The 20 songs on this set were recorded between 1965 and 1971, long before
Willie Nelson
's commercial breakthrough with
"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain."
All of the songs were produced by
Chet Atkins
or his able assistant,
Felton Jarvis
. As explained in the album notes, the producers were trying to marry
Nelson
's folksy
blues
style with commercial
country
-style arrangements, a union which produced no major
hits. Still, these were some of
's best-known songs which had been popularized by other artists. Spare
standards
such as
"Healing Hands of Time,"
"Hello Walls,"
"Funny How Time Slips Away,"
"Night Life,"
and
"The Party's Over"
are all here. ~ Bil Carpenter