I have a lot of Willie albums, and there are many exceptional ones out there, but I was a bit reluctant to purchase yet another Willie oldie recently re-released on cd. But the track selection intrigued me so I picked this one up. Am I glad I did! This is Willie loose and having fun, playing old gospel rave-ups with passion and good humor. Doug Sahm and a host of greats (including Larry Gatlin) support Big Willie as he takes us through a list of his favorites tunes.

But I really reserve my praise for the title track, The Troublemaker, an intimate selection that could have come right from The IRS Tapes. Buy the cd for this alone. Here Willie sings a parable about an anti-war, long-haired rebel, who preached peace in the face of war, wore sandals as he wandered from town to town, and riled up the populace to distrust their leaders and clamor for peace. Then the government hung him on a cross. I can't think of a more meaningful song for the times we live in today.

This is my favorite Willie Nelson album of all time. The album went to number 1 on the country charts in 1976 and went "Gold." The performances of Gospel classics are great, ranging from footstompin' to moving and peaceful. "Uncloudy Day" was a big hit and is included on several of his greatest hits compilations, but all the songs on here are very good. Highly recommended for any Willie Nelson fan or fan of Gospel.

i first bought this on an 8 track tape in the early 80's i loved it so much i wore it out. i couldn't seem to find it anywhere untill i looked on amazon. i was thrilled to find it there and boughtit. just as great today as it was back then

I'm bought the Troublemaker on vinyl (or maybe it was cassette, I can't remember) way back in the day. I enjoyed it, and then kind of forgot about it. Until a couple of years ago, when I found this remastered CD with extra tracks.

This is vintage Willie Nelson, and that's a good thing. His sister Bobbie played piano. Doug Sahm, Larry Gatlin and others sang along.

My personal favorite track here is Uncloudy Day, but it's also fun to crank up those really rocking-out live tracks and share in the fun.

The Troublemaker stands the test of time, and it's good to see reviews from younger Willie fans who are also enjoying this piece of gold from the past.

In regular rotation, i listen to all 17 of my Willie Nelson albums in a row, album to album...some of them are collaborations with Waylon Jennings, or Johnny and Willie on vH1 storytellers...but most are just Willie and this one is one of his best from the mid 70's, from 1976...