Is this hilarious? Well, that's debatable. But Willie isn't worried about the haters, as he explains in his introduction to Willie & His Hilarious Phone Pranks. "Well if that's your problem. You don't need to listen to no more, just turn your machine off, and keep that old frown on your ugly face." As for his comedy, Willie prefers a homey, conversational style quite the opposite from insult kings like the Jerky Boys. And even if the bits don't always pan out, his premises are definitely funny....   [ read more ]

CD $13.28

Willie Nelson recorded for many labels during the course of his lengthy career, but his greatest commercial success arrived during his time on Columbia during the late '70s and early '80s, which is one of the reasons that the career-spanning double-disc collection The Essential Willie Nelson appeared on Columbia/Legacy in 2003. The other reason, of course, is that during the first part of the 2000s, Legacy had been turning out cross-licensed, multi-label compilations of artists who hopped...   [ read more ]

CD $15.19

There are compilations and there are compilations. Verve's Finest Hour series has, generally speaking, been consistent in producing collections with artists' best performances from the label -- with the possible exception of the Ramsey Lewis volume, which sucks. This set by Nuyorican percussion and arranging ace Willie Bobo is arguably the best collection of his work on the market. Virtually everything a fan would want on a single disc is here and, even more crucial, this is flawless as an intr...   [ read more ]

CD $11.38