So spare was the instrumentation on Nelson's 1975 Columbia Records debut, label bosses twitched nervously when pondering its commercial viability. But Nelson had secured full artistic control as a condition of his post-Atlantic Records signing so the album hit the shelves as recorded, with a running time of just 34 minutes and the "concept album" tag a further potential albatross around his neck.
The tale of a jilted lover's journey through revenge to redemption quickly went gold, and has since achieved double-platinum status on the back of its reputation as one of Nelson's most eloquent pieces. The masterly threading together of Nelson originals and reworked covers to flesh out the central tale is key to the album's success, with Nelson seamlessly switching from narrator to protagonist in his typically restrained fashion.
Most tunes clock in at little more than two minutes, the Fred Rose-penned No 1 hit Blues Eyes Crying In The Rain among them. They act as both a vehicle for recurring motifs and as course-markers along the Stranger's trail. But it is the four lengthier tracks that lend the project substance.
The title track is the album's spine. Nelson had long carried around the notion of building on its story. Can I Sleep In Your Arms is its heart, the point at which the Stranger cries out for comfort. Remember Me marks the strengthening of his resolve to put his troubled past behind him, and Hands On The Wheel sees his mission accomplished, with bitterness a distant memory.
In the "three chords and the truth" tradition, a transformative story has been told.
