On Last Man Standing, Willie Nelson turns in another collection of original tunes in the mode of his 2017 release God’s Problem Child , which movingly explored mortality and loss. “Heaven Is Closed” rides a quiet Waylon Jennings backbeat and equates the end of a relationship with the ending of life, although Nelson’s singing implies that he’s coping fine with the help of an herbal friend. Buddy Cannon—who worked on a set of arrangements that combine the best elements of swing, country and jazz, the building blocks of Nelson’s inimitable style—served as a co-writer. There’s a hint of R&B in “Something You Get Through,” a ballad of graceful resignation delivered with a quiet, grieving vocal supported by Mike Johnson’s moaning pedal steel. Nelson sings “I’ll Try To Do Better Next Time,” a gospel tinged waltz, with an uplifting combination of humor and sadness. That darkness is balanced by flashes of arch humor on up tempo tunes like “Ready to Roar,” a jaunty Bob Wills-flavored piece of Texas swing that allows the backing band to stretch out a bit, “Don’t Tell Noah,” an irreverent rocker that salutes the positive power of acting out and going crazy and “I Ain’t Got Nothin’,” a country blues nugget driven by Jim “Moose” Brown’s honky-tonk piano, Johnson’s playful steel solo and an arch tag line: “I gave you a ring, you gave me the finger.”