Album of the Day

Willie Nelson's career in country music started conventionally enough as a songwriter in Nashville. But when most of his Music Row cohorts turned a deaf ear to the rock revolution of the late 1960s, Willie adopted one of its innovations, the concept album. His 1974 collection PHASES AND STAGES is a triumph of the form, tracing the dissolution of a marriage with a side of songs from each spouse's point of view; the 11 fine tracks include “Bloody Mary Morning,” which has since become a standard. Cut at Alabama's Muscle Shoals studios with Atlantic Records' Jerry Wexler behind the boards, PHASES AND STAGES helped Willie Nelson launch a new phase as a leader of Outlaw Country.