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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) (click to enlarge)   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, July 7, 2008 LINER NOTES Willie Nelson teams with Marsalis; Me First's shtick will works Andy Rathbun Herald Writer "Two Men With the Blues" Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis WHY CARE? The red-headed stranger teamed up with Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis during two New York City concerts in January 2007. This 10-track live album resulted. TRIVIA: Marsalis was born in New Orleans, a city of 223,388 according to the most recent U.S. census. Nelson was born in Abbott, Texas, a town of 300. HIGH POINT: While the album revisits Nelson material, including his versions of "Georgia" and "Stardust," the best track may be the cover of "Ain't Nobody's Business," which finds Nelson sounding cool as ever speaking some lyrics and Marsalis, after free-styling on the trumpet for 75 seconds, singing a few lines himself. FANS ALSO LIKE: Classic country by way of Bourbon Street ANDY SAYS: With horn, saxophone and blues guitar anchoring arrangements, Nelson, who sings lead, sounds as if he burst from the bayou instead of the Texas plains. The album is by turns sad, sleepy and coy. I can't say I'm a fan of jazz or country, but its hard to fault this pairing. GRADE: B "Have Another Ball" Me First and the Gimme Gimmes WHY CARE? Apparently, the punk super group and cover band intended its 1997 debut, "Have a Ball," to be a double album. That didn't happen. Now it releases 12 "unearthed A-sides." TRIVIA: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes have put out half a dozen other cover albums, including one Broadway hits themed album and a live album recorded during a Bar Mitzah. HIGH POINTS: The group's best at speeding through sappy fair, such as Hall & Oates "Rich Girl" and Neil Diamond's "Coming to America." FANS ALSO LIKE: Karaoke, punk rock, the oldies ANDY SAYS: Me First's shtick has proven surprisingly durable, in large part because the guys have good taste in music. They pick tuneful songs that work with a souped-up sound. Everyone should probably have at least one of its albums on the iPod. Two? That's debatable. GRADE: A minus if you don't own one. C if you do. Andy Rathbun, Herald Columnist, 425-339-3455; arathbun@heraldnet.com

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