Django & Jimmie

Django and Jimmie
Studio album by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
Released June 2, 2015
Genre
Length 46:44
Label Legacy Recordings
Producer Buddy Cannon
Willie Nelson chronology
Willie’s Stash, Vol. 1: December Day
(2014)		 Django and Jimmie
(2015)		 Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin
(2016)
Merle Haggard chronology
Working in Tennessee
(2011)		 Django and Jimmie
(2015)

Django & Jimmie is a duet album by American country music artists Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. The release marks the sixth album collaboration between Nelson and Haggard and Haggard's final album prior to his death in April 2016.

The album was well received by the critics, while it topped Billboard's Top Country Albums and reached number seven on the Billboard 200 upon its release.

Overview

Django and Jimmie marked Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard's sixth album collaboration.[1] Nelson announced its completion during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at South by Southwest festival on March 20, 2015. The release of the first single, "It's All Going to Pot" was set for April 20 (420 day).[2]

Produced by Buddy Cannon, the album features fourteen tracks by Nelson and Haggard. The song "Django and Jimmie" is a tribute to musicians Django Reinhardt and Jimmie Rodgers.[3] Cannon forwarded the title-track to Haggard and Nelson separately. Both were interested by the song, and had talked in previous years about recording a new collaboration album.[4] The preproduction of the album took eighteen months. The parties involved discussed the type of material they wanted to include in the album and co-wrote some of the songs by talking on the telephone. The entire album was recorded in three days.[5] It features a guest appearance by Bobby Bare on the tribute song "Missing Ol' Johnny Cash". The release of the album was announced for June 2, 2015.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic77/100
Review scores
SourceRating
Rolling Stone
UncutFavorable.
American Songwriter
Paste8.6/10
Austin Chronicle
Wall Street JournalFavorable.
New YorkerFavorable.
Allmusic

Critical

The album garnered positive reviews. With 77 points out of 100, the aggregate score website Metacritic classified them as "Generally favorable reviews".[6] Rolling Stone rated the release with three stars out of five. The magazine called it a "grab bag" new and older material that relied on Nelson and Haggard's "mythology".[7] Uncut delivered a favorable review, declaring: "Nelson sings like a canary and plays like a dream, Haggard growls like a grizzled jailbird and everyone seems to be having a blast".[8] American Songwriter favored the chemistry between Nelson and Haggard, while it praised Cannon and his "rootsy, loose and homey" approach, while it called the backing band "great".[9] Paste delivered a positive review, declaring: "Just hearing (Haggard and Nelson) make the music they want is plenty".[10]

Austin Chronicle rated the album with four stars out of five. The review remarked the merger of the styles of both artists: Haggard's signature use of the Telecaster and steel guitar; with Nelson's guitar and Mickey Raphael's harmonica. It called the rasp on their voices "well seasoned", while it concluded that both "deliver a master class on how country music is supposed to be done".[11] Los Angeles Times wrote a favorable review, that considered "the spirit in (Haggard and Nelson's) voices" the main feature of the album.[12] Wall Street Journal called it "one of the strongest, most engaging country albums of 2015" and remarked "its fresh, revealing songs, striking harmonies and varying rhythms".[13] On its review, New Yorker talked about the situation of Country music. The magazine opined that the album was "outlier in a genre that is increasingly fixated on youth", and discussed the disappearance of adult themes and aging in the genre.[14]

Allmusic gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five. It praised Cannon's "sharp ear for material, along with a way with a relaxed groove", while it considered Haggard and Nelson "filled with good humor (and) a delicate balance of fun and sweet".[15]

Commercial

Upon its release, Django and Jimmie sold 31,000 units.[16] It topped Billboard's Top Country Albums; and reached number seven on the Billboard 200, becoming Nelson's fourth top ten album on the chart and Haggard's first.[17] The album has sold 139,000 copies in the US as of April 2016.[18]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Django and Jimmie"  Jimmy Melton, Jeff Prince 2:53
2. "It's All Going to Pot" (featuring Jamey Johnson)Buddy Cannon, Jamey Johnson, Larry Shell 2:56
3. "Unfair Weather Friend"  Marla Cannon-Goodman, Ward Davis 4:14
4. "Missing Ol' Johnny Cash" (featuring Bobby Bare)Merle Haggard 3:26
5. "Live This Long"  Shawn Camp, Marv Green 3:35
6. "Alice in Hulaland"  Cannon, Willie Nelson 3:01
7. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"  Bob Dylan 4:10
8. "Family Bible"  Nelson 3:36
9. "It's Only Money"  Nelson, Cannon 3:56
10. "Swinging Doors"  Haggard 2:51
11. "Where Dreams Come to Die"  Nelson, Cannon 3:18
12. "Somewhere Between"  Haggard 3:24
13. "Driving the Herd"  Nelson, Cannon 2:49
14. "The Only Man Wilder Than Me"  Haggard 2:35

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 31
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20] 50
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 172
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 16
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[23] 50
Irish Albums (IRMA)[24] 70
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 78
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 66
US Billboard 200[27] 7
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[28] 1
Preceded by
Jekyll + Hyde by Zac Brown Band		 Billboard Top Country Albums number-one album
June 20, 2015 		Succeeded by
NOW That's What I Call Country Volume 8 by Various Artists

References

  1. ↑ "Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard to Release "Django & Jimmie" Album". Saving Country Music (Savingcountrymusic.com). March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Watch Willie Nelson and Jimmy Kimmel Duet on SXSW Love Song". Rolling Stone (Wenner Media LLC). March 21, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Outlaw Country Legends Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard Reunite for Django and Jimmie, A New Album Collaboration Premiering 14 Fresh Studio Tracks". PR Newswire (PR Newswire Association LLC). April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  4. ↑ Doyle, Patrick (April 29, 2015). "Watch Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard Smoke and Joke in the Studio". Rolling Stone (Wenner Media LLC). Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard Team Up for Duets Album". Rolling Stone (Wenner Media, LLC). April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Django and Jimmie by Willie Nelson". Metacritic. CBS Interactive, Inc.
  7. ↑ Hermes, Will (June 2, 2015). "Django and Jimmie". Rolling Stone (Wenner Media LLC). Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Album Reviews". Uncut: 72. June 3, 2015.
  9. ↑ Horowitz, Hal (June 2, 2015). "Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard: Django and Jimmie". American Songwriter (ForASong Media, LLC). Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  10. ↑ Gleason, Holly (June 2, 2015). "Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard: Django and Jimmie Review". Paste (Paste Media Group). Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  11. ↑ Stegall, Tim. "Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard: Django and Jimmie (Legacy Recordings)". Austin Chronicle (Austin Chronicle Corp). Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  12. ↑ Lewis, Randy (June 3, 2015). "Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard are country kin on 'Django and Jimmie'". Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles Times Company). Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  13. ↑ Mazor, Barry (June 8, 2015). "‘Django and Jimmie’ Review: Two country masters reunite for an album about their heroes, memories and friendship". Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones & Company, Inc). Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  14. ↑ Cantwell, David (June 9, 2015). "No More Country For Old Men". New Yorker (Condé Nast). Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  15. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Django and Jimmie - Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  16. ↑ Caulfield, Kate (June 12, 2015). "Country Legends Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard Team for No. 1 Debut on Top Country Albums Chart". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc). Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Outlaw Country Legends Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard Rockin' America's Charts with 1st Week's Sales of Django and Jimmie, their New Release on Legacy Recordings". PR Newswire (PR Newswire Association LLC). June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  18. ↑ Bjorke, Matt (April 11, 2016). "Country Album Sales Chart: April 11, 2016". Roughstock.
  19. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Willie Nelson / Merle Haggard – Django and Jimmie". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Willie Nelson / Merle Haggard – Django and Jimmie" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Willie Nelson / Merle Haggard – Django and Jimmie" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Merle Haggard – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Merle Haggard. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Willie Nelson / Merle Haggard – Django and Jimmie" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  24. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 23, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Willie Nelson / Merle Haggard – Django and Jimmie". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  26. ↑ "WILLIE NELSON/MERLE HAGGARD". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Merle Haggard – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Merle Haggard. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Merle Haggard – Chart history" Billboard Top Country Albums for Merle Haggard. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
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