WILLIE NELSON'S LETTERS to AMERICA (audiobook) by Willie Nelson and Turk Pipkin

 

Published in 2021 by Harper Horizon.
Read by co-author Turk Pipkin

Duration: 3 hours, 6 minutes.
Unabridged.

During the Covid-19 lockdowns Willie Nelson decided to write a book. This is not an unusual thing for Willie - he has written a handful of memoirs focusing on various parts of his almost 80 years as a professional musician (he was paid to play in a local band at the age of 10) and this book almost certainly overlaps with other books. 

The format of Willie Nelson's Letters to America is that Willie is writing thank you letters to various people, places and things that influenced his life and his career. He has a letter to his hometown, his grandparents, his sister, various members of his band over the years, his ex-wives, his wife, his kids, the fellow members of the supergroup The Highwaymen, among others.

Nelson's guitar, Trigger

There is also a letter to his guitar, Trigger. Nelson bought Trigger, sight unseen, in 1969 because he needed a new guitar after someone accidentally damaged the guitar he had been playing. Nelson has been playing that guitar ever since. He has literally worn a nasty-looking hole in it. This iconic instrument has its own Wikipedia page and was the subject of a Rolling Stone magazine documentary in 2015.

Nelson's last big theme is a series of politically-inspired letters. He writes to the Founding Fathers and he notes that although he is politically active, he refuses to talk politics on stage because that's not why people buy tickets and it ruins the fun.

I listened to this as an audiobook, but I liked these quotes well enough to get out a piece of paper and write them down:

"Rather than hiding our flaws, it's best to use our right of free speech and discuss them in the open."

"I've been asked if I believe people should be allowed to kneel during the national anthem. Regarding peaceful protests, and just about everything else, I believe everyone should do whatever the f*** they want to."

The biggest disappointment if this audiobook is that Willie Nelson chose not to read it. Instead, he asked his co-author Turk Pipkin to read it. Pipkin seems like a great guy and he does a good job with the reading, but he does not have that iconic Willie Nelson voice. 

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: WILLIE NELSON'S LETTERS to AMERICA (audiobook) by Willie Nelson and Turk Pipkin.

Roadkill (abridged audiobook) by Kinky Friedman

Kinky Friedman "on the road again" with Willie Nelson

Published in 1997 by Macmillan Audio

Read by Kinky Friedman.
Duration: about 3 hours.
Abridged.

Kinky, feeling like he has to get out of New York City for a change of pace, jumps at the chance to ride with Willie Nelson for part of his tour. However, Willie is not acting like himself and soon one of Willie's roadies is shot. Kinky looks into it and crazy characters from Willie's life spill into Kinky's seriously odd world of friends.

The mystery in Roadkill is not too hard, but it is worth the listen just to hear Friedman's odd twists of phrase. Lots of fun.

Kinky Friedman
and Willie Nelson

An audiobook note: I was disappointed to discover that Willie Nelson did not read his own parts in the book. He has read audiobooks before and this seemed like a natural fit.

I give this one 4 stars out of 5 and it can be found on Amazon.com here: Roadkill by Kinky Friedman.

Reviewed on May 7, 2006.

Riding for the Brand (audiobook) by Louis L'Amour

Good, but predictable

Audio version originally published in 1986 by Random House Audio
Multicast performance with sound effects
Duration: 55 minutes.

I like Louis L'Amour. His descriptions and conversations are top notch. However, his plots are predictable so I really am grading this on a curve.

Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson,
Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings

I am also rating the audio version of Riding for the Brand which is interesting because it is told by Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash. It was quite enjoyable to hear the four of these men work together - they were all quite good, especially Kristofferson and Nelson.

This audio edition has features that most don't, including special effects and a music soundtrack that was sometimes reminiscent of Clint Eastwood's Spaghetti Westerns and sometimes reminiscent of Silverado. The inclusion of the special effects did speed the plot along (you don't have to describe that people are knocking on the door or riding horses, etc.) but sometimes they are distracting (one scene in particular had an overly loud clock ticking over the top of everyone's voices).

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Riding for the Brand.

Reviewed on January 26, 2005.