970.

Background

With the dawn of the new decade, Nelson had not achieved the commercial success at RCA that he had hoped for. He gained a measure of fame writing songs that were hits for Faron Young (" Hello Walls"), Billy Walker (" Funny How Time Slips Away"), Patsy Cline ("

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or t ...

"), and

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

Pretty Paper ''Pretty Paper'' is the first Christmas album and 24th studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. It was also his last release of the 1970s. Nelson reunited with producer/arranger Booker T. Jones, with whom he had collaborated on the acclai ...

"), but most of his singles stalled on the charts, his biggest single at RCA being the Vegas-styled cover "Bring Me Sunshine," which hit number 13. His producer, RCA head Chet Atkins, had tried various approaches, from a live LP to a Texas-themed concept album, but success remained elusive. After the underwhelming performance of the album '' My Own Peculiar Way'', a year passed before the November 1969 sessions began for ''Both Sides Now''.

Recording and composition

As he had in the past, Atkins turned production duties on Nelson over to Felton Jarvis, who had started producing Elvis Presley. Unlike Atkins, Jarvis let Nelson record on his own terms and bring along Billy English, Paul English's nineteen-year-old brother, on drums, David Zettner on guitar and bass, Shirley Nelson on vocals (her last collaboration with her husband), and Jimmy Day on bass. The album contains a new version of "I Gotta Get Drunk," a song Nelson wrote in Houston before moving to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

in 1960, as well as " Bloody Mary Morning," a tune destined to become a highlight in the Texan's live shows. In his 2015 autobiography, Nelson admitted the song was taken from his own unhappy experiences as a drinker: :"Bloody Mary Morning" was another boozy song about this boozy period of my life. Its origins might be found in those days on the road when I was living a double life...I was a lousy drunk, a foolish drunk, a fighting drunk, a drunk who did himself much damage. But I was caught up in the culture of drinking. That's what country singers did, right? That's what pickers did. That was the life. ''Both Sides Now'' contains the country standards "

Wabash Cannonball "The Great Rock Island Route", popularized as "Wabash Cannonball" and various other titles, is a 19th century American folk song that describes the scenic beauty and predicaments of a fictional train, the ''Wabash Cannonball Express'', as it tra ...

" and " Crazy Arms," but what is most striking about the collection is the inclusion of material far beyond the confines of Nashville, as Streissguth notes: "Willie's own songs were as pleasing as ever, at home in a coffeehouse or a honky-tonk, but now they appeared next to his covers of other great songs of the day:

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

's ' Both Sides Now,' Fred Neil's 'Everybody's Talkin','...a perfect alignment of stars in early 1970s Nashville: the seasoned singer and the blossoming songwriters shone brightly." Nelson's broad range and musical tastes, already evident in his Django Reinhardt-inspired guitar playing and jazz-inflected singing, were attuned to the new songwriters of the day, with the singer later commenting, "Well, I did sing Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now' and... James Taylor's ' Fire and Rain,' not because I wanted to reinvent myself in the folk medium, but only because I really liked the songs." Going completely against the grain of country music's traditionally right-wing conservative stance, he also identified with the

hippie culture A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

: "I liked that they put flowers in their hair and wore bright tie-dyed blouses and bell-bottomed pants. I liked that they had the courage to look and act any damn way they pleased." Nelson sounded just as at ease singing folk-rock as he did singing ballads and western swing, with Jim Worbois of AllMusic declaring, "Listening to "Everybody's Talkin'," you don't find yourself longing for Nilsson's version." Session player Norbert Putnam led one session and added bass while James Isbell played bongos to convey the folkie vibe Nelson was going after.

Reception

AllMusic: "The title track aside, this is a pretty good album. While there aren't as many originals on this record as some of his albums released around this time, he manages to get something new out of several of his covers."

Track listing

#" Crazy Arms" ( Ralph Mooney, Charles Seals) #"

" (

A.P. Carter Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter (December 15, 1891 – November 7, 1960) was an American musician and founding member of The Carter Family, one of the most notable acts in the history of country music. Biography Life A.P. Carter was born to Robe ...

) #"Pins and Needles (In My Heart)" (Nelson, Floyd Jenkins) #"Who Do I Know in Dallas" (Nelson, Hank Cochran) #"I Gotta Get Drunk" (Nelson) #"Once More with Feeling" (Shirley Nelson) #" Both Sides Now" (

) #" Bloody Mary Morning" (Nelson) #"

Everybody's Talkin' "Everybody's Talkin (Echoes)" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Fred Neil in 1966 and released two years later. A version of the song performed by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson became a hit in 1969, reachin ...

" ( Fred Neil) #"One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart)" (Hal Blair, Dearest Dean) #"It Could Be Said That Way" (Nelson)

Personnel

*Willie Nelson – guitar, vocals *David Zettner – guitar *

Jimmy Day Jimmy Day (born James Clayton Day; 1934–1999) was an American steel guitarist active in the 1950s and 1960s whose career in country music blossomed about the time the pedal steel guitar was invented after pedals were added to the lap steel gui ...

– steel guitar * Norbert Putnam – bass *David English – drums *James Isbell – percussion

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Authority control 1970 albums Willie Nelson albums Albums produced by Felton Jarvis RCA Records albums