Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger

In 1975, Willie Nelson just signed to Columbia Records and was granted an artistic freedom he'd never before enjoyed in his career. Feeling empowered, Nelson began writing, and soon developed what would become the storyline for his breakthrough record, Red Headed Stranger. A story of murder and infidelity, spun amidst stripped-down arrangements that highly contrasted with the slick, puffed-up music being churned out on Nashville's increasingly plastic assembly line, the LP helped launch the outlaw country music and Nelson's mainstream star, crossing over country boundaries into popular tastes.  Sure, dark images are nothing new in country music, but concept albums were extremely uncommon until Willie made them seem natural. Following his brilliant Phases And Stages and extremely popular Stardust, Red Headed Stranger, remains a startlingly original conceptual affair. Although the title tune had already been recorded by Eddy Arnold and released on the RCA LP There Hangs A Tale, it was N