Willie Nelson

Simmer down, big boy -- Naked Willie is not the Red-Headed Stranger's 2009 nude pictorial, nor is it a batch of tunes he recorded in the buff. Rather, it's the legend repackaging 17 tracks from his pre-outlaw days, the late '60s and early '70s. But there's a twist. Wanting to update their sound, Willie's harmonica player and producer Mickey Raphael strips the tunes of their countrypolitan excess (namely those lush strings), while simultaneously pushing Nelson's vocals to the front.