From the S&S archives:
Willie Nelson keeps defying the rules

Singing the same songs almost constantly for more than 30 years must get old, but leave it to the man most credited for revitalizing country music to find a way to rejuvenate his catalog of classics.

Willie Nelson has made a career of cutting a wide swath through the conventions of country music. His rebellious attitude, nasal voice, bandannas and on-the-road hijinks have earned him the now-overworn label of "outlaw."

But unlike the horde of young studs who followed in Willie's footsteps in the 1970s and 1980s , Nelson is the real deal, the original outlaw who made music on his terms, then almost single-handedly made Nashville rewrite its terms.

So it's not surprising that when Willie took the stage last week at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Germany, he quickly set a tone completely different from what anyone could have expected.

Nelson has a new album out, and the audience chatter before the concert hummed with concern that he would eschew his arms-length list of hit songs for the chance to throw new tunes before the crowd. Some said they expected the 63-year-old Nelson to sing the torchy-type tunes that made the bulk of his catalog in the early 1 980s.

The fear that Nelson was going to go soft was perpetuated when opening acts Mark Luna and Kimmie Rhodes launched into a collection of acoustic-based numbers that sounded suspiciously soft and mellow.

In fact, Texas songwriter Luna looked like a cross between Paul Simon and James Taylor and sounded like a slightly country Dan Fogelberg. His songs were nice, easy tunes that caught the crowd's attention. Then Rhodes, also from Texas, followed with fairly standard "my-heart-is-broke-and-loving-me-ain't-easy" songs that left the audience appreciative, if not sleepy.

Then, after about 15 minutes of the mostly German crowd chanting "Villeee! Villeee!" the lights dimmed and Nelson strolled on stage sporting a white cowboy hat, a dark T-shirt and his trademark ponytail and grizzled grey stubble beard.

"Hello there," Nelson sang, launching into a medley of early hits from his songwriter days, including Funny How Time Slips Away, Crazy and Night Life.

By the time Nelson reached the next batch of songs, a strange trend became evident. Though he was playing his hits, he was playing them differently. The audience, which clearly wanted to sing along, must have been surprised that he was racing through his songs a few beats faster than people are used to hearing the tunes.

The effect was kind of like playing an album one speed too fast. The words were there, so was the music, but it was so fast. Here was this old country singer playing speed metal western songs on acoustic guitar.

And it was good. Within 15 minutes, it was clear that Willie was creating a new sound on the stage. He was jazzing up his shopworn classics with a funky new beat, fast percussion and guitar riffs that Aerosmith would be proud of.

This was honky-tonk grunge, designed for dancing, drinking and fighting, and Nelson was the ringleader. His lead guitar work surprised and pleased the crowd, who must have expected him to strum his way through the night.

The roller coaster didn't let up. Even when he slowed the pace with a trio of Kris Kristofferson-penned songs, the audience didn't have time to catch its breath before he launched into a three-minute jam session in the middle of his hit Bloody Mary Morning.

He flew through his torchy tunes, like Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain, Georgia on My Mind, All of Me and Stardust.

When he finished that chunk of music, the audience was practically salivating to hear his most revered songs, and Nelson didn't disappoint, putting the same rough edge to My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys, and Good-Hearted Woman.

Nelson did play two songs from his new album, titled Spirit, and they were in keeping with the rest of the program.

Finally, after two breathtaking hours, Nelson grabbed the audience by the lapels for the final dash with Luckenbach, Texas. As the song raced to a finish, Nelson pointed his finger at the Alte Oper ceiling and a massive Texas state flag unrolled behind the band as it launched into a rocking version of Whiskey River to close the show.

Through the entire set, Nelson acknowledged the crowd with little more than a few thank-yous and "I'd like to play ... if you don't mind."

With a list of hits longer than most stars' entire catalog of music, Nelson had little time for chitchat, and it seems the maestro knew what his audience wanted. Willie Nelson delivered the goods, mixing in a little of that outlaw dash that he helped define.