Bolstered by a co-author experienced in writing celebrity bios (David Ritz), and his longtime (50 years) harmonica player (Mickey Raphael), to prod his memory and make useful suggestions, Willie Nelson has produced yet another book in ENERGY FOLLOWS THOUGHT: THE STORIES BEHIND MY SONGS, a coffee table-size volume with a fifty-dollar price tag. Willie's been writing songs and making records for at least seventy of his ninety years now. I've been aware of Willie as both a songwriter and a performer since the sixties, but didn't become a serious fan until the early eighties, when "Always on My Mind" was playing everywhere, after which I 'discovered' his RED-HEADED STRANGER album and his STARDUST collection of standards, then PANCHO AND LEFTY and on and on, etc. I have probably twenty or more Willie albums. He's made more than seventy, but I just couldn't keep up. But I think I qualify as a devoted fan, as I even have a few of his most recent efforts, some with tracks that show the effects of repeated bouts of pneumonia and chronic emphysema, leaving him short of breath and reduced to briefer phrasings in his vocals. And many of his latest albums are filled with songs co-written with his producer, Buddy Cannon, very slight pieces that can't compare with Willie's earlier work.

But back to this latest, large heavy BOOK. For all of its weight and bulk, there's not much in it. Facing pages (with lots of white space) displaying a song lyric on one side, and on the other a few lines of rumination on the song's origin, or paraphrasing the lyrics, along with a glossy photo of Willie with family or friends or other famous artists (many now dead). If you're looking for illumination or Willie wisdom, you probably won't find it in these glossy pages. (Then again, maybe you will.) I found the book only mildly interesting, and couldn't help but wonder if maybe this weren't just one more greedy, opportunistic money grab by Willie's handlers or managers or whoever is now running the Willie machine. Because after all - and I say this very sadly - how much longer can the old guy have?

Enough said. I will tepidly recommend the book, but only for the rabidly hard-core, "must-have-all-things-Willie" sort of fan.

- Tim Bazzett, author of memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )