Willie Nelson, “A Beautiful Time.”

The 14 songs on A Beautiful Time, the new album from Willie Nelson, don’t appear to have been purposefully written or assembled as a goodbye or a final statement, but this new series of songs has an undeniable overall theme of rumination on the past. If for some reason this ends up being his final work … it could work. Last word or not, it’s a beautiful collection.

One of five songs on A Beautiful Time written by Nelson and producer/longtime collaborator Buddy Cannon, “Live Every Day” makes the clearest allusion to mortality: “Live every day like it’s your last one … one of these days, you’re gonna be right,” Nelson sings.

A Beautiful Time is the fifth in a series of albums Nelson has done in recent years that dwell most on life (usually) well lived, love, loss, friendship, shared experiences and lessons learned during almost nine decades on the planet. And as with the previous four albums—all produced by Nashville producer-songwriter Cannon, a septuagenarian himself—A Beautiful Time approaches these themes with care and perhaps a bit of urgency. It’s a literate mix of nostalgia, realism, gratitude and–perhaps to a greater degree than the most recent of these Cannon-produced efforts, 2020’s First Rose of Spring–mortality and the need to “make things right” with those around you.

On the new one, Willie Nelson consistently leans on songwriters who effectively address these themes with loving care. Of the songs he and Cannon teamed up to write, all are marvelous. Perhaps the most interesting is “Energy Follows Thought,” a simple, eloquent advisory to remain in control of your thoughts and dreams. It encapsulates Nelson’s modus operandi, a well-considered message more in line with the classic singer-songwriter movement than anything country, save for a crying pedal steel here or a harmonica solo there.

And on that note, the music here sounds as it has for decades, if maybe a little more subdued than usual, reflecting the sobriety and the contemplative nature, of the songs. Mickey Rafael’s harmonica, steel guitar by Terry and Mike Johnson, and Nelson’s own fingerpicking on his old acoustic guitar “Trigger” ensure this record sounds like Willie and no one else.

The mostly slow tempos and understated playing give Nelson plenty of room to express himself in what is clearly a more frayed voice than even five years ago. But that wear and tear, if anything, gives his observations more heft and more emotion.

On “Dusty Bottles,” written by Jim “Moose” Brown, Scotty Emerick and Don Sampson, Nelson sings the virtues of age and experience. “There’s something to be said for getting wrinkles … every song worth singing has got those lines,” he sings This is probably the most profound song on an album brimming with profound songs.

The most downcast moment here, an aberration, is Nelson’s take on Leonard Cohen’s “Tower of Song.” Nelson puts his stamp on it anyway, though. More reassuring, if less distinctive, is Nelson’s straightforward treatment of “With a Little Help From My Friends.”

A quiet and emotional “Leave You With a Smile,” written by Cannon, steel guitarist Bob Terry and Matt Rossi, brings things to a touching conclusion and ties up the various sentiments on this album quite nicely.

Even at almost 90, Nelson is still tougher than leather and continues to defy categorization. He is one of the last of a similarly eclectic group of “outlaw” artists–Shaver, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Jeff Walker and Townes Van Zandt were key acolytes–whose work rises above labels. Appreciate this national treasurer while he’s still with us, and still making great music.

Follow journalist Sam Richards at Twitter.com/samrichardsWC.