Willie Nelson photo by David McClister, courtesy of Lost Highway.

He’s done American pop standards, the blues, jazz and even reggae music. But Willie Nelson is keeping it simple with his next album, giving it a tell-tale title, Country Music.

Set for release April 20, he recorded the project with the acclaimed T Bone Burnett, who won a Golden Globe this month for his work on Crazy Heart and likewise produced the music to O Brother, Where Art Thou?. T Bone brought together some of Nashville’s best musicians — including guitarist Buddy Miller, mandolin player Ronnie McCoury and background vocalist Jim Lauderdale — to work with Willie, and they laid down a total of 23 tracks, ultimately picking 15 for the final draft.

“There is a great feeling of freedom when you sit in a studio surrounded by seven, eight, 10 musicians and producers and engineers who are the best there are and you’re playing good songs,” Willie says. “Naturally, I feel fairly confident in that situation. It doesn’t matter where I look and point, I know whether it’s the steel or the fiddle or the mandolin, I’m going to get a great solo from those guys because they play great all the time. It was a huge experience for me.”

While Willie’s made a habit out of redoing old pop classics, this time he dove into country’s legacy to come up with the bulk of the album. He covers Ernest Tubb’s “Seaman’s Blues,” Al Dexter’s “Pistol Packin’ Mama,” Red Foley’s “Freight Train Boogie” and the Louvin Brothers’ “My Baby’s Gone,” to name a few. As a result, Willie figures he’ll introduce a whole new generation to some songs and artists they likely know little or nothing about.

“It really sounds like I’m talking about Stardust, because when I was promoting that album [in 1978] I was saying the same thing,” Willie notes. “There are a lot of young people out there who have never heard these songs, and a lot of the older folks like myself haven’t heard them in a long time. It’s the same idea ¬— great old standards that people are either going to recognize or love for the first time.”

Willie also turns in a remake of the 1954 Porter Wagoner hit “Satisfied Mind,” which comes with a twist for trivia buffs. Porter’s very last album was recorded by Marty Stuart, who did his own version of “Satisfied Mind” on a 2003 album for Columbia. Marty’s album had the very same title as Willie’s new one: Country Music.

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