Cutting against country music traditions and conventions, Willie Nelson's 1978 departure into his favorite pop standards remains a genius-level creation as well as the icon's most commercially successful release. The Booker T. Jones-produced, Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles influenced Stardust is a truly gorgeous record infused with the ultimate respect for the composers and their lyrics.

Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rated 260/500

• Limited Edition
• 2LP 45rpm 180 Gram Vinyl
• Plated by Gary Salstrom
• Pressed at Quality Record Pressings, QRP USA
• Cut from the Original Analog Master Tapes
• Mastered by Bernie Grundman
• Gatefold Cover by Stoughton Printing

Willie Nelson has long been honored as a genuine legend, and his songs and concerts are loved worldwide. Though his roots are in country, Willie's musical influences are as broad as the Texas skies, unlimited to any one genre.

"These are my favorite songs. My favorite all-time songs," Willie says. "I knew there were millions of people who liked these songs and would love to hear them again. I grew up with them... they're some of the first songs I learned to play."

Here is the familiar Stardust, yet in a way so striking from any versions that have come before. For starters, for this Analogue Productions reissue we turned to the masters, literally. We insisted on the master tapes and no less a skilled mastering engineer than the award-winning Bernie Grundman to cut the lacquers for this project. Then, naturally, we put Gary Salstrom and his crew at Quality Record Pressings to work to plate and press the finest-sounding 180-gram LPs. We bring them to you housed in a heavyweight tip-on, old style gatefold jacket from Stoughton Printing. Unmatched quality; unmatched sound — that's the way Analogue Productions rolls.

It turned out that Willie had some convincing to do to get his record label on board with Stardust. "Why be predictable?" Willie asked Columbia Records executive Nick Blackburn, after the latter resisted the Red Headed Strangers decision to make an album of classic pop tunes.

Willie ultimately scored big-time with this quintessential addition to his album catalog. The songs — Moonlight in Vermont, All of Me, Don't Get Around Much Anymore — are lovingly arranged here by Booker T. Jones of Green Onions fame and recorded in Nelson's inimitable style in Emmylou Harris' house.

Booker T's trademark sound set the mood for the sessions. Willie and cohorts mine a mellow groove here, sounding as if Willie is at home, sitting on his porch overlooking the beautiful Texas hill country.

Nelson's Stardust remains a genius-level creation as well as the icon's most commercially successful release, a truly gorgeous record infused with ultimate respect for composers and lyrics and many of the finest performances of Willie's career.

"This is a vocal record that even opera lovers treasure. ... these were unexpected vocal knockouts from a shaggy source. ... The 45 RPM pressing on 180g vinyl shows the impeccable care that Analogue Productions lavishes on all its reissues. The higher speed means shorter sides (in this case, 45 minutes of music spread over two discs), and while it may be an audio mirage, the sound is more alive, more present than on a 33 1/3 RPM LP." — Editor's Pick, Recording Of The Month — Performance = 5/5; Sonics = 5/5 — Robert Baird, Stereophile, March 2018

Musicians:

Willie Nelson, vocals, guitar
Bobbie Nelson, piano
Paul English, drums
Rex Ludwig, drums
Jody Payne, guitar
Bee Spears, bass
Chris Ethridge, bass
Mickey Raphael, harmonica
Booker T. Jones, organ, piano

Track Listing:

Side A
1. Stardust
2. Georgia On My Mind

Side B
1. Blue Skies
2. All Of Me
3. Unchained Melody

Side C
1. September Song
2. On The Sunny Side Of The Street

Side D
1. Moonlight In Vermont
2. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
3. Someone To Watch Over Me

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫