Album Review: Willie Nelson - Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin Pete

This is old standards written by Ira and George Gershwin upwards of 80 years ago, performed by an icon who made a name for himself in the '50s.

'Fresh' certainly isn't the word to describe Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin, but freshness isn't what this record's going for. This is a loving tribute, with Nelson's respect for the songs oozing out of every note. There's no point covering a song if an artist doesn't put their own spin on it. The advantage of being a musical icon for six decades is that Nelson is almost his own genre, putting his very distinctive spin on things, whether he's trying to or not.