Willie Nelson became a superstar with the release of his now-classic 1975 concept album Red-Headed Stranger. But this wasn’t Nelson’s first, or even his best, concept album. In 1974, he released the absolutely brilliant Phases & Stages, which explored a dissolving marriage from the differing perspectives of the husband and the wife.
Several of Nelson’s best songs are included in this set, most notably “Bloody Mary Morning”, “Pretend I Never Happened”, and “It’s Not Supposed to Be That Way.” You can get this classic album for only $5.48 at Amazon’s MP3 store.
This is a great album. I recently read interviews from Charlie Robison who said that he never really knew much about why his parents divorced, since they never discussed it with the children, but he started to understand it all better after hearing this album.
Yup, this is my favorite Willie album I’ve heard besides Stardust. And it’s not too long for a concept album (about 35 minutes), which works great for my attention span.
A very good album – not one I revisit frequently, but one I still enjoy