The Border [Orange Vinyl] [Barnes & Noble Exclusive] in Bloomington, MN

Technically,
The Border
is the sequel to
A Beautiful Time
, the 2022 album that found
Willie Nelson
once again ruminating upon a road long traveled.
Nelson
's latter-day albums with producer
Buddy Cannon
often concerned mortality, a quality that lends a natural gravity. That trait isn't quite absent on
--
Willie
's 75th album, appearing after a pair of winning covers records released in the wake of
-- yet it is subdued. When
ponders "Once Upon a Yesterday," he's thinking of old songs and departed friends, more grateful that it happened than sad that those days are gone. Similarly, when he's wondering "How Much Does It Cost" to be free, he sounds bemused, not rueful. That levity extends through the jazzily jaunty "What If I'm Out of My Mind," joining the aforementioned tunes among the handful of
/
Cannon
originals on the record ("Kiss Me When You're Through" is the other).
cedes the weightier material to
Rodney Crowell
, whose "The Border" and "Many a Long and Lonesome Highway" open the respective sides of
, creating the impression that this album is a bit contemplative. That's not the case. Thanks to the fanciful "Hank's Guitar" and the sly shuffle "Made in Texas" -- an amiable slice of Western swing with nods to
Bob Wills
, Lone Star beer, and the immortal joke "You can always tell a Texan/But you can't tell him much" -- the album carries a lightness that's emphasized by its brisk running time. That might mean
, unlike
, doesn't quite feel like a final chapter but rather a welcome coda restating
's strengths with casual ease. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine