Willie Nelson on his new album, cannabis cookbook, Kris Kristofferson and what makes a good song

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Why not!” “Last Leaf on the Tree” is an album of firsts and familiarities; it is Nelson's first album produced entirely by his son Micah, which includes a few originals and covers from Nelson staples like Neil Young, Nina Simone and Tom Waits as well as some less-than-obvious inclusions, like reimaginations of the Flaming Lips' “Do You Realize? And it’s even better if they’re good.” After seven decades of songwriting, Nelson says the only way to identify a good one is simply, “You know it when you hear it. When you hear something and you go, ‘Damn, I wish I would’ve wrote that,' it's a good song.” “There’s no better songwriter alive than Kris Kristofferson,” Nelson once said of his Highwaymen bandmate at a 2009 award show tribute. He says he's already got another album completed, and in a few weeks, Willie and Annie Nelson will release “Willie and Annie Nelson’s Cannabis Cookbook,” an easy extension of the couple's long-held belief that both marijuana and food hold medicinal properties.