At 91, Willie Nelson is still working, still writing, recording, and revisiting the songs that shaped him, the ones that keep him forever young. His latest release, Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle, is his staggering 78th solo studio album and 155th overall, a towering statement about a career that refuses to slow down, let alone stop. This time, Nelson pays tribute to one of his closest friends and cohorts, Merle Haggard, by breathing new life into eleven of his classic songs.

For Nelson, Workin’ Man isn’t just another covers record, it’s a homecoming. The two country greats shared a brotherhood that stretched across decades and three collaborative albums, from 1983’s Pancho & Lefty to their final duet record Django And Jimmie in 2015. Recorded at Nelson’s Pedernales Studios in Austin and co-produced with longtime harmonica player Mickey Raphael, the album captures Nelson’s effortless storytelling amid the warmth of his Family Band. It also holds a bittersweet distinction. These are the final recordings featuring his sister and pianist Bobbie Nelson and drummer Paul English, both constants in Willie’s musical orbit for decades. Their presence glows like ghosts in the room, gentle, familiar, eternal.

The track list plays like a tour through Haggard’s finest moments. From the barroom laments of “Swinging Doors” and “Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down” to the rebel pride of “Okie From Muskogee,” Nelson’s weathered but wise voice lends every lyric a new shade of experience. He eases through heartbreak on “If We Make It Through December,” summons the necessary swagger for “Ramblin’ Fever,” and raises a glass to honky-tonk abandon on “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink.”

What makes Workin’ Man more compelling than most tribute records is the communion. Nelson doesn’t try to out-sing or out-play Haggard. He simply converses with him across the ether, an old friend keeping tabs while also keeping the fire alive. It’s songs sung by a man who’s lived every word, surrounded by players who’ve stood beside him onstage for lifetimes. The album’s release arrives alongside renewed attention for Haggard thanks to Ethan Hawke’s acclaimed new documentary Highway 99: A Double Album. Nelson appears prominently in the film, reflecting on Haggard’s legacy with the kind of quiet wisdom that defines both men’s art.