A superb tour of modern songs written by such established singer/songwriters as Paul Simon,Lyle Lovett,Peter Gabriel,Bob Dylan and Nelson himself. From the opening track,Paul Simons "American Tune",the album just grew on me, and after a few plays I became convinced this song had been written especially for Nelson himself so complete is his rendition. While all the duets on the album work most satisfactorily I thought Dylan and Nelson were a terrific pairing for their self penned track "Heartland" Those who prefer Willie Nelson of the basic variety,complete with the famous haunting vocals,guitar, and little else, are well catered for with his own composition"Valentine". While enjoyable I prefered his raunchy version of Paul Simons "Graceland" which could be compared to some of his foot-tapping cover versions of such classics as "South of the Border" "All of Me" "City of New Orleans" or his own"On the Road Again" For the traditional country fan I felt Lyle Lovetts"Farther down the Line" struck the right note;was totally enjoyable the first time I heard it and still produces the same reaction today.Ry Cooders title track"Across The Borderline" is masterly performed by Willie Nelson, yet strangely I found it was the lyrics which attracted my immediate attention and not the melody:-it usually happens the other way round for me! Although I must admit to having a broad grin on my face listening to"I love the life I live" for the first time,and since, by thinking"hes singing the story of his life and probably with a big smile on his face!! This album is superbly produced with a multitude of top drawer performers providing excellent musicianship which combines beautifully with the strong material to provide an album which illustrates the range,variety,and adaptability of Willie Nelson as a performer. Thouroughly recommended for both the fan or as a terrific sampler for someone who wants to experience what Willie Nelson and his work is all about.

Although his recent The Great Divide has some good songs/music/duets on it, it comes nowhere near Across The Borderline. This is the perfect Willie Nelson album for song selection/production/music/feeling. Songs like American Tune, Don't Give Up, Graceland are given a classic Willie americana/country treatment. Duets with Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan,and Sinead O'Connor are mixed beautifully between great Nelson songs and interpretations of John Hiatt, Dylan, Lovett, and Dixon. The Nelson/Dylan song Heartland, sung by both, is the best collaborative song that Dylan has done since his 'Sign Language' song written/sung with Clapton. This is great music.

Usually these "cast of thousands" type albums just blend it an overboiled tasteless paste...so much "input" is added that the artist's style disappears, gauzed over by the producer into a faceless project that could have been anyone. Thankfully, this is NOT the case here. Don Was makes a thicker sound for Willie here but stops short of filling the tracks with so many sonic bells and whistles that Willie's greatest asset...that solid interpretive voice of his...gets lost. Indeed, Was' great taste shows in use of touches that sound like they wouldn't work (for example, a muted jazzy trumpet courtesy of Mark Isham on Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up") that end up enhancing the songs. Most of the songs here are Willie covering songs of others with quite a few guest vocalists (Sinead O'Connor, Sinead O'Connor, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt) on tap. The band backing Willie is crack also (Jim Keltner, Mark O'Connor, Benmont Tench,John Leventhal,Johnny Gimble at times). A minor complaint might be that several interesting duets DON'T happen. Willie does a John Hiatt and a Lyle Lovett tune, but they don't sing on the cuts. (Nor does Paul Simon on either of the 2 songs of his Willie does here, though he does play guitar.)

HIGHLIGHTS:
Though Bonnie Raitt's appearance here is probably a result of Was' recent collaboration with her (he produced her big comeback album "Nick of Time"), her smoky latenight bar voice and slide are the perfect compliment on "Getting Over You". Sinead O'Connor, surprisingly, turns out to be a good vocal pairing as well. Their harmonies on the last verse of Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up" sparkle, and the arrangement recasts it as the country tale of the distressed workingman that the lyric always was. The title track's saga of a Mexican casting his eyes toward the "broken promised land" of the U.S. benefits from Kristofferson's harmonies, though they could be higher in the mix. Nelson's interpretations of Dylan's "What was it You Wanted?" and Lovett's "Farther Down the Line" and "If I Were the Man You Wanted" are also great. Of the numbers penned by Nelson himself, the brisk "Still is Still Moving to Me" and tender "Valentine" fare best.

LOWS:
Willie turns in a curiously dispassionate reading of Willie Dixon's classic blues "I Love the Life I Live" though the musical backing is nicely relaxed. I consider myself a Dylan fan, though his voice is at its croakiest for "Heartland" making it a track I skip by.

BOTTOM LINE:
Another fine performance from Nelson is made somewhat more contemporary by the collaborations here, though he's not made to play second-fidddle (as Carlos Santana was on his recent album with Rob Thomas and others). Nelson is clearly the star here and the production by Was recognizes that fact. A good one for Nelson fans and for those just learning about him.

Perhaps only a lyricist as talented as Willie Nelson has the vision to select such well-built songs and craft them into a quilt of American Folk. The songs are all beautiful, and run the range of emotion from hope in the face of failure (Heartland) to selfless love (Valentine). Buy it.

Willie Nelson's Across the Borderline is a classic album. On this record there are songs that range from covers (ranging from Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel) and originals. Plus the guest appearances are amazing. Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt, Sinead O'Connor, and Bob Dylan lend their talents to this record. My favorite song is Heartland which Nelson cowrote with Dylan. This collaboration results in a real personal poetic song. Favorites include American Tune (with Paul Simon on lead guitar), Getting over You (with Bonnie Raitt), Most Unoriginal Sin, Don't Give Up (with Sinead O'Connor), Heartland (with Bob Dylan), Graceland, What Was It You Wanted?, Farther Down the Line, and If I Were the Man You Wanted. Highly Highly Recommended.