''Take It to the Limit'' is an 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 ...

with

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

, released in 1983 on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

Background

''Take It to the Limit'' was the third Jennings/Nelson duet album and the second to be produced by

Chips Moman Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (June 12, 1937 – June 13, 2016) was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums lik ...

. Whereas their previous album together, 1982's ''WWII'', had contained more Waylon solo tracks, this LP includes five tracks sung solely by Willie. The title actually reads Wille Nelson ''with'' Waylon Jennings, likely the result of the LP being released on Nelson's label CBS (the previous two duet albums had been released on RCA). The title song was written by Eagles' members

Randy Meisner Randall Herman Meisner (born March 8, 1946) is a retired American musician, singer, songwriter and founding member of the Eagles. Throughout his professional musical career, Meisner's main role was that of bassist and backing high-harmony vocal ...

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as "Witchy Woman", "Despe ...

and

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don ...

and performed by the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

on their 1975 album, ''

One of These Nights ''One of These Nights'' is the fourth studio album by the Eagles, released in 1975. In July that year, the record became the Eagles' first number one album on ''Billboard''s album chart, yielding three Top 10 singles: " One of These Nights", "Lyi ...

'', while "Homeward Bound" was originally by

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

. ''Take It to the Limit'' was the next-to-last collaboration between Jennings and Nelson; of the four duets albums released by the singers, 1978's '' Waylon & Willie'' achieved the greatest success. Despite the fact that neither singer was in top artistic form and Jennings' most successful days were already over, the record managed to chart, peaking at #3, as did ''

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

''. "Why Do I Have to Choose" also reached #3, while the title track reached #8 on the singles chart.

Reception

In his review of the album for

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 ...

, James Chrispell writes, "it sounds like these two hombres are just plain tired and saddle-sore from all the high riding days of the past. Most of the tunes are covers of previous hits by other artists and have little in association with what Willie (or Waylon) are about except for their take on

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

' "

Why Baby Why "Why Baby Why" is a country music song co-written and originally recorded by George Jones. Released in late 1955 on Starday Records and produced by Starday co-founder and Jones' manager Pappy Daily, it peaked at 4 on the ''Billboard'' country c ...

." By this time, fans were beginning to say the same thing." Author Joe Nick Paroski stated in his 2008 book ''

'' that the LP "reflected a growing distance. The effort sounded half-hearted, as if they were recording together only because it made good business, and it clocked in at a mere thirty-four minutes."

Track listing

#"No Love at All" (

Johnny Christopher John (“Johnny”) Lee Christopher Jr. (born 1943 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American singer, guitarist, session musician and songwriter. Music career Christopher's singles included "(She's A) Girl Of Many Colors / The Teacher And The Pet" (19 ...

Wayne Carson Thompson Wayne Carson (born Wayne Carson Head; May 31, 1943 – July 20, 2015), sometimes credited as Wayne Carson Thompson, was an American country musician, songwriter, and record producer. He played percussion, piano, guitar, and bass. His most fam ...

) – 2:42 #" Why Do I Have to Choose" (

) – 3:12 #"

" (Darrell Edwards,

) – 2:40 #"

We Had It All ''We Had It All'' is the tenth studio album by the American solo artist Scott Walker. It was released in August 1974 but was unsuccessful on the music charts. It was Walker's final solo album for ten years; in the interim Walker reformed The Wal ...

" (

Donnie Fritts Donald Ray Fritts (November 8, 1942 – August 27, 2019) was an American session musician and songwriter. A recording artist in his own right, he was Kris Kristofferson's keyboardist for over forty years. In 2008, he was inducted into the Alaba ...

Troy Seals Troy Harold Seals (born November 16, 1938, in Bighill, Madison County, Kentucky, United States) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is a member of the prominent Seals family of musicians that includes Jim Seals (of Seals and C ...

) – 3:06 #" Take It to the Limit" (

) – 3:46 #" Homeward Bound" (

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

) – 3:29 #" Blackjack County Chain" (Red Lane) – 2:59 #" 'Til I Gain Control Again" (

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''. ...

) – 4:57 #"Old Friends" (

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...

) – 3:33 #"

Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone) ''Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone)'' is the third studio album by American country music singer Tanya Tucker. It was released on February 11, 1974, by Columbia Records. The album was produced by Billy Sherrill and includes Tucker's thir ...

" (

David Allan Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly i ...

) – 3:16

Production

*Producer: Chips Moman *Art Direction: Virginia Team *Cover Illustration Bill Imhoff *Photo of Willie: Charlyn Zlotnick *Photo of Waylon: Beverly Parker

Personnel

*Willie Nelson - guitar, vocals, harmony vocals * Gene Christman, Paul English - drums *Mike Leach, Bee Spears - bass guitar *

Reggie Young Reggie Grimes Young Jr. (December 12, 1936 – January 17, 2019) was an American musician who was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studio house band, The Memphis Boys, and was a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with ...

Grady Martin Thomas Grady Martin (January 17, 1929 – December 3, 2001) was an American session guitarist in country music and rockabilly. A member of The Nashville A-Team, he played guitar on hits such as Marty Robbins' "El Paso", Loretta Lynn's " Coal ...

- guitar *

Bobbie Nelson Bobbie Lee Nelson (January 1, 1931 – March 10, 2022) was an American pianist and singer, the elder sister of Willie Nelson, and a member of his band, Willie Nelson and Family. When she was five, her grandmother taught her to play keyboards wi ...

, Bobby Wood - keyboards *Jon Marett - saxophone *Waylon Jennings, Toni Wine, Lisa Silver, Harry Huffman, Chips Moman, Bobby Wood, Johnny Christopher,

, Garry Talley - harmony vocals

Chart performance

{{Authority control Waylon Jennings albums Willie Nelson albums 1983 collaborative albums Albums produced by Chips Moman Columbia Records albums Vocal duet albums Covers albums