A Beautiful Time

A Beautiful Time
Studio album by
Willie Nelson
ReleasedApril 29, 2022
Studio
GenreCountry
Length49:19
LabelLegacy Recordings
ProducerBuddy Cannon
Willie Nelson chronology
The Willie Nelson Family
(2021) 		A Beautiful Time
(2022) 		I Don't Know a Thing About Love
(2023)

A Beautiful Time is the 72nd solo studio album by Willie Nelson, released on April 29, 2022, on his 89th birthday. Produced by Buddy Cannon, the album includes original songs by Nelson, as well as covers of the Beatles and Leonard Cohen.[1]

On February 10, 2022, Nelson released the single "I'll Love You Till the Day I Die" a song written by Chris Stapleton and Rodney Crowell.[2]

A Beautiful Time won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards while Crowell and Stapleton's lead single "I'll Love You Till the Day I Die" was a nominee in the Best Country Song category at the same awards.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
And It Don't StopA[6]
The Arts Desk[7]

A Beautiful Time received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 84 out of 100 based on four reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[4]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic praised the record's "earned wisdom and wry humor", concluding that "it's still a marvel to hear him find sustenance and surprises within his music".[5] Liz Thomson of The Arts Desk called the album "classic Nelson" [7] while No Depression, though acknowledging that the remote recording meant that the musicians performed without "other players to bounce off", praised Nelson's vocals and guitar playing and gave their verdict that it "is a delightful album from beginning to end".[8] Veteran critic Robert Christgau ranked it as the fourth best album of 2022.[9]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'll Love You Till the Day I Die"
4:11
2."My Heart Was a Dancer"
3:11
3."Energy Follows Thought"
  • Nelson
  • Cannon
3:18
4."Dreamin' Again"
  • Jack Wesley Routh
  • Douglas Graham
3:57
5."I Don't Go to Funerals"
  • Nelson
  • Cannon
2:27
6."A Beautiful Time"Shawn Camp4:57
7."We're Not Happy (Till You're Not Happy)"
  • Camp
  • Charles R. Humphrey III
3:17
8."Dusty Bottles"
3:31
9."Me and My Partner"Ken Lambert2:12
10."Tower of Song"Leonard Cohen5:00
11."Live Every Day"
  • Nelson
  • Cannon
3:12
12."Don't Touch Me There"
  • Nelson
  • Cannon
2:38
13."With a Little Help from My Friends"
3:43
14."Leave You with a Smile"
  • Cannon
  • Bobby Terry
  • Matt Rossi
3:42
Total length:49:19

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for A Beautiful Time
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Country Albums (ARIA)[10] 8
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 49
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 100
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 74
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 44
Scottish Albums (OCC)[15] 14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 19
UK Country Albums (OCC)[17] 2
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[18] 26
US Billboard 200[19] 100
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[20] 13

References

  1. ^ Corcoran, Nina (February 10, 2022). "Willie Nelson Announces New Album A Beautiful Time, Shares New Song "I'll Love You Till the Day I Die": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  2. ^ Hudak, Joseph (February 10, 2022). "Willie Nelson Records Songs by Chris Stapleton, the Beatles for New Album 'A Beautiful Time'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  3. ^ "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". Grammy.com. November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "A Beautiful Time by Willie Nelson". Metacritic. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "A Beautiful Time - Willie Nelson | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (May 11, 2022). "Consumer Guide: May, 2022". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Thomson, Liz (27 April 2022). "Album: Willie Nelson - A Beautiful Time". The Arts Desk. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  8. ^ Heselgrave, Doug. "ALBUM REVIEW: Humor and Humanity Run Through Willie Nelson's 'A Beautiful Time'". No Depression. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  9. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 25, 2023). "Dean's List: 2022". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  10. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 40 Country Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  11. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  15. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  16. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Willie Nelson – A Beautiful Time". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  17. ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  18. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  19. ^ "Willie Nelson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  20. ^ "Willie Nelson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2022.