Paru en 1978, "Stardust" est l’un des albums les plus emblématiques de Willie Nelson et une œuvre incontournable de la musique américaine. En revisitant avec élégance une sélection de standards intemporels du Great American Songbook, l’artiste texan s’éloigne des sentiers traditionnels de la country pour offrir des interprétations pleines de sensibilité, de douceur et d’authenticité. Porté par des arrangements raffinés signés Booker T. Jones, l’album met en lumière toute la richesse expressive de la voix unique de Willie Nelson sur des classiques tels que "Georgia On My Mind, Blue Skies, All Of Me" ou encore "Unchained Melody".

Cette édition numérotée 33 RPM de la série Silver Label de Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab permet de redécouvrir cet enregistrement légendaire dans des conditions d’écoute exceptionnelles. Grâce à un travail de mastering audiophile minutieux et à un pressage de haute qualité, chaque détail musical est restitué avec une remarquable précision. La chaleur des instruments, la profondeur des arrangements et la présence naturelle de la voix de Willie Nelson prennent ici une dimension nouvelle, offrant une expérience sonore immersive et fidèle à l’esprit des bandes originales.

Véritable succès critique et commercial, Stardust a traversé les décennies sans perdre de son éclat et demeure aujourd’hui une référence absolue pour les amateurs de country, de jazz vocal et de musique américaine traditionnelle. Cette édition Mobile Fidelity constitue une pièce de choix pour les collectionneurs de vinyles audiophiles comme pour tous ceux qui souhaitent posséder l’une des plus belles réalisations de la carrière de Willie Nelson.

- Stardust Spent More than a Decade on Country Charts: Willie Nelson Gets Inside the Phrasing, Lyrics, and Emotions of Songs !

- Mobile Fidelity Silver Label's Numbered-Edition 33 RPM LP Has Sumptuous Sound That Elevates Booker T. Jones' Production !

- 1/2" / 30 IPS analog copy to analog console to lathe !

"Why be predictable ?," Willie Nelson asked Columbia Records executive Nick Blackburn, after the latter resisted the Red Headed Stranger's decision to make an album of classic pop tunes. Talk about outlaw country. Cutting against the genre's traditions and Music Row conventions, Nelson's Stardust remains a genius-level creation as well as the icon's most commercially successful release, a truly gorgeous record infused with ultimate respect for composers and lyrics and many of the finest performances of his career. It is a quintessential part of any catalog.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity's world-renowned mastering system and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, this Silver Label Series LP dazzles with dead-quiet surfaces, tube-like warmth, and an enhanced soundstage. Further exposing the delicate touches abounding in Stax legend Booker T. Jones' production, this edition brings out the textured kernels of Nelson's voice – and the deep-seeded dignity, austerity, devotion, grit, sensitivity, grace, and plaintiveness within it. His brilliant phrasing throughout is on par with that of Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles, two giants that influenced this project and his willingness to pair with strings and small combo to wondrous effect.

Having met Jones while living in Malibu, Nelson established a relationship with the musician that extended to roles as producer, arranger and band mate. Jones' superior knowledge of the American Songbook comes through via the material's economy of scale and sympathetic approach. Acoustic guitar arpeggios, contrasting breaks, bluesy harmonicas, glowing organs, R&B-tinged horns, brushed drums, and relaxed bass lines trickle throughout the songs, all distinguished by Nelson's intimate timbre and absolutely astonishing vocal expressiveness.

In redefining and reimagining standards such as Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies", Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia On My Mind", and the age-old "All of Me" all of which landed in the Top 5 of the Country singles chart – Nelson wedded together pop, country, jazz, folk, and blues in a manner in which no artist had ever before done. He gained considerable rewards for his exquisite efforts: Stardust sold more than five million copies and, incredibly, stayed on the Country album charts for more than ten years.

"Paul Stubblebine mastered this new version for Mobile Fidelity on its lower priced Silver Label. He has nailed the sound that made this a super disc. Compared to a white label promo, the differences are subtle. With first class remastering, Mobile Fidelity's quiet pressing and low price, this is a no-brainer recommendation" - Dennis Davis, HiFi+