An internet trawl is unlikely to yield much information about Will Worden. His website displays the message 'We're cooking something up…….' Whether intentionally creating a degree of mystique or not, Worden's full-length album THE ONLY ONE & ALL THE OTHERS is a throwback to the classic Countrypolitan sound of the late '60s and early '70s. With nods in the direction of Lee Hazlewood, Glen Campbell and Jerry Reid and with a glorious co-production credited to Worden and Chris' Dixie' Darley (Father John Misty), it's a superlative effort and more than simply a recreation of that golden era. The songwriting is very much from the heart and lyrically arresting as Worden articulates his emotional journey across twelve songs. Far from creating any element of mystique or air of secrecy, we found Worden to be wholly engaging and charming while explaining the background of an album that continues the recent and growing resurgence of classic country music.
You are originally from Texas. Was the move to California career-related?
The move from Texas to California was music-related. I've played guitar and sang since I was five, which makes it twenty-two years since I've been doing it. I told myself that I didn't want to pursue music and went to business school at the University of Texas, but I quickly realised that my priorities were not in business. I left Texas for California and came here with a mission.
What are your earliest memories of music that left a lasting memory for you?
My youngest influence was Elvis Presley; my father gave me a greatest hits album. I was six or seven years old, and it always stuck in my head, and I wondered how it was possible to sing like that. I would passionately explore how to sing like that, which was very influential at my young age. When I moved to California, Merle Haggard and Gram Parsons opened up the traditional country world for me. Also, they fed into my homesick blues of leaving Texas and my manifest destiny of moving here. That opened a giant rabbit hole into Willie Nelson, especially his sixties records, and Roger Miller, Marty Robbins, Buck Owens, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed and a lot of the countrypolitan RCA Nashville 60s scene. Bakersfield lends itself to much of the sound of my live show, but as far as recording, which is my first passion, I love being in the studio and creating something that is tangible and digestible to whoever wants to listen to it. That's why I wanted to incorporate strings on the record.
I don't expect that you were playing 60s country in your first bands.
I wish it were that picturesque, and I could say I was playing bass from Johnny Cash records when I was nine. It wasn't that sweet, although I did have a musical upbringing, even though none of my family was involved in music. I was heavily involved in the church growing up, and I played every instrument in the church band, singing and singing harmony. That was me cutting my teeth, playing all the instruments, and learning music theory. Many of the great '60s country guys grew up in the church, and I'm very thankful that I wanted to be there. I felt spirited being part of that. That's where my musical beginning started, making music with other people.
There is not much to research online about you. Was this a deliberate move to create a mystique?
I'll be honest, it wasn't super intentional, I don't have time to create conspiracies behind myself. I've been in California for seven years and only started writing that record in June of 2022 and recording it from February 15th through February 17th in 2023. February 13th was the first time I actually played my original music, so the journey for my own music and my own record has not been that long. There are a number of beautiful catalysts that come before that in other bands that I have played in during my time in California. Maybe I should be a little pleased that there is a little mystique behind me, but maybe this is the best way to tell my story by being asked directly rather than overly explaining by writing a whole memoir or bio on my website when it's only my first record. I also tell the whole story in the record, everything is true, and the story that I have painted is something that is very raw. That's why I hadn't written anything before these twelve songs because I hadn't experienced anything real enough to myself to bring out that creative energy.
Are you, therefore, happy to describe it as a concept album?
I think so, definitely. It's also conceptualising my own journey into creating my own music. Prior to this, I had recorded a duet cover record with an artist named Lady Apple Tree; she recorded as Haylie Hostetter in the record we did together; that was the first recording that I sang on, and only a year and a half later, I wrote and recorded, sang on and produced THE ONLY ONE & ALL THE OTHERS . I love the studio and production, and I love singing and this album is me really figuring it out. This is my humble guinea pig item, and I do think it has a concept to it. I intentionally didn't put on a cowboy hat for the cover shoot because I wanted it to have that Capital Records and Countrypolitan general feel. I owe some of that to Chris Dixie (Darley), from Father John Misty, who co-produced the record with me. He had a keen ear for the Phil Spector approach on the tracks Lovin' You Forever and Broken Wings that bring about more of that Lee Hazlewood and Glen Campbell feeling and a cinematic and sonic landscape that isn't necessarily pedal steel, drums, and me singing like you would hear on a 50s country record.
Is the thread of the album based on personal 'lost love'?
Absolutely. First love and to become unrequited and a loss of mine, my journey to California and taking my path on my own. I think the song Pines In The Wind tells the story best. All these songs poured out of me because of how real they were; the streams of feelings became this river of rushing currents. Having not written anything before, I wrote fifteen songs in seven days and narrowed it down to twelve songs for the record.
Your previous singles, Moonlit and Shut Your Eyes, were country music from an earlier era than the 60s.
Yes, they were actually written and recorded after the full-length record was written and recorded, but they were released first. They were a collaboration with Nick Waterhouse, a tremendous artist with whom I came on tour to Ireland, UK, Scotland and France in November of 2023. It was a different aspect, and I really enjoyed his production style of those songs. The full length was recorded live with a full band, and then I overdubbed some of the songs vocally. Moonlit and Shut Your Eyes were done completely live with a trio and me singing live, Sun Records style. I have to give Nick most of the applause for his production and creativity, whereas, on everything else I've recorded, I have been very much on each side of the glass as far as performing, turning knobs and mixing. When Nick and I wrote those songs together, I knew I could hand over the reins to him, and it turned out very well. That should explain why the forty-fives and the full-length record have a different feeling and characteristics.
Where did you record the songs?
I recorded the initial live band recordings at Savannah Studio on the east side of Los Angeles. We cut thirteen songs in three days there with a crack band. The majority of the players I picked, including Chris Dixie, who has been a mentor to me and spent the last ten years playing guitar with Father John Misty, brought Roger Manning Jr., who is probably the most valuable player on the record. Roger Manning Jnr. has been the musical director for Beck, and Chris shared my demo recordings, which I made on a consumer-grade mellotron called an optigan, which was made by Mattel. I wrote all of the demos for the record on the optigan. Roger is a keyboard guru, and he loves all those old keyboards, which got him intrigued and on board. I then took those recordings down to a twenty-four-track tape machine in Tustin, California, at Voyager Records, where I did vocal overdubs, mixing and mastering with Chris Dixie and Chris Sikora.
The song Broken Wings has a distinctive border sound enhanced by Molly Lewis' atmospheric whistling.
Absolutely, I don't know who else I could have called up for that. Dixie and I were sitting around, thinking that we needed something else in the song, and we agreed to get Molly along. It gives the song a great call-and-response feeling.
Loving You Forever has echoes of a Jimmy Webb and Glen Campbell combination.
I love that description and really appreciate the Jimmy Webb reference; he's an American master of songwriting. When Dixie heard the song, he thought that the song should have some Glen Campbell-styled production behind it.
Do you recreate the studio sound in your live shows?
I did a record release show here in L.A. on the day that the record came out and had a distinguished array of players up on stage, including Roger Manning Jnr. on piano and mellotron. Sometimes, I like playing the songs exactly as they sound on the record, but other times, I like reinventing them and bringing a new life to them.
Is this going to be your style in the future?
Great question that I have not been asked before. I do have fifteen more songs already done and to be released that I have just finished. The influences of Johnny Paycheck and George Jones were prominent when I was writing THE ONLY ONE & ALL THE OTHER ONES, I had only been listening to downloads of two 1965 records of theirs when I was writing the songs in Alaska with no internet. They created a mindset and an influence on what I was going through, a big change in my life. There is a lot of creative freedom once you close the lid, hold the record in your hand and say, 'It is finished.' I have been listening to a lot of early 60s Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson; there are a lot more jazz influences in my live set that were not incorporated in the record. I have also been experimenting more with falsetto, yodel and baritone on the upcoming record; there will be more vocal range in general. I want to delve more into the country 'crooner' sound that isn't really being done now; everything is more 'outlaw' than Countrypolitan at present.
The 60s Countrypolitan sound is being recreated more regularly in very recent times.
Yes, and maybe for teenagers or others who have not heard the old stuff from the 60s, it sends a rabbit hole back to the real deal old stuff that will always last and influence. A lot of music today does not inspire me, and we will see if it stands the winds of change, which I don't know if it will.
I understand that you can boast about sharing a stage with Willie Nelson.
Yes, under a divine circumstance. I went to Maili in December of 2023 to play with my friend Lily Meola, who grew up in Hawaii with Willie and his family. I was playing in Lily's band and was sitting side stage in seats close to where Willie Nelson and his wife Annie were sitting. Sitting next to Annie, she said she had seen me singing on a video with Lily. Earlier, before we played, I had to drum up every inch of my courage to walk up to Willie's green room, poke my head in, and say, 'Hi.' I would have kicked myself if I got back on a plane to California and had not done that. Fast forward, and Lily and I were sitting side stage and the Gospel revival conclusion to Willie's set, which entailed Will The Circle Be Unbroken and I'll Fly Away. Willie decided to ask all the people who had performed that day. Standing right behind him on stage, I soaked up that moment; it was a big bucket list for me.
Declan Culliton