Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 19
  2. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Two Men With The Blues is Willie at his most limber--and the surprise is that his co-star, the oft-formal Wynton Marsalis, sounds just as loose.
  2. Ten exuberant, tender, casually elegant tracks later you realize - much to your surprise, if you're like me--that the pairing of the grizzled country star and the suave jazz master is an unmitigated, ear-tickling success.
  3. Accompanying a pure individualist and plain speaker like Nelson strips the Marsalis Quintet of its preciousness. Here, Marsalis and company sound natural, loose, gritty, and certainly inspired.
  4. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    Willie and Wynton may seem like an odd couple, but this live disc makes the country legend amd jazz master sound like natural partners. [11 Jul 2008, p.75]
  5. This performance with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis feels like a long-overdue summit meeting. These renditions of classics--including some of Willie’s own--sound completely natural.
  6. Armstrong’s example created the conditions for this to happen, and the record is an almost classical example of his old game: eluding American stereotypes of country, city, blues, jazz, race, class, humor and sadness.
  7. 80
    Impressive without being pretentious, Two Men possesses an urbane strut that’s perfect for jazzheads--and their country cousins.
  8. Aside from standout individual performances, what makes this vibrant session click so naturally is the collaborative spirit bonding these two great American artists tapping into the rich, varied legacy of our popular music.
  9. Under The Radar
    80
    Although Willie Nelson changes for no one, he’s just as comfortable in your living room as he is in his, so it’s no surprise that a summit with Wynton Marsalis’ combo, recorded live at Jazz at Lincoln Center last year, is so inspired. [Summer 2008]
  10. An album whose enviably assured vibe pretty much drips out of the speakers.
  11. Sure, the novelty helps, and if it recurs too often, the glee of hearing Nelson and Marsalis mesh will diminish. But hearing once how they play with and against each other is a real treat.
  12. Mojo
    80
    [A] gem-filled recording. [Aug 2008, p.111]
  13. Uncut
    80
    Willie's laidback voice is on top form, and for once, Wynton's garrulous trumpet takes a back seat, leaving space for some smart interjections from Mickey Rafael's harmonica and Walter Blanding's tenor sax. [Aug 2008, p.100]
  14. 70
    When the singer’s overfamiliarity with certain material risks turning him nonchalant, Dan Nimmer’s barrelhouse piano picks up the slack; just when you’re ready to give up on an uninspired Hank Williams cover, some New Orleans parade funk kicks in.
  15. There's too much jokey bluster, and little ground is broken, but this is an entertaining diversion.
  16. Q Magazine
    60
    This good-humoured set is sometimes a little too comfortable, but it's hard to gripe when they play Hoagy Carmichael songs 'Stardust' and 'Georgia On My Mind.' [Aug 2008, p.140]
  17. While this summit doesn't offer enough to interest more than the converted, the magnitude of the encounter tends to transcend whatever music is created.
  18. Don’t count on hearing any lively back-and-forth exchanges, though, they’re clearly too respectful of each other to risk stepping on any toes in public.

Awards & Rankings

User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Dannyboy
    Jul 13, 2008
    8
    An iconic meeting pf musical giants. yes, one mightvsay that little musial ground is broken, but what a display of mirth with the american sonbook!!