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Willie Nelson & Calexico — Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)
Album: I'm Not There Soundtrack
Avg rating:
5.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 343









Released: 2007
Length: 5:10
Plays (last 30 days): 0
(no lyrics available)
Comments (90)add comment
Hmm, Willie Nelson might be a legend, but he is most definitely not a good singer here.
I met up with Texas 'n Willie 'n Waylon in 1974.  I still love Willie.  Can't say much good about the Spanish, "r" rolling guy. But I still do love Willie. 
 ScottN wrote:
The gold standard of reinterpreting Dylan is Hendrix' All Along the Watchtower, I would say.
 
Well, considering Dylan started doing the song Hendrix's way from that point on, I would say you're right !

https://www.interferenza.net/bcs/interw/florida.htm (about half way down the page)

Never liked this songwriting. The wailing section just really kills it. Ahhh...the ending.
Dylan covers: always great to hear...

{#Clap}
guess I'm not high enough to listen to Willie

Willie Nelson II by *GRhoades
©2010 *GRhoades
https://504otos.com

New Orleans


¿No catchen la honda?  Lastima.

 DaveInVA wrote:
I like it until the fluffed up overstuffed opera part
 
Man, you must really dislike some of the folk music in Mexico.  Pity. 

I like it until the fluffed up overstuffed opera part
JGB does one of the best covers of this song. 
Love this song
Love Willie
Love Calexico

A+
 Alafia wrote:
Too bad he sings this great song so flatly and without feeling.  With his voice it could have been so much better than this.
 
I think he did as well as he could with the 7x yr old Willie vibe.  Doing a cover should, imo, add smth or bring a formerly unrealized aspect to the song. This effort by Willie fails that test, I believe.  Tough to cover Dylan of that era...and do it better than Bob did it.
The gold standard of reinterpreting Dylan is Hendrix' All Along the Watchtower, I would say.
I actually thought this tune was filled with feeling.... loved it Willie and friends... thanks.

{#Motor}
love it, need a corona and a hammock swinging gently in a Pacific breeze
Muchas Gracias, Senor Goldsmith. {#Clap}

Willie at his worst.
Too bad he sings this great song so flatly and without feeling.  With his voice it could have been so much better than this.
 Shesdifferent wrote:
I can't wait until this set is over.....
 
Ditto.  Sorry - this seems like it'd be a funny SNL spoof.  The combination of sounds in this one is pure tragedy.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
 kaybee wrote:
Much as I'm not a fan of Willie Nelson, I was actually enjoying this and going to rate it a 7 until the overwrought opera singer ruined it for me.  Too bad.
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CXVtm97fWDo/SbwCo-G69wI/AAAAAAAAAG0/YkDzXJMfXRQ/s320/Opera.jpg
 
Yep, I'll second that. It's over when the fat gentleman sings...

Nope, not my taste at all. Not dissin, just sayin.
Mr.Nelson has rocked  as long as I can remember....Senor'{#Yes}....even his Beatnik days{#Notworthy}
 holborne wrote:

See, now, here's what I don't get: how is it that a lot of the very same people who complain about David Byrne, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan, seem to fall all over themselves prostrate with adulation when Willie Nelson sings? Willie can't sing or carry a tune any better than the other three.

Me, I don't get Willie Nelson. Never have.


 
I didn't get Willie, either, until I read a great article about him in Rolling Stone quite a few years ago.. It was all about his perfection—perfect pitch, perfect riffs, perfect delivery—all that.  Anyway, it really did it for me.  I've loved him ever since.



"Pancho and Lefty" Live by Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPMxJROHInM



I like the Calexico-horns, but the rest just does not do much for me.
I prefer the Señor by Paris Combo.

Oh, Willie, give it up.  All I can hear you saying is 'Sen-yore'.  Mental eye-roll.


 kaybee wrote:
Much as I'm not a fan of Willie Nelson, I was actually enjoying this and going to rate it a 7 until the overwrought opera singer ruined it for me.  Too bad.
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CXVtm97fWDo/SbwCo-G69wI/AAAAAAAAAG0/YkDzXJMfXRQ/s320/Opera.jpg
 
Agreed.  It has to be a joke, isn't it?

Much as I'm not a fan of Willie Nelson, I was actually enjoying this and going to rate it a 7 until the overwrought opera singer ruined it for me.  Too bad.
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CXVtm97fWDo/SbwCo-G69wI/AAAAAAAAAG0/YkDzXJMfXRQ/s320/Opera.jpg
a real yawner-willie sleepwalking through another cover.
I can't wait until this set is over.....
The Calexico bit is stunning... not so sure about Willie tho... gimme Bob any day!

Calexico's presence saves this - barely.

The one-two punch of Nasal Willie + Opera Man would kill a lesser backing band.


No thanks.

See, now, here's what I don't get: how is it that a lot of the very same people who complain about David Byrne, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan, seem to fall all over themselves prostrate with adulation when Willie Nelson sings? Willie can't sing or carry a tune any better than the other three.

Me, I don't get Willie Nelson. Never have.




I was listening to IO "Seasons' the other day and they played Willie doing a Christmas tune.

It sounded for all the world like he was singing the phone book.

Oh boy!....!Wow!-    9.

Does not translate. The opera pairing is as bad as that festering turd he recorded with toots.

Amen to that!!!!{#Beat}

 rtrudeau wrote:
 
I was doing fine with this song until Opera Man checked in.
 


Perfect combination!{#Bananajam}
 AphidA wrote:
More Opera Man. Super.
  
I was doing fine with this song until Opera Man checked in.
I love this version so much that I downloaded it from Amazon after hearing it on RP. Age, and smoke have weathered Willie's voice wonderfully, and Calexico blends perfectly.
I like it. Sure it's no match for the original, but this one would go into the "guilty pleasures", just like watching "Scrubs".

Señor? Señor?
Could it be there's some re-encoded HTML entity, señor?

 Xeric wrote:

It's Willie. How can there be any question?

EDIT: Wait. That's not Willie. No sir. Sure ain't. Yikes.


 

I'd be willing to guess that the opera/mariachi singer is the same guy in Lays the Reigns.  But I could be wrong.

 meloman wrote:
Do us all a favor, Willie...retire.

 

Do meloman a favor and send him a special mute button. Let the rest of us who love Willie keep listening.

 kazuma wrote:

My problem with Street Legal is and always has been that about half of it is as good as anything I've ever heard from Dylan and the other half is absolutely wretched. When I listen to it, I listen to the four great tracks ("Changing of the Guards", "Is Your Love in Vain?", "Seᅵor (Tales of Yankee Power)", and "Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat)") and skip the rest.

 
My problem with Street Legal is that it was a cheeseball CBC legal drama from the 1980s and 1990s.
 meloman wrote:
Do us all a favor, Willie...retire.

 

Speak for yourself, meloman
Do us all a favor, Willie...retire.
It´ll never be one of my favourites, but it´s a clear 6, maybe sometimes a 7, for me.


The more I visit these boards the more I wonder if some of you like music at all. I for one thought that was excellent. :)
bokey wrote:
OMFG Never heard it, but am contemplating getting out my pistole and doing myself, just to eliminate the possibility of ever being exposed to that.
Get over yourself. He really did do a heartfelt version.
sunybuny wrote:
Is it the same singer as on the Iron & Wine/ Calexico song (whose name I can't remeber)?
It's Willie. How can there be any question? EDIT: Wait. That's not Willie. No sir. Sure ain't. Yikes.
keller1 wrote:
For me Jerry Garcia's version of this is definitive,
OMFG Never heard it, but am contemplating getting out my pistole and doing myself, just to eliminate the possibility of ever being exposed to that.
Cake - Friend is a Four Letter Word
Is it the same singer as on the Iron & Wine/ Calexico song (whose name I can't remeber)?
BKardon wrote:
The original album that this song comes from, Street Legal, is an overlooked masterpiece as well. It was dissed by the press/public but I think perhaps it was misunderstood.
My problem with Street Legal is and always has been that about half of it is as good as anything I've ever heard from Dylan and the other half is absolutely wretched. When I listen to it, I listen to the four great tracks ("Changing of the Guards", "Is Your Love in Vain?", "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)", and "Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat)") and skip the rest.
Holy smokes. I just signed in for an hour tonight; hoping for some breezy tunes before beddy-bye. What the hell was this? RP. I know. It's RP. Different strokes for different folks. Not this folk. Not this one. Horrendous.
I guess variety and diversity is what life's all about. I have to disagree with just about all of you, this version is great. I do agree that Jerry's version is tremendous, maybe even "superior" if you can really compare one song to another and choose, but this version is awesome. Deeply emotional vocals, classic Willie Nelson sound, beautifully played.
BKardon wrote:
The original album that this song comes from, Street Legal, is an overlooked masterpiece as well. It was dissed by the press/public but I think perhaps it was misunderstood. The recordings are sloppy, on the surface nothing seems to be clicking, but I think that helps rather than hinders the music.
You best believe it...
ziggytrix wrote:
as diverse as ween's style is, couldn't you say that about just about any song? :)
touche salesman
theirishtickler wrote:
am i wrong or is there a ween song out there that sounds incredibly similar
as diverse as ween's style is, couldn't you say that about just about any song? :)
See you at Lisboa Festival
sung with all the sensitivity of a toilet seat.
More Opera Man. Super.
am i wrong or is there a ween song out there that sounds incredibly similar
stet wrote:
...Dylan's version is an overlooked masterpiece...
The original album that this song comes from, Street Legal, is an overlooked masterpiece as well. It was dissed by the press/public but I think perhaps it was misunderstood. The recordings are sloppy, on the surface nothing seems to be clicking, but I think that helps rather than hinders the music.
I'll give it points for being Willie, but who let Señor Psychopath out of the box there at the end? LOL!
Well they'll play with pretty much anybody, won't they?
Ugh, I need some mouthwash for my ears; a quick mute and I'm putting on Tim O'Brien's cover (Red on Blonde)
stet wrote:
I really like Willie Nelson, but this is a disaster. Dylan's version is an overlooked masterpiece; Willie has slowed it down and, most important, eliminated the question marks. The whole song is a series of questions: Willie turns it into a series of statements. In the song, the singer should be tormented because he doesn't know. In Willie's version, it seems like he doesn't care.
Even though some pan his voice, hard to improve on Bob. Except for Jimi and 'Watchtower'............
I like Willie's voice, but don't care much for Calexico. Still, overall, it's good enough that I give it a 7.
Great song, and always love Willie, but I agree with those who prefer the Garcia version. Richard Shindell has a great version as well on south of delia.
I really like Willie Nelson, but this is a disaster. Dylan's version is an overlooked masterpiece; Willie has slowed it down and, most important, eliminated the question marks. The whole song is a series of questions: Willie turns it into a series of statements. In the song, the singer should be tormented because he doesn't know. In Willie's version, it seems like he doesn't care.
drealester wrote:
Whoa...is it Willie or Pavarotti en Espanol. Eeek!
Oh my...did Bill really just say "a really cool version of the Bob Dillon song"??? Oh my.
Whoa...is it Willie or Pavarotti en Espanol. Eeek!
OK, it's a bit rough and might benefit from more work. But still, it's another fantastic Dylan song that deserves to be heard. I agree with the previous observations about the Garcia treatment.
When you look at the song and artists, in the songlist, you think, "this is gonna be something..." and then, somehow, everybody involved seems to miss the mark. Willie just sounds.... uninspired. And Calexico... lackluster for them. Jerry's version is lightyears more compelling.
3 days in a row... or more... please senor no more...
from one activist to another- Fear and dread, I feel fear and dread. Run! And kiss your ass goodbye...
Frater_Kork wrote:
Kinda surprising tenor there in the end :)
That's an understatement. So far, I've heard this song twice and didn't really pay it much attention until the tenor part, at which I point I straigtened up in my chair and said, WTF!
keller1 wrote:
For me Jerry Garcia's version of this is definitive, but a great song is a great song. 8.
I agree on both points. Willie's nothing if not ambitious though, this is a interesting take on a great song.
i haven't heard it through headphones yet, but so far i'm not impressed with this rendition.
Kinda surprising tenor there in the end :)
kindermanltd wrote:
Not the right song for Willie, man.
I don't know about that. I think its strangely appropriate.
For me Jerry Garcia's version of this is definitive, but a great song is a great song. 8.
Oh hell yes. Great tune. I saw "Blond Ambition" (really crap movie BTW) with Willie the other day. He should keep singing but leave the acting to others
Love the horns. In certain songs Willie works for me. This appears to be one.
Not the right song for Willie, man.
SWEET! A "duet" that was destined to happen. Fitting song I think. The horns and pedal steel are choice.