To Willie

Tribute albums are no rarity in the world of country music (think Merle Haggard’s barnstorming pair of tribute albums to Jimmie Rodgers and Bob Wills, and Willie Nelson’s landmark tribute to the works of Lefty Frizzell). Phosphorescent’s succinctly named tribute *To Willie*, is a part of this venerable tradition, and finds the up- and-coming Georgia songwriter paying his respects to one of country music’s finest songwriters, Willie Nelson. Phosphorescent’s Mark Houck is, like Willie, a singer with an unerring sense of melody that helps to compensate for what might otherwise be perceived as vocal shortcomings. Willie was able to turn his limited range into a considerable asset with his soulful phrasing and on these loose but loving reinterpretations, Houck demonstrates just how much he has learned from his idol, pulling off Willie’s indelible “I Gotta Get Drunk,” for instance, with ragged aplomb. Houck wisely never attempts to best or radically reinvent the Nelson tunes he attempts here, and instead opts for reverent, but nonetheless lived in, readings of tunes like “Permanently Lonely” and “The Party’s Over” that glow with both passion and originality.

In 1975 Willie Nelson recorded the album 'To Lefty From Willie', 10 songs in which Nelson pays homage to Lefty Frizell, reinterpreting his favorites from the Frizzell catalog and stamping them with his own unique voice, reshaping them into his own new classics. Now Phosphorescent has done the same for Willie Nelson by bringing us 'To Willie'. Here, Matthew Houck has selected 11 of his favorite Willie Nelson songs and does much more than just simply cover them. He has not selected the greatest hits, but rather digs deep, offering renditions of hidden Nelson gems and lost classics. The songs collected here seem cracked from Phosphorescent’s proprietary mold with Matthew Houck’s unmistakable voice leading the way. They feel lived in, they feel weathered and they feel just like Phosphorescent. Phosphorescent’s 2007 breakthrough album 'Pride' sounded best at the latest of hours--it was narcotic, dreamy and fraught. Following the release of this insomniac masterpiece, Houck toured relentlessly with a solid rock band, turning the meditations of 'Pride' into another beast entirely. Loose and booze-fueled, Phosphorescent put on electrifying performances night after night in which Houck stepped out as confident frontman and band leader. Without question, those hard-living months on the road greatly impacted the 'To Willie' sessions. Houck’s swagger and confidence shines through like never before – on songs like “Reasons to Quit” and “I Gotta Get Drunk” Phosphorescent rumbles with a soulful groove that was a fixture of the live show, but was never touched upon in previous recordings. Recalling the finest moments of the late-’70s work of Waylon Jennings and Nelson himself, Phosphorescent has delivered a glorious hangover of an album. It is so much more than a collection of Willie Nelson cover songs--it is a full-blown new classic. But this is not a musical reinvention of the band--Phosphorescent returns with all acknowledged charms in tow; the gentle duet of “It’s Not Supposed to be That Way,” the hauntingly beautiful choir of "Can I Sleep In Your Arms," and the spacious, synth-heavy “Permanently Lonely” all work to pull this album together as a cohesive statement. As the liner notes of Nelson’s To Lefty From Willie simply state: “This album is an unabashed musical love letter. From one towering talent to another.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Matthew Houck, aka Phosphorescent, follows three fine LPs of original songs with a tribute to the Red Headed Stranger, Willie Nelson.

Singer-songwriter Matthew Houck of Phosphorescent borrowed more than Willie Nelson’s songs for his tribute record To Willie. Houck also learned a thing or two about song interpretation from a man who has covered—and come to own—tunes popularized by Paul Simon, Hoagy Carmichael, and Kermit The Frog. Rather than…

Saying Phosphorescent's tribute album to Willie Nelson is redolent of history is an understatement -- besides the subject of the album itself, the title acts as a specific reference to Nelson's own 1975 tribute to Lefty Frizzell, To Lefty from Willie.

Considering the qualities Matthew Houck – the songwriter trading as Phosphorescent – shares with Texan legend Willie Nelson, a tribute to the bandanna-ed pot connoisseur seems apt, as odd as the idea of a Brooklyn-dwelling alt.

Effectively a one-man tribute album, To Willie feels comfortable, if not slightly self-indulgent.