Band of Brothers is the 63rd studio album by country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. The album marks Nelson's return to writing after sixteen years, with nine out of the fourteen tracks being new original songs. The album was released on June 17, 2014 by Legacy Recordings. It opened to favorable reviews, while it topped Billboard's Top Country Albums and reached number five on the Billboard 200. Recording Produced by Buddy Cannon, the album was recorded by Nelson during October 2013 and March 2014. The sessions took place at Nashville's Sound Emporium Studios with additional recordings at Pedernales Studio in Austin, Texas and The Hit Factory Criteria in Miami, Florida. Additional studios included Blackbird Recording Studios and The Doghouse, in Nashville; Esplanade Studios in New Orleans; and Carrtune Studios, where it was mixed by Butch Carr. The recording was dedicated to Carr, who died two weeks after the completion of the album. After selecting the songs, Nelson recorded a sample of the tracks with his guitar, later sending them to Buddy Cannon. On the studio, Cannon hired the session musicians and arranged the musical track with them based on the demo recordings. Nelson later recorded his voice on the studio and the tracks were dubbed. Nine of the fourteen tracks consist in newly written compositions by Nelson, the most included in one of his album releases since 1996's Spirit. The album includes covers of Vince Gill's "Whenever You Come Around", Bill Anderson's 2011 "The Songwriters" and a duet with Jamey Johnson of Billy Joe Shaver's 2012 "The Git Go". Release The video for the first single, "The Wall" was premiered on May 6, 2014 by Rolling Stone, while the single itself was made available for download on the same day. The single "Bring It On" was later premiered on June 3 by ESPN Music. The full album was released on June 17, 2014 by Legacy Recordings. Upon its release, Band of Brothers sold 37,000 copies. The album topped Billboard's Top Country albums chart, becoming Nelson's first country chart-topper since 1986's The Promiseland. The release reached number five on the Billboard 200, Nelson's highest position on the chart since 1982's Always on My Mind. Critical reception According to review aggregator website Metacritic, the album has a Metascore of 79, which is based on the ratings and reviews of fifteen selected independent mainstream critics, and this means the release garnered "generally favorable reviews".