Willie Nelson
Milk Cow Blues (Island)
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Country superstar Willie Nelson probably has a great blues album in him; “Milk Cow Blues” isn’t it. Instead of using his laid-back voice and imaginative spirit to bring the blues someplace new, he submits to formula. As with recent albums by B.B. King and John Lee Hooker, almost every track features a guest star, from King on a rote electric version of “The Thrill Is Gone” to Susan Tedeschi’s yowl on the blues standard “Kansas City.” Skating through the record mostly on personality, Nelson revisits his classic “Crazy” (with Tedeschi) and “Funny How Time Slips Away” (with the under-recognized Francine Reed, a singer in Lyle Lovett’s band). Besides the hymnlike, Nelson-only “Lonely Street,” the record is the equivalent of visiting Chicago and limiting yourself to one concert at the House of Blues.