Willie Nelson is releasing his 153rd album, Last Leaf on the Tree, on November 1 via Legacy Recordings. The new collection features the country legend reinterpreting songs by Tom Waits, Keith Richards, Beck, the Flaming Lips, Neil Young, Nina Simone, and Warren Zevon, along with tunes written by Willie and his son, Micah Nelson, who also produced the album. The first single lifted from the album, a cover of Waits’ 2011 tune, “Last Leaf,” also gives the album its title, coming from the lyrics: “I’m the last leaf on the tree/ The autumn took the rest/ But they won’t take me/ I’m the last leaf on the tree.” “It’s an approach that I really love and have used a lot over the years,” said Micah of the “sculptor’s approach” production technique he used on this album. “Just throwing the clay down and stepping back, then maybe adding a little more, and then maybe shaving down here, and kind of building the tracks that way.” (Billboard)
