Ride Me Back Home
by Willie Nelson
  • Record Label: Legacy
  • Release Date: Jun 21, 2019
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
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  1. Exclaim
    Jun 20, 2019
    90
    These tracks and more prove the octogenarian has as much grit and vigour as country stars a fraction of his age. Indeed, Nelson performs so deftly on Ride Me Back Home that you'll feel the urge to ask this aged outlaw to hop back in the saddle for yet another spryly exciting ride.
  2. The Observer (UK)
    Jul 8, 2019
    80
    The voice has weathered like timber, but his timing is impeccable, his Tex-Mex guitar flurries thrilling. The cowboy sage (and Beto Democrat) remains unique.
  3. Mojo
    Jun 25, 2019
    80
    If aging has robbed the 86-year-old of anything, it's not audible here. [Aug 2019, p.96]
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  5. Under The Radar
    Jun 24, 2019
    80
    The whole album encompasses issues dear to his heart.
  6. Uncut
    Jun 20, 2019
    80
    The best of Ride Me Back Home feels as much a companion to [2018 My Way] as to its predecessors in Nelson's trilogy of reckoning--there's a certain Sinatra-esque conspiratorial intimacy. [Aug 2019, p.37]
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  7. PopMatters
    Jun 20, 2019
    80
    Nelson is decades past those career highs, but it's time to acknowledge that God's Problem Child, Last Man Standing, and, now, Ride Me Back Home, easily stand among the best music created by one of true originals of American music.
  8. Austin Chronicle
    Aug 8, 2019
    78
    The family rollick of Mac Davis' "It's Hard to Be Humble" injects some fun, but the piano-tinkled "Stay Away From Lonely Places" shines with classic Nelson songwriting magic.
  9. Pitchfork
    Jun 25, 2019
    74
    There’s a roominess to the music, a jovial looseness in its rhythmic complexity, and something like celebration in its exploration of these grave subjects. Nothing on here sounds rehearsed or calculated.
  10. Clash Music
    Jun 20, 2019
    70
    Whilst the album could do without a cover of Billy Joel's ‘Just The Way You Are’, it doesn't detract from the overall feeling of warmth threading through this project.
  11. Rolling Stone
    Jun 20, 2019
    70
    Nelson’s vocal prowess remains unaffected by age, timeless in its singular phrasing and unconventional approach to rhythm. On Ride Me Back Home, he uses his voice, that profound American musical instrument, to convey his Texas zen on songs like the title track and the fresh original “One More Song to Write.”
  12. AllMusic
    Jun 26, 2019
    60
    This retro vibe is appealing and it also helps undercut whatever lingering sense of fatality hangs over the album, since it suggests that Ride Me Back Home isn't a statement, but rather just another enjoyable record in a long line of enjoyable records.
  13. New Musical Express (NME)
    Jun 20, 2019
    60
    As prolific as he is iconic, Ride Me Back Home is Willie’s 69th (nice) album and sees him in absolute sweetheart mode.

Awards & Rankings

88
#88 Most Shared Album of 2019

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