- Record Label: Sony Music
- Release Date: Feb 26, 2016
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Feb 23, 2016While he’s done nearly a dozen yesteryear-based solo albums, this one is distinguished by its smartly chosen representation of the Gershwins’ musical breadth and the handpicked, multi-stylistic band (with Mickey Raphael’s winsome yet penetrating harmonica again providing a crucial link to Willie’s larger body of work) fittingly snazzing up the affair while making the most of Willie’s no-dress-code musical fusion.
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UncutFeb 23, 2016The swinging, jazz-country arangements are perfect, too, hitching the polished, romantic sophistication of the songs to a down-home, rootsy bonhomie that draws comparison with Dylan's reinterpretations of the Sinatra songbook on 2015's Shadows In the Night. [Apr 2016, p.78]
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Mar 4, 2016Yes, his voice is more fragile than it was 38 years ago, the vibrato a less tightly reined. But it remains vivid and well-matched to the material.
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Feb 24, 2016His agreeably slight new release, Summertime, is a songbook album, a stroll through some of George and Ira Gershwin’s best-loved songs.
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Feb 24, 2016Gershwin features a number of quirky, intriguing turns from Cyndi Lauper, who on paper couldn't seem further removed from this longtime country outlaw but in execution sounds just right.... Better still are the moments in which Nelson goes it alone, pushing his famed high voice in unexpected directions.
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Apr 22, 2016[Willie Nelson] brings feeling and charm to these 11 covers.
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MojoFeb 23, 2016He has an honesty, knows how to caress a good song, and phrases knowingly. [Apr 2016, p.89]
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Feb 23, 2016All of Summertime's charm is tied directly to its mellowness. Perhaps it would have been a more interesting record if it had a hint of adventure.
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Mar 25, 2016Willie’s battered old voice too often sounds strained and strangled on the higher notes. What should soar barely scrabbles to the right pitch.