Willie Nelson - Phases and Stages [2xLP]

Willie Nelson’s 1974 classic, celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2024. If Shotgun Willie played a bit like a concept album, Phases and Stages was full-blown, tracing the dissolution of a marriage and devoting one side to the wife's perspective, the second to the husband's…. Phases and Stages is easily the equal of its remarkable predecessor, a wonderful set of music that resonates deeply, as deeply as the words. Make no mistake -- the deceptively relaxed arrangements, including the occasional strings, not only highlight Nelson's clever eclecticism, they also heighten the emotional impact of the album. And this is a hell of an emotional record, where even each side's celebratory honky tonk numbers (the medley "Sister's Coming Home/Down at the Corner Beer Joint" and "Pick Up the Tempo," respectively) are muted by sadness. Then, there are the centerpieces: "Walkin'," where the woman decides it's time to move on; "Pretend I Never Happened," perhaps the coldest ending to a relationship