Willie Nelson’s 1974 classic, celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2024.
If Shotgun Willie played a bit like a concept album, Phases and Stages was full-blown, tracing the dissolution of a marriage and devoting one side to the wife's perspective, the second to the husband's…. Phases and Stages is easily the equal of its remarkable predecessor, a wonderful set of music that resonates deeply, as deeply as the words.
Make no mistake -- the deceptively relaxed arrangements, including the occasional strings, not only highlight Nelson's clever eclecticism, they also heighten the emotional impact of the album. And this is a hell of an emotional record, where even each side's celebratory honky tonk numbers (the medley "Sister's Coming Home/Down at the Corner Beer Joint" and "Pick Up the Tempo," respectively) are muted by sadness. Then, there are the centerpieces: "Walkin'," where the woman decides it's time to move on; "Pretend I Never Happened," perhaps the coldest ending to a relationship ever written; "Bloody Mary Morning," a bleary-eyed morning-after tale that became a standard; "It's Not Supposed to Be That Way," a nearly unbearably melancholy account of a love gone wrong; and "Heaven and Hell," a waltz summary of the relationship. Any two of these would have formed a strong core for an album, but placed together in a narrative context, their impact is even more considerable. As a result, this is not just one of Willie Nelson's best records, but one of the great concept albums overall.
Tracklist
Side One
1. PHASES AND STAGES (Theme) [0:20]
WASHING THE DISHES [1:22]
2. PHASES AND STAGES (Theme) [0:24]
WALKIN’ [3:41]
3. PRETEND I NEVER HAPPENED [2:59]
4. SISTER’S COMING HOME [1:48]
DOWN AT THE CORNER BEER JOINT [1:57]
5. (HOW WILL I KNOW) I’M FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN [3:25]
Side Two
1. BLOODY MARY MORNING [2:48]
2. PHASES AND STAGES (Theme) [0:32]
NO LOVE AROUND [1:51]
3. I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE GONE [4:15]
4. IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THAT WAY [3:27]
5. HEAVEN AND HELL [1:52]
6. PHASES AND STAGES (Theme) [0:24]
PICK UP THE TEMPO [2:41]
PHASES AND STAGES (Theme) [0:21]
Side Three
1. PHASES AND STAGES (Theme) (Alternate Version) [2:41]
WASHING THE DISHES (Alternate Version)
2. SISTER’S COMING HOME (Alternate Version) [3:58]
DOWN AT THE CORNER BEER JOINT (Alternate Version)
3. PHASES AND STAGES (Theme) (Alternate Version) [4:00]
(HOW WILL I KNOW) I’M FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN (Alternate Version)
4. BLOODY MARY MORNING (Alternate Version) [3:40]
5. NO LOVE AROUND (Alternate Version) [1:54]
Side Four
1. I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE GONE (Alternate Version) [4:15]
2. IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THAT WAY (Alternate Version) [3:16]
3. HEAVEN AND HELL (Alternate Version/Duet Vocal) [2:59]
4. PHASES AND STAGES (Theme) [3:10]
PICK UP THE TEMPO
5. PHASES AND STAGES (Theme) (Alternate Version) [0:40]
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