Willie Nelson & Family

Although he's regarded as one of America's great living songwriters, Willie Nelson's interpretive talents have resulted in just as many career highpoints. It was Nelson's 1978 album of jazz and pop standards, Stardust, which solidified his mainstream popularity, and frequently revisiting that concept has kept Nelson on solid artistic ground in between sometimes questionable ventures into other genres. This holds true with Let's Face the Music and Dance, a 14-track collection inspired by songs on which Nelson and sister Bobbie (also his long-time pianist) cut their musical teeth. Their unbreakable bond is the heart and soul of this charming, intimate collection that tips its hat to Irving Berlin, Western swing pioneers Spade Cooley and Moon Mullican, and even Django Reinhardt on two superb instrumentals. In fact, Nelson's guitar playing hasn't sounded so fluid in some time, and a spritely workout on Carl Perkins' "Matchbox" is hardly the playing of an 80-year-old man. Let's Face the Music and Dance displays Nelson in his natural element: a small combo playing songs as timeless as his wonderfully idiosyncratic voice. For long-time Willie fans, it doesn't get much better.