Recorded over a Two-day period and originally aired on the USA network last Memorial Day, Live and Kickin' shows Willie Nelson at the top of his career. He is joined onstage by Eric Clapton, Ray Charles, Wyclef Jean, Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, and ZZ Top to name a few. The album is a plethora of musical exploration, showing different sides of Nelson as a musician, and proving that he is as dynamic as they come. He appeals to diehard country fans, but Homeward Bound with Paul Simon is closer to folk, and To All The Girl's I Loved Before with Wyclef is more along the lines of Reggae. The solo tracks could only be described as haunting and tortured in a twangy sort of way. The immense crowds' reaction hangs on to every one of his words, honoring him like the accomplished road-veteran he is.

This isnt bad, but I heard it at the same time as Johnny Cash's last album and thought that one had more heart. I was also listening to David Allan Coe's Live From Billy Bob's and thought that one had more energy. Willie seems watered down here by all the guests.

This is a tough call the other reviews are so mixed about this cd.I like a good duet to begin with so I will list what I like least and then my personal favorite cuts.To all the girls is horrible I skip it it when I play it in my truck.I am not at all moved by homeward bound it is not good harmony at all.I think the best cut is Norah and Willie doing wurlitzer prize.Shania has been bashed buy others but I like her on blue eyes crying in the rain I always wished Shania would go back to her roots like the material from her first album before she sold out and crossed over.Ray Price and Willie sound great on run that by me.I am amused by Steve Tyler and Willie together but I like it.
I like this album despite what I am critcal of.Willie is damn icon The fact that he has sung with so many artists is a tribute to his icon status.

I was not impressed at all. Some of the songs really sound bad. Off key and if you really like the origianl "Of all the girls I've loved before" you will be extremely sick hearing this version. Off key, off beat and it hurts to even listen to it. The worst CD I have ever bought. I wish I had bought Toby Keith instead. Willie needs to be in the studio when he records.

Willie Nelson has a singular voice and style. Working solo or with his own band he is an American icon. But that iconic voice and style are not very conducive to duet and harmony situations unless they're well practiced. Well, there definitely wasn't much practice for this show. This results in such travesties as the Wyclef Jean team-up which comes across as a Saturday Night Live skit and the Shania Twain "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain" duet which doesn't come across much better. It sounds like Paul Simon is struggling to keep his place in "Homeward Bound" when he and Willie roll through the song with Willie throwing in oddly timed song lines. But that's just Willie. He does that. Other tunes click a bit better, like Ray Charles taking over the majority of the vocals for "A Song For You" or John Mellencamp simply singing all of "I Couldn't Believe It Was True." Much of the rest is poorly conceived duets. Look for Willie's team-up with Johnny Cash on "VH-1 Storytellers" for a better tribute to Willie.

Played it a couple of times then put it away.
I couldn't get into it at all.
I was expecting another "Stars & Guitars".Not so!
Not one of his best.(My opinion only)

this is a great album especially if u like live material. i am not even a big fan of live stuff but this cd is great. it shows willie's diversity and how he can sound good with any material

Okay, we start with five stars just for "Song for You" in which Ray Charles stops the show with his tremendous vocal (with some exquisite piano work from Leon Russell). We drop to three stars since they kept Shania Twain's number on (a number where she proves she's as boring and clueless as any mass-produced pseudo-country star the music industry has come up with in the last ten years). But back to five stars since they were smart enough to keep Sheryl Crowe's (that tone-deaf, no-range travestry of a singer) number off. Lose a star for a really awful version of "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (what on earth were they thinking here with Wyclef Jean destroying the song!). Add half a star for Steven Tyler's duet (and sorry, Steven, this is one time my wife agrees with me that the non-rock version at the open is great and the Aerosmith-like close stinks!). Down half a star because Elvis Costello should have sung "Crazy" all by himself (he mops the floor with Diana Krull proving she sings like she's reading Webster's Dictionary)

So four stars (again, I'd buy this record just for Ray Charles and call it a classic)

If you like Willie, you'll love this CD. Willie and friends at his 70th birthday party. From Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) to Toby Keith, Elvis Costello to Shania Twain and even some reggae thrown in for good measure, this CD is fun, fun, fun.

I have eight of Willie's CD's and this one is a good one. If you have not seen the USA special the CD won't mean as much to you. The best song on the CD, in my opinion, is the duo with Steven Tyler. A great blend of Country & Rock. This is not quite as good as his Stars and Guitars CD, but it is worth the buy if you are a Willie fan.

Pass this one by unless you are a huge fan of LIVE recordings. This is a poorly produced album in which the sound is all but lost at times due to audience noise. Being live (from the televised special which was more interesting.) you get the missed beats and strained vocals searching for that point of harmony. Its an impressive gathering of artists but its a disappointing grouping of songs and performances.

If you are a true Willie Nelson fan, you will love this CD. It allows you to hear him perform popular songs with other talented artists.

I would like to buy the video of the live show also. One must see Willie to appreciate him.

Willie Nelson Live & Kickin' delivers the goods! Sure Wyclef Jean is no Julio Iglesias on "To All The Girls I've Loved Before," but so what. His quirky interpretation is not the catastrophe others have claimed it to be.

Such quibbles about an offbeat interpretation or two do not dilute the overall charm and fun of this disc, especially Willie and Toby Keith kickin' it all out on "Beer For My horses." (If there is any justice, radio stations will replace the studio version of "Horses" with the live version heard here -- the way the live "Okie from Muskogee" replaced the original studio version on the radio airwaves in 1970 and has now become the version of choice for Merle Haggard fans.)

Other stand-outs include Shania and Willie on "Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain," and the offbeat coupling of Willie and Nora Jones on "Wurlitzer Prize," originally made a classic by Willie's late, great good buddy Waylon Jennings.

I thoroughly enjoyed this CD and would recommend it to anyone who loves Willie and his music -- and is not afraid to hear these songs in a refreshing and different light.

I have to agree with the Amazon reviewer on one very important point. The duet with Wyclef Jean is something that should never have happened, and if the gods are merciful, will never occur again. THERE's a few minutes of my life I wish I could get back. Also, they left off the duet with Sheryl Crow and Kris Kristofferson doing "Me and Bobby McGee", which I though was fantastic. IF this ever comes out on DVD, it'd be worth owning just to see the look on Willie's face as Wyclef Jean is massacring "To all the girls I've loved before". He's staring at him like he had just stepped off a spaceship. Pretty funny scene there. All in all, this CD is worth owning...they should just have left off the "unlistenable" and kept on some of the better performances. Happy 70th, Willie!

All due respect to the first reviewer for this album, but your review is way off base. This is a special album, representing Willie's 70th birthday and reflecting how diverse the man's career, music, interests, and tastes really are. Leon Russell and Ray Charles team up with Willie on perhaps the most outstanding and emotional version of "Song for You" I've ever heard. Ray Charles poured his guts into that song after flying all night from a gig in Switzerland. The song is very, very special, and you can hear the emotion in Willie's voice on "Song for You" and when he begins singing in "Wurlitzer Prize" with Norah Jones--in tribute to the late and great Waylon Jennings. Ray Price and Willie do a bang-up job on "Run That By Me One More Time," and Stephen Tyler rocks and rolls once things get cooking on "Once is Enough." Get the album. You'll like it. Anyone who doesn't may not truly understand what the Redheaded Stranger is all about.

Sadly, this is a horrible "live" recording.

The vocals are recorded in such a primitive fashion. One by one, all of the invited artists drown out NELSON. WILLIE sounds as if he phoned in his vocal performance from JAPAN.

If you are a WILLIE NELSON fan, you'll be really disappointed with this product. You may want to invest in purchasing another CD from his catalogue.

The concert may have been fun to experience & view but as a CD this is a recording that could be only listed as "NOT ONE OF HIS BEST EFFORTS"!

I was so excited about the TV special I went the next day and put my name on the waiting list for the cd... I LOVE the cd... BUT they left off some of the best song from the tv program.. Where else can we hear Toby Keith sing his infamous I won't smoke weeed with Willie again... And why leave out Lyle Lovett and Shania Twain. Come on guys give us the entire show on cd or better yet DVD...Thank goodness I taped it. I will just keep watching my tape till I am able to get the entire show on cd or dvd... at any price.... If you don't like this you are not a music lover....

I SAW THE SPECIAL, AND HAVE LISTENED TO THE CD. I WAS VERY IMPRESSED. IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE USUAL WILLIE, SKIP THIS ONE. BUT IF WANT TO HEAR SOME OF TODAYS MOST INFLUENCIAL ARTISTS, JOINING IN WITH A LEDGEND, THEN GIVE THIS ONE A TRY. SURE WILLIE IS A LITTLE OUT OF HIS ELEMENT WITH SOME OF THESE SONGS, BUT LETS BE REAL, HE'S A 70 YEAR OLD COUNTRY SINGER. YET IF YOU SAW THE SPECIAL, YOU COULD SEE THE LOVE THESE ARTISTS HAVE FOR HIM.AND WILLIE HELD HIS OWN, WHETHER IT WAS STEVE TYLER, OR SHANIA TWAIN, HE WAS THERE, AND THE OLD BOY CAN TRUELY PICK I GUTIAR. SO IF YOU WANT TO HEAR SOME OLD TIME FAVORITES, DONE A LITTLE DIFFERENT, GIVE THIS ONE A TRY... I LIKE IT

I disagree with the review of Amazon. Willie is not a spring chicken anymore however, If you like Willie, you will appreciate this cd. Steven Tyler can bang it out no matter who he stands beside! Toby Keith and Willie have a great song together (beer for my horses) and the rest of the gang on this cd hold their own with Willie doing what he does best with them. I watched the special on USA and enjoyed it then. I would like to see it come out on a DVD.

Liked this CD a lot. The different versions of the songs are enjoyable. If you like Willie I think will get a kick out of this CD.