Stardust (Willie Nelson album)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Rolling Stone	Favorable.[25]
Billboard	Favorable.[26]
Texas Monthly	Favorable.[27]
New Times	Favorable.[28]
Orange Coast	Favorable.[29]
Christgau's Record Guide	A–[30]
Allmusic	[6]
Pitchfork Media	(9.3/10)[31]
Zagat Survey	[32]

Stardust received positive reviews from most publications, both on its original release and for its various reissues. Rolling Stone praised the album: "For all the sleek sophistication of the material, Stardust is as down-home as the Legion dance. Heard coast to coast in lounges and on elevator soundtracks, these tunes have become part of the folk music of exurban America. And that's the way Nelson plays them—spare and simple, with a jump band's verve and a storyteller's love of a good tale. By offering these songs, he's displaying the tools of a journeyman musician's trade—worn smooth and polished by constant use—and when he lays them out this way, they kind of look like works of art. Nelson may be acknowledging both his own and country music's debt to Broadway and Tin Pan Alley, but he's also showing these hallowed musical institutions how the country makes their music its own".[25]

Billboard delivered a favorable review: "Unusual pairing of artist and producer here as Booker T. Jones was the prime mover in Booker T & the MGs a few years back. But the combination works well [...] (Nelson) puts his distinctive, soft vocal style to good use interpreting a number of standards as well as country-flavored tunes. All of the material seems well suited to his easygo indicationing style as Nelson backs himself with guitar and gets help with guitar, drums, keyboards, bass and harmonica".[26] Texas Monthly also favored the album, but noted the difference with previous Nelson recordings: "Stardust blends the stark economy of Red Headed Stranger with an underlying current of church spiritualism. More often than not it works. Though the selections are all at least twenty years old, the songs withstand the test of time. Occasionally Willie's voice seems to crack, I do miss the more familiar hard-bitten whine that accompanies his usual fare like "Whiskey River". But nonetheless this is a sterling effort".[27]

New Times wrote: "In Texas, some folks swear that Willie could sing "The Star Spangled Banner" and make it sound soulful. This collection of hoary old standards is the next best thing to testing that proposition directly."[28] Orange Coast praised Nelson's performance of the standards: "Willie Nelson is perhaps the finest male singer in country music [...] his phrasing and sense of understated drama have caused him to be compared with the best jazz singers. Now he's released an album of old pop standards, Stardust (Columbia), and you can almost hear the stirrings of an outlaw uprising between the grooves [...] although is definitively no step forward in Nelson's career, it's still a pleasurable showcase of his considerable artistry as a vocalist. Plus even though he's dealing with the sophisticated likes of Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Kurt Weill, he remains essentially country".[29]

Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said, "I'm real happy this record exists, not just because Nelson can be a great interpretive singer—his "Moonlight in Vermont" is a revelation—but because he's provided me with ten great popular songs that I've never had much emotional access to."[30]

Multi platinum certification of Stardust in Australia

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the record five stars out of five, and said: "(Stardust) showcases Nelson's skills as a musician and his entire aesthetic—where there is nothing separating classic American musical forms, it can all be played together—perhaps better than any other album, which is why it was a sensation upon its release and grows stronger with each passing year."[6]

Pitchfork Media rated the album with 9.3 points out of 10, and wrote: "Thirty years ago, Willie Nelson took a typically left turn and followed up a string of successful albums with a cover album of songs made famous by decidedly non-country musicians like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong [...] What makes the record so thrilling and very often beautiful—and what separates him from today's ham-handed vocalists—is Nelson's facility as an interpreter [...] With his tender, textured voice and intuitively around-the-beat phrasing, Nelson gives these songs fresh readings, with just the touch of sentimentality and nostalgia they demand. The cliché 'makes them his own' certainly applies here: He sings them as they've never been sung before or since, which is quite a feat considering their age and popularity. Hardened from endless touring into a tough, tight roadhouse revue, Nelson's band gives a surprisingly supple performance on each song, which reinforces the album's sweetly ruminative mood. Producer Booker T. Jones, of Stax fame, facilitates every aspect of the band's sound, showcasing the performers' range while ensuring the arrangements play to the lyrics and vocals without overwhelming them [...] Stardust set both the template for Nelson's career and the standard. Few artists have treat the American Songbook so affectionately and so cavalierly."[31]

Zagat Survey rated Stardust five stars out of five: "On this legendary departure from the traditional Willie, America's pop troubadour puts his one-of-a-kind touch on old pop standards, finding common ground between outlaw country and mellow [...] Sweet and simple, more bow tie than bandana, each song is turned and twisted until it's his own and, paired with the production talents of Booker T. Jones, sets a romantic mood that appeals to a whole new audience.[32]

Singles