He considered Nelson's voice "restrained, yet dramatic, while he deemed the instrumentation in the album "brilliantly controlled, economic and tailored". Hillburn further added that Wexler's production and the Muscle Shoals musicians added the "right, crisp distinctive edge" that the album presented. The review concluded that the album was a "major work by an artist whose talent has long deserved more attention". The Detroit Free Press deemed the songwriting in the album "heavy, heart-holding words". In its review, The Evening Sun mentioned that Phases and Stages was "being talked up as C&W's answer to Tommy and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". The reviewer added that it would "hopefully" attract listeners and "convince the people" to listen to Country music and to "discover the passion and intelligence, the perceptions and observations so abundant through it". Register and Tribune Syndicate welcomed it as a "well-conceived, complex performance, a true concept". It considered that the album was "heightened" by Nelson's "light but powerful tenor vocals", while it remarked the "oodles of careful producer's effects" by Wexler. Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote for Allmusic: "...the deceptively relaxed arrangements, including the occasional strings, not only highlight Nelson's clever eclecticism, but they also heighten the emotional impact of the album. [...] As a result, this is not just one of Willie Nelson's best records, but one of the great concept albums overall". LP track listing All songs written by Willie Nelson. Personnel Musicians Willie Nelson – acoustic guitar, vocals Fred Carter Jr. – acoustic, 12-string, & electric guitars, Dobro Pete Carr – acoustic & electric guitars, Dobro, backing vocals on "Pick Up the Tempo" John Hughey – pedal steel guitar Johnny Gimble – fiddle, mandolin Barry Beckett – keyboards David Hood – bass guitar Roger Hawkins – drums Eric Weissberg – banjo on "Down at the Corner Beer Joint" Al Lester – fiddle on "Bloody Mary Morning" Jeanie Greene – backing vocals on "Pick Up the Tempo" George Soulé – backing vocals on "Pick Up the Tempo" Mike Lewis – string arrangements on "I Still Can't Believe You're Gone" and "It's Not Supposed to Be that Way" Studio Jerry Wexler – producer Jerry Masters – engineer Steve Melton – engineer Tom Dowd – Remix Willie Nelson – liner notes Chart positions Albums Singles References Sources See also Shotgun Willie Muscle Shoals Sound Studios 1974 albums Willie Nelson albums Concept albums Albums produced by Jerry Wexler Albums recorded