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Willie Nelson's timing

#21
two fingers said:
I've seen Willie live a few times. His band is always grinning. They love what they do. (OK yes, I admit they're probably high as well.) Seriously though, they all look like there's no place else they would rather be. He's an original. He's doing his thing. I don't love everything he does. But I love that he does everything he does like nobody else.
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I've got quite the soft spot for Willie and Johnny Cash.

As a matter of fact on the Johnny Cash tip I have these in my wardrobe:

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Cash-Flyer-Sock.jpg


Sorry to go off topic.

C/S,
Rev J
 
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#24
Joe Nerve said:
All I know about Willie Nelson is that he's a POS. Around 1994 I had broken up with my girl. She started dating someone else. I went to her apartment to reconcile one evening, she was willing, but was getting picked up by a guy who was taking her to a Willie Nelson concert.

She was so proud to be able to stick that in my face... extra excited that the guy rang her bell as I was standing there.

Women.

Willie.

Not sure if his timing has anything to do with me and my incident, but karma is a strange and powerful thing.
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willie a piece o? really? no wonder why she dumped yer ass. get a clue.
 
#26
IDK, Yes, Willie is all over the place, ahead and behind and in the pocket but,
the rest of the band just stays steady. Don't see it being all that complicated.
I've worked with jazz vocalist that do that. You just gotta tune out their vamping and
stick to the song structure and meter no matter what they are doing.
Eventually they come around and land on your beat.
 
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#27
dtripoli said:
IDK, Yes, Willie is all over the place, ahead and behind and in the pocket but,
the rest of the band just stays steady. Don't see it being all that complicated.
I've worked with jazz vocalist that do that. You just gotta tune out their vamping and
stick to the song structure and meter no matter what they are doing.
Eventually they come around and land on your beat.
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In the words of another great Willy "You've just got to let Willie be Willie!" (Groundskeeper Willy "The Simpsons").

C/S,
Rev J
 
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#28
I've been listening to Willie since The Red Headed Stranger album came out. He is notorious for being behind the beat. He is one of the few artists that actually makes music in the country genre that is interesting. Love him or not, he is a living legend that defined and era and a style unique unto himself.
 
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#30
dtripoli said:
IDK, Yes, Willie is all over the place, ahead and behind and in the pocket but,
the rest of the band just stays steady. Don't see it being all that complicated.
I've worked with jazz vocalist that do that. You just gotta tune out their vamping and
stick to the song structure and meter no matter what they are doing.
Eventually they come around and land on your beat.
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I agree. Other than the drummer switching between swing and straight time, the rest is pretty solid. To me the vocals just sound like what many older artists do when they've played the same songs for 20, 30, 40 yrs or more: start playing around with the timing and phrasing to keep yourself sane. The guitar playing tho, that's one of a kind!
 
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#33
Oddly said:
Recently I've been playing along to a few Willie Nelson tunes with a view to doing them in a covers band.
I've never really listened to him while playing.
It may be just me, but he surely has an 'interesting ' approach to timing and phrasing.
The guy's a legend, of course, and I have to say I love how he puts his own spin on everything ...
but I think I'd be terrified to back him...




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Not that I've backed him, but it's not too crazy (sorry) if you've played blues or jazz. You just hold the form down, Willie does what he wants, repeat :) His sister on piano plays very straight, she's the one to listen to. Now the 300 song catalog, that's what to worry about.

I think it was on Stephen Colbert that Willie was asked, "you play kind of... different... what do you do when a producer asks you to play straighter?"

"Find another producer."

He's really great, as if he needs my endorsement, saw him about 6 months ago and he was in top form both voice and guitar wise, played the whole gig straight through, just about every classic you could imagine. I feel very fortunate that happened as I've seen another night that he could only perform about 1/2 hour himself. He just had to cancel a bunch of dates due to health. Our remaining time with Willie is limited so see him when you can.
 
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#35
Saw him a couple years ago. Allison Krause's incredibly tight band opened. Halfway through Willie's set my wife commented that they were not very tight. I explained that Willie had his own timing and everyone else was trying to follow.
 
#37
markjazzbassist said:
Willie is a jazz singer doing country. When I heard his jazz album (blue skies or stardust forgot the name) I realized this was his calling. Improv melodies and melodic runs vocally, his timbre is also not very country, too soft and lilting. Great singer and guitar player. Love that nylon string (so not country)
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^^^ This wins. I wouldn't have been able to think of a better way to describe it. ^^^
 
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