For the last eight years Willie Nelson has released a plethora of material. Some have been career defining and magnificent like the underrated Spirit and Teatro albums. Some have simply been bothersome filler like the self-important Willie Nelson and Friends live series and the near career killing duets album The Great Divide (guest spots with Kid Rock and Brian McKnight? What was he thinking?).

It Always Will Be falls somewhere between those two categories as a nice but somewhat forgettable album from this country music legend. There are a few originals, like the wonderful self-titled track and the beautifully guitar strummed "Texas." There are also a few duets that work quite well. "Dreams Come True" shows Nelson's voice in rare jazz form with the elegant Norah Jones, and Lucinda Williams stops by to revisit "Overtime" with Willie from her underrated 2003 album World Without Tears. A couple of the cover tracks are decent, the best being a dead on cover of Tom Waits' excellent "Picture In A Frame," and one called "Big Booty," a silly tune about a woman telling her skinny man that he can kiss this big booty goodbye.

Still, there are cover songs like Toby Keith's preachy as always "Tired," and the bizarre choice of Greg Allman's "Midnight Rider" that tend to make the listener question why they still bother picking up Nelson's new releases every year. But the obvious answer: better to enjoy these legends while and where you can, as long as there's still a few respectable offerings here and there. It Always Will Be is in one word simply that, respectable.