Willie Nelson

Willie goes ’round in circles. Some of his work conveys stunning creativity, with just-right pacing and singing and gut-stringed bull’s-eyes from rickety old Trigger. Other times, he sprints through, giving only short bursts of brilliance, then easing on down the road a little too casually. This yin-yang tug of moods happens frequently on Moment of Fever. Both the Kris Kristofferson-penned title track and “Louisiana” are affecting (despite the latter’s misplaced funk guitar plucks), but “The Bob Song,” with its silly “Yellow Submarine” intro, should be a comic ditty, not an overblown, Important Metaphor carrier. “Keep Me from Blowing Away” sounds like the average of many Willie songs, melded into a formula we’ve heard too often. Apparently, Nelson (or at least his label) thought using Buddy Cannon and Kenny Chesney as producers would ensure a hit whether he gave it his best or phoned it in. And the throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-if-it-sticks “Takin’ on Water,” with a funk line straight from a Bill Withers song, demonstrates the “less is more” approach clearly wasn’t employed. Too bad, because songs like Dave Matthews’ “Gravedigger” would have carried more power that way. The best songs are the last three: Guy Clark’s “Worry B Gone,” a cute country get-high duet with Chesney; Nelson’s own tragi-comic “You Don’t Think I’m Funny”; and the jazzy cover of Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody.” Yeah, like the fans.