Willie Nelson – Tougher Than Leather (LP) (NM/NM)

Willie Nelson – Tougher Than Leather
LP, Album | Columbia Records | Cat. No. QC 38248 | Canada | 1983

A Willie Nelson Family record in the truest sense — produced by Nelson and his longtime bassist Bee Spears, recorded with the road band that travelled with Nelson for decades rather than a hired Nashville studio crew. The lineup is Nelson’s actual touring Family: Paul English on drums — Nelson’s drummer since the 1950s, a legendary figure in Texas country music known as much for his loyalty to Nelson as for his playing; Mickey Raphael on harmonica — Nelson’s harmonica player since 1973 and a defining voice in his sound; Jody Payne on guitar; Bobbie Nelson on piano — Willie’s sister and a member of the Family from the very beginning; and Grady Martin on guitar — one of the most recorded session guitarists in Nashville history, who played on foundational recordings by Roy Orbison, Brenda Lee, and the Everly Brothers, and whose presence here bridges the Nelson Family sound with the classic Nashville studio era. Fiddle and mandolin by Johnny Gimble — a Texas swing master, former member of Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys, and multiple Grammy Award winner widely regarded as one of the greatest country fiddlers of the twentieth century. Mastered by Denny Purcell; engineered by Larry Greenhill. The album has a deliberately conceptual structure: My Love For The Rose, Changing Skies, and Somewhere In Texas each appear in two parts split across the two sides, giving the record a narrative continuity unusual for country albums of the period. Canadian CBS Records Canada Ltd. pressing (℗/© CBS Inc.). NM vinyl; NM sleeve.

Condition

• Media: Near Mint (NM or M-) — plays clean; excellent copy
• Sleeve: Near Mint (NM or M-) — excellent shape

Tracklist

Side A
A1. My Love For The Rose (0:35)
A2. Changing Skies (3:02)
A3. Tougher Than Leather (4:51)
A4. Little Old Fashioned Karma (3:16)
A5. Somewhere In Texas, Part I (0:51)
A6. Beer Barrel Polka (2:41)

Side B
B1. Summer Of Roses (3:10)
B2. Somewhere In Texas, Part II (0:54)
B3. My Love For The Rose (0:27)
B4. The Convict And The Rose (3:50)
B5. Changing Skies (0:52)
B6. I Am The Forest (4:14)
B7. Nobody Slides, My Friend (1:36)

Credits
Vocals, Guitar & Producer: Willie Nelson
Bass, Producer & Arrangements: Bee Spears
Drums: Paul English | Harmonica: Mickey Raphael
Guitar: Grady Martin & Jody Payne
Piano: Bobbie Nelson
Fiddle & Mandolin: Johnny Gimble
Mastered By: Denny Purcell | Engineered By: Larry Greenhill

Details

• Format: LP, Album
• Label: Columbia Records (QC 38248)
• Country: Canada (CBS Records Canada Ltd.)
• Released: February 1983
• Weight: 230 g
• Style: Country, Texas Country, Western Swing

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As with all vintage records, minor signs of age and handling are to be expected and are reflected in the grading above.