I had more than enough reasons to be suspicious of To Willie, Phosphorescent's upcoming album of Willie Nelson covers. From the clever album title (a nod to Willie's own 1977 album of Lefty Frizzell covers) to its entire concept, the project had the potential to be nothing more than a curio in a talented young artist's growing catalog, warranting only a few more listens than, say, Doveman's Footloose covers project.But the tracklist shows a real knowledge of Willie's songbook, disregarding obvious choices for offbeat catalogue cuts like "Reasons to Quit". And damned if Phosphorescent's Matthew Houck doesn't do right by the tune. He may be transporting the song across state lines, but he treats it with great care and obvious affection, retaining the general arrangement but adapting it to his hangdog voice. The original, written by Merle Haggard, appears on Willie and Merle's 1983 album Pancho & Lefty as a celebrity-puncturing pisstake on the outlaw-country lifestyle-- the flipside to "On the Road Again". With his broken, yearning vocals, Houck loses some of their genial, self-deprecating humor, but shines a light on the song's innate melancholy, creating a moment of stillness and reflection during a downward spiral of drugs and booze.MP3:> Phosphorescent: "Reasons to Quit"[from To Willie; due 02/03/09 on Dead Oceans]