A Year of Blind Spots: Phases and Stages

Joe is working through a list of albums that he considers "blind spots," i.e. albums that he's never heard but feels like he should.

Phases and Stages

Willie Nelson

1974

A little less than a year ago, I described Willie Nelson as "[an artist] that I have never been able to take seriously or get into in any serious way." This is true, and of course it's also true that I finally give one of his albums a chance and it's pretty damn good. That's who these things usually go. I blog, I type hyperbolic words, I welcome the egg on my face. Also, when I typed that, I was mainly focused on my hatred of Johnny Cash, and Nelson was just there to catch the strays. I can take Willie Nelson seriously now. His music does not sound like a parody.

Actually, after listening to Willie Nelson and John Cougar Mellencamp so close together in this political hellscape of a year, I'm starting to develop a theory. Because I had the same reservations about JCM before I listened to his music, right? "Here is an artist who I've been told I shouldn't take seriously." And what do these two musicians have in common? They are also known for their progressive views. I'm wondering now if this is by design, that if you believe in socialism or are anti-racist or are explicitly pro-legalization, all the shit like that, then society in general tends to take you less seriously. This is a developing theory, don't hold me to it. I'll see what else A Year of Blind Spots can uncover.

I'm not in love with Phases and Stages like I was with The Lonesome Jubilee, but this Willie Nelson album has nevertheless thoroughly convinced me that Nelson is a country artist to take seriously. This isn't just a hodgepodge collection of old-school '70s country tracks. This is a concept album! It's about a couple getting divorced. Side A tells the woman's side, Side B tells the man's side, and both sides are sad as hell. There is very little blame and a whole lot of regret, and the music follows suit. The pedal steel guitar is the manifestation of a teardrop falling down a grizzled face. Willie don't fuck around. He takes the assignment seriously.

You can take a step back and see how this sound came to define country in the 20th century. There is nothing radical about Willie Nelson within the genre of his choice. What's radical, to my 21st-century ears, is how pleasant it sounds. You'd think, over 50 years later, that this sound would age poorly. But no Elvis Theory to be found here at all. I think this has to do with the subject matter, honestly. If you're doing a parody of country music now, you're singing about wanting to stick your flaccid penis into the tailpipe of your oversized truck. You can't parody Phases and Stages, because it's too sad and honest and real.

There are plenty of artists, not confined to any particular genre, that reached their critical and commercial peak long before I was born, but have stuck around in the social consciousness for reasons outside of their music. These are the artists I sometimes struggle with. I've known who Willie Nelson is my entire life, and it's tough to reconcile with the fact that he only got to this point because of the music first. It's hard to take such musicians seriously when the only thing I've ever seen of them is extracurricular activities. Listening to Phases and Stages was a good way to clear my head. It's like, no, this is what's important. The music. I liked it, didn't love it, but I am thankful for the opportunity to brush away the cobwebs and get in touch with the music. It's the only thing that matters.