Me and Bobby McGee
Artist: Kris Kristofferson
Community Score: 10.00

In the late 60s and early 70s, Kris Kristofferson's adult, reality-based songs were the most shocking thing to hit Nashville in a long time, and what's more, they were hits. This album contains his own versions of some of the best, including the title song, "Help Me Make It through the Night," and "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down." ~ William... Read More

Ned Kelly
Artist: Waylon Jennings
The Ramblin' Man
Artist: Waylon Jennings
Community Score: 8.00

If you look at the cover of The Ramblin' Man, you would think that Waylon Jennings had been a ramblin' man, riding the top of the charts, for years, maybe decades. He looks worn out, whether it's on the close-up on the cover, or the back-cover shot of him drunkenly playing solitaire. In truth, it would be another album before he hit the top of... Read More

This Time
Artist: Waylon Jennings
Community Score: 10.00

This Time appeared just as outlaw hit its stride, thanks in large part to the excellent Honky Tonk Heroes. If this record isn't its equal, it's still pretty wonderful all the same. Part of the record's flaw is its heavy reliance on Willie Nelson -- actually, not just on Willie, but on Phases and Stages, which is the source of no less than four... Read More

Honky Tonk Heroes
Artist: Waylon Jennings
Community Score: 10.00

When Waylon Jennings hooked up with songwriter Billy Joe Shaver, he found the perfect author for his obsessions, his fascinations, and his very image. Waylon had always been looking, perhaps unintentionally, for a common ground between country and rock, and Shaver's songs -- sketching an outlaw stance with near defiance and borrowing rock... Read More

Shotgun Willie
Artist: Willie Nelson

Transferring his allegiance to Atlantic (where he would record two remarkable albums that would get him kicked off the label), Willie Nelson offered his finest record to date for his debut -- possibly his finest album ever. Shotgun Willie encapsulates Willie's world view and music, finding him at a peak as a composer, interpreter, and performer.... Read More

Phases and Stages
Artist: Willie Nelson

If Shotgun Willie played a bit like a concept album, Phases and Stages was a full-blown one, tracing the dissolution of a marriage and devoting one side to the wife's perspective, the second to the husband's. If anything, Willie overplays his hand a bit, insisting on grafting the "Phases and Stages" theme between crucial songs to the point of... Read More

Kristofferson
Artist: Kris Kristofferson
Community Score: 6.00

Kris Kristofferson was approaching his mid-thirties and had been kicking around Nashville for several years when he belatedly became an overnight success in 1969-1970. The impetus was "Me and Bobby McGee," which he co-wrote with Fred Foster, who ran Monument Records. Roger Miller cut the song, and his recording peaked in the country Top 20 in... Read More

The Taker/Tulsa/Honky Tonk Heroes
Artist: Waylon Jennings

Two of Waylon Jennings' very best albums, The Taker/Tulsa (1970) and Honky Tonk Heroes (1973), both released by RCA, were combined onto a single compact disc by Mobile Fidelity. This was a great way to pick up these classic albums, but the Mobile Fidelity release has gone out of print. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide Read More

Singer of Sad Songs
Artist: Waylon Jennings

In late 1969, Waylon Jennings was wrapping up his tenure with producer Danny Davis and threw in his lot with Lee Hazlewood. Singer of Sad Songs features a title cut produced by the former, with the rest of the album done by the latter. It was, up to that time, Waylon's most compelling album, and stands the test of time based not only on... Read More

Shotgun Willie/Phases and Stages
Artist: Willie Nelson

Although Willie Nelson's two albums for Atlantic Records -- Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages -- were among his most unsuccessful records commercially, they were groundbreaking, pivotal releases that rank among his finest and most introspective works. Musically, both albums straddle the lines between outlaw country, folk, and traditional pop... Read More