''Island in the Sea'' is a studio album by the American musician Willie Nelson, released in 1987. The album contains two

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s: the title track and "Nobody There but Me", which respectively reached No. 27 and No. 82 on the

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charts. " The Last Thing on My Mind" is a cover of the

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter who has had a music career spanning more than fifty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

song. The book ''Willie Nelson: The Outlaw'' calls the album "a laid-back slice of old-time textures, including Hawaiian music, yodeling, folk, and country, with four overproduced tracks by Booker T. Jones tacked on at the end."

Critical reception

'' The Philadelphia Inquirer'' praised Nelson's original compositions. The '' Vancouver Sun'' deemed the album "a trifle better than standard Willie." The ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

'' noted that the album's first side "features the spine-tingling beauty of the unadorned Nelson sound." '' USA Today'' considered the title track to be the album's best song.

Track listing

#"Island in the Sea" (W. Nelson) - 2:19 #"

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" (W. Nelson) - 3:17 #"Little Things" (W. Nelson, Shirley Collie Nelson) - 4:23 #" The Last Thing on My Mind" (

) - 5:17 #"There Is No Easy Way (But There Is a Way)" (W. Nelson) - 2:32 #"Nobody There but Me" ( Bruce Hornsby,

John Hornsby Jonathan Bigelow "John" Hornsby (born June 13, 1956, Williamsburg, Virginia) is an American composer, musician and actor. He is the brother of musician and composer Bruce Hornsby, and the two have collaborated often. Hornsby co-wrote seven of n ...

, Charlie Haden) - 2:47 #"Cold November Wind" (Phyllis Horne) - 4:18 #"Women Who Love Too Much" (Booker T. Jones, Waylon Jennings) - 4:45 #"All in the Name of Love" (Jones, Jennings) - 4:59 #"Sky Train" (Jones, Jennings) - 2:39

Personnel

Compiled from ''Island in the Sea'' liner notes. ;Musicians *Willie Nelson - guitar, vocals * Paul English - drums * Mickey Raphael - harmonica *Bee Spears - bass guitar * Bobbie Nelson - piano * Grady Martin - guitar *

Jody Payne Jody Payne (January 11, 1936 – August 10, 2013) was an American country musician and singer. He is best known as a longtime guitarist in Willie Nelson's band, '' The Family''. Early life Payne was born James L. Payne in Garrard County, Kentuck ...

- guitar, vocals *Billy English - percussion *

Chip Young Chip Young (born Jerry Marvin Stembridge, May 19, 1938 – December 20, 2014) was an American session guitarist, and later record producer who worked primarily out of Nashville, Tennessee. Biography Chip Young was born Jerry Marvin Stembridge in ...

- acoustic guitar *Mike Leech - bass guitar * David Briggs - keyboards *Pete Wade - electric guitar *

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- drums *

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- piano *Farrell Morris - percussion,

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* Booker T. Jones - drums, keyboards, acoustic guitar, bass guitar ;On "Nobody There but Me" * Bruce Hornsby - piano, synthesizer *Peter Harris - guitar *George Marinelli, Jr. - guitar *

John Mollo John Mollo (18 March 1931 – 25 October 2017) was a British costume designer and book author, most known for his Oscar-winning costume design for the ''Star Wars'' film series. He was the older brother of Andrew Mollo. Biography Mollo was bor ...

- drums * Joe Puerta - bass guitar ;Technical *Bobby Arnold - engineering *Larry Greenhill - engineering *Booker T. Jones - production (tracks 8-10), engineering *Grady Martin - production (track 7) *Willie Nelson - production (tracks 1-6) *Denny Purcell - mastering *Glenn Rieuf - engineering *Chip Young - engineering

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control Willie Nelson albums 1987 albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Booker T. Jones