even cows get the blues

The premise for Willie Nelson's long-awaited foray into the blues is pretty darn simple: Pair ol' Willie up with various blues folks, giving him a chance to work with a plethora of talent, ranging from hot young guns like guitar slinger Jonny Lang to regal elder statesmen like B.B. King, and all points between. While it's true that Nelson doesn't really sing the blues -- he mostly just recites the lyrics in his pleasing monotone -- there's still no denying that the warmth of his laid-back personality is injected into every moment of Milk Cow Blues. The resulting mellow, rainy-day record fits in nicely beside earlier landmark Nelson albums like Stardust, and in this instance, showcases yet another side of his eclectic and distinctly American musical talent.