"First Rose of Spring is sweet and elegiac, a record that sways gently in the breeze, only picking up its pace when it's time to swing through a cover of Jimmy Dean's "Just Bummin' Around." Original songs are few and far between here. Nelson and his longtime lieutenant Buddy Cannon - who is back once again behind the production boards - co-wrote the romantic "Blue Star" and heartbroken ballad "Love Just Laughed," solidly constructed numbers that are overshadowed by covers that benefit from the singer's increased heft"