''That's Life'' is the 71st 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 ...

. It was released on February 26, 2021, by

Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 20 ...

. A tribute to

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

, it represents the second volume of Nelson's Sinatra collection, following 2018's ''

My Way "My Way" is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed by Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François and first performed in 1967 by Claude François. Its E ...

''. 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 ...

and

Matt Rollings Matt Rollings is a Grammy Award-winning American composer, keyboard player and record producer. Known mainly for playing in Lyle Lovett's Large Band, Rollings has worked with many artists, not all country. Matt won the 'Best Traditional Pop Voca ...

, it was mainly recorded on

Capitol Studios Capitol Studios are recording studios located at the landmark Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, California. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capitol Records. While t ...

, the original studio used for several of Sinatra's recordings. Additional tracks were recorded at Nelson's Pedernales studio. The release was mixed by engineer

Al Schmitt Albert Harry Schmitt (April 17, 1930 – April 26, 2021) was an American recording engineer and record producer. He won twenty Grammy Awards for his work with Henry Mancini, Steely Dan, George Benson, Toto, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, and other ...

, featuring string and brass arrangements. The cover of the album features a painting of Nelson evoking the cover of Sinatra's ''

In the Wee Small Hours ''In the Wee Small Hours'' is the ninth studio album by American vocalist Frank Sinatra. It was released in April 1955 by Capitol and produced by Voyle Gilmore with arrangements by Nelson Riddle. All the songs on the album deal with themes suc ...

''. ''That's Life'' is nominated for the 2022

Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album is an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories are presented ...

.https://www.https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2022-grammys-complete-winners-nominees-nominations-list

Critical reception

''That's Life'' 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 80 out of 100 based on five reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Lee Zimmerman of ''American Songwriter'' said that Nelson "captures the feel and finesse of the original renditions and succeeds in making them his own." In ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

Neil McCormick Neil McCormick (born 31 March 1961) is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster. He has been Chief Music Critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' since 1996, and presented a music interview show for Vintage TV in the UK, Neil McCormick's Nee ...

praised the "different pathos" Nelson brought to the material and characterised the album as "another loving and elegant tribute to an old friend and American legend."

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2021 albums Willie Nelson albums Frank Sinatra tribute albums Legacy Recordings albums Albums produced by Buddy Cannon Albums recorded at Capitol Studios