Stardust [MoFi Audiophile Numbered Vinyl]

'Why be predictable?,'' Willie Nelson asked Columbia Records executive Nick Blackburn, after the latter resisted the Red Headed Stranger's decision to make an album of classic pop tunes. Talk about outlaw country. Cutting against the genre's traditions and Music Row conventions, Nelson's Stardust remains a genius-level creation as well as the icon's most commercially successful release, a truly gorgeous record infused with ultimate respect for composers and lyrics and many of the finest performances of his career. It is a quintessential part of any catalog.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity's world-renowned mastering system and pressed at RTI, this Silver Label LP dazzles with dead-quiet surfaces, tube-like warmth, and an enhanced soundstage. Further exposing the delicate touches abounding in Stax legend Booker T. Jones' production, this edition brings out the textured kernels of Nelson's voice - and the deep-seeded dignity, austerity, devotion, grit, sensitivity, grace, and plaintiveness within it. His brilliant phrasing throughout is on par with that of Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles, two giants that influenced this project and his willingness to pair with strings and small combo to wondrous effect.

Having met Jones while living in Malibu, Nelson established a relationship with the musician that extended to roles as producer, arranger and band mate. Jones' superior knowledge of the American Songbook comes through via the material's economy of scale and sympathetic approach. Acoustic guitar arpeggios, contrasting breaks, bluesy harmonicas, glowing organs, R&B-tinged horns, brushed drums, and relaxed bass lines trickle throughout the songs, all distinguished by Nelson's intimate timbre and absolutely astonishing vocal expressiveness.

In redefining and reimagining standards such as Irving Berlin's ''Blue Skies,'' Hoagy Carmichael's ''Georgia On My Mind,'' and the age-old ''All of Me'' - all of which landed in the Top 5 of the Country singles chart - Nelson wedded together pop, country, jazz, folk, and blues in a manner in which no artist had ever before done. He gained considerable rewards for his exquisite efforts: Stardust sold more than five million copies and, incredibly, stayed on the Country album charts for more than ten years.

This is a record no one should be without. Hear the definitive analog pressing.

An American Classic: Gorgeous Breakthrough Album of Pop Standards Spent More than a Decade on Country Charts

Sumptuous Sound Elevates Booker T. Jones' Production: Mastered on Mobile Fidelity's World-Renowned Mastering System and Pressed at RTI

1/2'' / 30 IPS analog copy to analog console to lathe

Track Listing:

1. Stardust

2. Georgia On My Mind

3. Blue Skies

4. All of Me

5. Unchained Melody

6. September Song

7. On the Sunny Side of the Street

8. Moonlight In Vermont

9. Don't Get Around Much Anymore

10. Someone to Watch Over Me