The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?

In 1990, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seized most of Nelson's assets, claiming that he owed US$16 million.[2] It was later discovered that his accountants, Price Waterhouse, had not been paying Nelson's taxes for years. In addition to the unpaid taxes, Nelson's situation was worsened by the weak investments he had made during the early 1980s.[3][4] His lawyer, Jay Goldberg, renegotiated a settlement with the IRS in which he paid US$6 million, although Nelson did not comply with the agreement.[2]

To pay his debt, Nelson recorded The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories, featuring him and his guitar, without the accompaniment of his band.[5] The album constituted a compilation of Nelson's hits.[6] A second tape of 1976 recordings The Hungry Years was offered to direct sales purchasers at the same time.

The album was released in stores in 1992.[5] By that time, Nelson's assets had been auctioned; the items were returned to Nelson by fans and friends who purchased them. Nelson promoted the album during a benefit concert for the restoration of the Texas State Capitol.[6] During an appearance on Primetime Live, Nelson wore a T-shirt with the nonexistent toll-free number 1-800-IRS-TAPE, that allegedly was the number to call to order the album. After 500 calls, Jon Richards, the owner of Visual Technology. Inc., announced that he would let Nelson lease or purchase the number to help the sales of the album.[7] Besides the phone orders, Nelson also negotiated with Sony Music to distribute the album in stores.[8] The IRS collected US$3.6 million from the sales of the album, and after a payment of US$9 million during the next five years, Nelson's debt was satisfied.[9]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Entertainment Weekly	B+[10]
Chicago Tribune	[11]
Houston Chronicle	[12]
Allmusic	[5]

Entertainment Weekly rated the album with a B+: "The album features only Nelson's warm, emotive baritone and the deft accompaniment of his acoustic guitar. All of these tunes explain how he came close to being a deity in his native Texas, bringing together hippies and rednecks in pure appreciation of his music."[10]

Meanwhile, Chicago Tribune rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of five: "Even before his staggering tax problems, Nelson had become such a cross-market figure that it was easy to forget that, at bottom, he is one of country music history's most literate and sensitive songwriters and succinctly evocative singers [...] [The album of songs], some familiar and some not, re-emphasizes that. It presents him at his most effective, with just his guitar and memories."[11] Houston Chronicle commented: "Nelson sounds so naturally relaxed you can picture him stretching out on your sofa when he's finished his tune. With no band to kick him from behind or schmaltzy string sections to waltz around, Nelson distills the deeply personal emotion in these songs to its universal essence, which is what great folk singing always has been about."[12]

Thom Owens wrote for Allmusic: "Over the course of the set, Nelson plays a handful of unusual tracks, several new tunes, and a few of his most familiar songs. The result is one of Nelson's most direct and affecting albums, featuring several of his finest vocal performances."[5]

All the songs written by Nelson. "What Can You Do to Me Now" was co-written with Hank Cochran.[5]