An American Classic Gorgeous Breakthrough Album of Pop Standards Spent More than a Decade on Country ChartsQuintuple Platinum 1978 Set Finds Nelson Interpreting Fare From Likes of Kurt Weill, Hoagy Carmichael, and Irving BerlinSumptuous Sound Elevates Booker T. Jones' Production Mastered on Mobile Fidelity's World-Renowned Mastering System and Pressed at RTIAs a Singer, Nelson Never Better Gets Inside the Phrasing, Lyrics, and Emotions of Songs'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 , 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 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