When one looks at the cover of Here's Willie Nelson, his sophomore effort, you might have a difficult time reconciling the clean-cut picture of a young (!) Nelson with the ragged outlaw with the well-worn guitar. Not gonna lie: it's still a bit off-putting for me.
But when one listens to this particular disc, things make sense in some strange cosmic way. He might not play the guitar in a style he would have with people like Waylon Jennings, but the buttery-smooth delivery on these 12 songs fairly accurately captures just who Nelson would be throughout the bulk of his career. In fact, if someone didn't know Nelson's discography other than the most popular albums, you could easily confuse this with Stardust, which came 13 years later.
Ironically, it was by intermixing cover versions with his original songs that helped Nelson find his unique sound and voice. Songs like "Half A Man," "Lonely Little Mansion," "Second Fiddle" and "Things I Might Have Been" all make the listener sit up and pay attention to just who Nelson is.
Maybe it was the production work from Tommy Allsup that made a difference. Maybe Nelson just felt more relaxed with this material than he did with ...And Then I Wrote (despite that disc being primarily songs Nelson wrote). Whatever the case, with no disrespect meant to the songs Nelson wrote that became hits for other artists, this disc is the first true showcase of who Nelson was (and is), and what mark he was going to leave on country music.
In fact, the seeds for potential crossover success were planted with this album, as many of the songs almost sound like they could have been recorded at the same time Patsy Cline was putting her own unique mark on Nelson's song "Crazy". Sure, some may balk at syrupy string arrangements on these tracks, but the resulting sound actually helps bring Nelson to the forefront, where he belonged.
The only real mis-step is the opening track "Roly Poly," which tries to put Nelson in the role of a Western swing artist. It's not the best fit for him - and, fortunately, the moment passes.
Here's Willie Nelson certainly didn't light the charts on fire back in 1963, and I'll happily go on the record to declare this a God Damn Shame. This disc proved to be the final one he'd issue with Liberty, but it gave Nelson solid ground to take his talents to greener pastures (though it would still be a little longer before that grass would take root, at least in terms of the charts). This particular album is one that deserves to be re-discovered, and is highly recommended.