Merle Haggard | ||
| Allmusic Biography : As a performer and a songwriter, Merle Haggard was the most important country artist to emerge in the 1960s, and he became one of the leading figures of the Bakersfield country scene. While his music remained hardcore country, he pushed the boundaries of the music quite far. Like his idol, Bob Wills, his music was a melting pot that drew from all forms of traditional American music -- country, jazz, blues, and folk -- and in the process, developed a distinctive style of his own. As a performer, singer, and musician, he was one of the best, influencing countless other artists. Not coincidentally, he was the best singer/songwriter in country music since Hank Williams, writing a body of songs that became classics. Throughout his career, Haggard was a champion of the working man, largely due to his rough-and-tumble history. Its impossible to separate Haggards music from his life. He was born to James and Flossie Haggard on April 6, 1937. His parents moved from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression, converting an old boxcar into a home. Before their marriage, James played fiddle in local honky tonk bars. Flossie was a member of the Church of Christ, which led to her forcing her husband to stop playing the honky tonks. James died from a brain tumor when Merle was nine years old. After his fathers death, Merle became rebellious. In an attempt to straighten her son out, his mother put him in several juvenile detention centers, but it had little effect on Merles behavior. As a teenager, he fell in love with country music, particularly Bob Wills, Lefty Frizzell, and Hank Williams. When he was 12 years old, Haggard was given his first guitar by his older brother; Merle taught himself how to play by listening to records that were lying around the house. Even though he had begun to pursue music, Haggard continued to rebel, running away with his friend Bob Teague to Texas when he was 14 years old. A few months later, the pair returned to California, where they were arrested as robbery suspects. After the real thieves were caught, Haggard was sent back to juvenile hall, but he and Teague took off to Modesto, California. For a brief time, he did manual labor, was a short-order cook, drove a truck, and committed a series of small crimes. Soon after he moved to Modesto, Haggard made his performing debut with Teague at a bar named the Fun Center; the two were paid five dollars and given all the beer that they could drink. By the end of 1951, Haggard had returned home and he was again arrested for truancy, as well as petty larceny. In the beginning of 1952, he was sent to Fred C. Nelles School for Boys in Whittier, California; again, he ran away. This time, the courts decided he was incorrigible and sent him to the high-security Preston School of Industry; he was released after 15 months. Shortly after his release, he and a boy he met at PSI beat up a local boy during an attempted robbery, and Haggard was sent back to PSI. After getting out of PSI for the second time, Haggard had the first major event in his musical career. He went with Teague to see Lefty Frizzell in concert in Bakersfield. Before the show, he went backstage with several friends and he sang a couple songs for Frizzell. Lefty was so impressed he refused to go on-stage until Haggard was allowed to sing a song. Merle went out and sang a few songs to an enthusiastic response from the audience. The reception persuaded Haggard to actively pursue a musical career. While he was working during the day in oil fields and farms, he performed at local Bakersfield clubs. His performances led to a spot on a local television show, Chuck Wagon. In 1956, he married Leona Hobbs; the couple moved into his familys old converted boxcar. Throughout 1957, Haggard was plagued by financial problems, which made him turn to robbery. At the end of the year, he attempted to rob a restaurant along with two other burglars; the three were drunk at the time. Believing it was three oclock in the morning, the trio tried to open up the back door of the restaurant. However, it was 10:30 and the establishment was still open. Although the trio fled the scene, Haggard was arrested that day. The following day, he escaped from prison in order to make peace with his wife and family; later that day, he was recaptured. Haggard was sentenced to a 15-year term and sent to San Quentin prison. Prison didnt immediately lead Merle into rehabilitation. He was fired from a series of prison jobs and planned an escape from the jail, but was talked out of it by fellow inmates. Nearly two years into his sentence, Haggard discovered that his wife was pregnant with another mans child. The news sent Haggard over the edge. Soon, he and his cellmate began a gambling racket and brewing beer in their cell. Before long, Haggard was caught drunk and was placed in isolation for a week. During his time in isolation, he had several conversations with Caryl Chessman, an author and a member of death row. The conversations and the time in isolation convinced Haggard to turn his life around. After he left isolation, he began working in the prisons textile plant and took some high-school equivalency courses; he was also allowed to play in the prisons country band. At his second parole hearing in 1960, Haggard was given a five-year sentence -- two years and nine months in jail, two years and three months on parole; he left prison 90 days later. Merle moved back in with Leona and returned to manual labor. In the meantime, he sang at local clubs at night. After taking second place at a local talent contest, Haggard was asked to become a relief singer for a band led by Johnny Barnett at one of the most popular Bakersfield clubs, Lucky Spot. Soon, Merle was making enough money playing music that he could quit his ditch-digging job. While singing with Barnett, he gained the attention of Fuzzy Owen, who owned the small record label Tally Records. Owen and his cousin Lewis Talley were instrumental in establishing Haggards musical career. Owen made the first recording of Haggard, cutting a demo version of one of the singers first songs, "Skid Row." Shortly after the recording, Haggard called Talley, who had praised him earlier in his career. Talley was able to land Haggard a job at Pauls Cocktail Lounge, which led to a slot on a local music television show. During this time, Bakersfield country was beginning to become a national scene, largely due to the hit singles of Buck Owens. At a time when mainstream country was dominated by the lush, smooth countrypolitain sound of Nashville, Bakersfield country grew out of hardcore honky tonk, adding elements of Western swing. Bakersfield country also relied on electric instruments and amplification more than other subgenres of country, giving the music a hard, driving, edgy flavor. During the late 50s, Tommy Collins and Wynn Stewart were two of the Bakersfield artists to have hits, and both were influential on Haggards career, musically as well as professionally. Haggard had admired Stewarts vocal style, and it helped shape his phrasing. Early in 1962, Haggard traveled to Las Vegas to see Wynn Stewarts club show. Stewart was not at the club, having left to find a replacement bass player. During the show, one of Stewarts guitarists remembered Haggard and invited him to sing a couple of songs on-stage. Stewart walked in while Haggard was singing and was impressed, asking him to join his band as a bassist. For six months in 1962 and 1963, Merle performed with Stewarts band. During this time, Haggard heard Wynns song "Sing a Sad Song" and asked the star if he could record it. Stewart gave him the song and Merle recorded it for Tally Records in 1963. Although Tally had minimal distribution, the record became a national hit, climbing to number 19 on the country charts early in 1964. "Sam Hill," Haggards second single, wasnt as successful, but a duet with Bonnie Owens, the former wife of Buck Owens, called "Just Between the Two of Us," broke into the Top 40. The next year, his version of Liz Andersons "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers" broke him into the Top Ten and established him as a budding star. Capitol Records bought out his contract with Tally and Merle released "Im Gonna Break Every Heart I Can," his first single for Capitol, in the fall of 1965. The single wasnt a success, scratching into the Top 50, but his next single, "Swinging Doors," was a smash hit, rocketing to number five in the spring of 1966. Late in 1965, Haggard began recruiting a backing band and named them the Strangers. Haggard became a genuine country superstar in 1966, with three Top Ten hits, including "Swinging Doors." "The Bottle Let Me Down" climbed to number three and "The Fugitive" (later retitled "Im a Lonesome Fugitive") became his first number one. He was voted the Top Male Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music Awards, while he and Bonnie were named the Top Vocal Group for the second year in a row. Haggards songwriting was beginning to blossom and audiences embraced his music, sending his "I Threw Away the Rose" to number three early in 1967, beginning a remarkable streak of 37 straight Top Ten hits, including 23 number one singles. "I Threw Away the Rose" was followed by four straight number one hits -- "Branded Man," "Sing Me Back Home," "The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde," and "Mama Tried," which was heard in Killers Three, a movie that featured Haggards debut as an actor. With the exception of "Bonnie and Clyde," the songs represented a change in Haggards songwriting, as he began to directly address his troubled history. By 1970, he was talking about his time in San Quentin in the press, yet these songs represented the first time he had mentioned his past directly. Each single was a bigger hit than the previous song, which encouraged Haggard to continue writing in a more personal style. Throughout 1968, Haggards star continued to rise, with two number one hits ("Bonnie and Clyde," "Mama Tried") and the number three "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am," as well as four albums. Later that year, he recorded his first conceptual album, Same Train, Different Time. Released in early 1969, the record was not only an affectionate salute to one of Haggards heroes, it reflected a fascination with American history and a desire to expand his music by adding stronger elements of Western swing, jazz, and blues. Merle released three singles in 1969 -- "Hungry Eyes," "Workin Man Blues," and "Okie from Muskogee" -- and all three reached number one. In particular, "Okie from Muskogee" sparked a tremendous amount of attention. An attack on the liberal hippies who represented American pop culture in the late 60s, the song struck a chord in audiences across the country, just missing the pop Top 40. Because of the song, Haggard was asked to endorse George Wallace, but he refused. "Okie from Muskogee" cemented the singers stardom, and he won a large amount of awards in 1969 and 1970. In both years, he was named the Top Male Vocalist by the ACM and the Strangers were voted the best band, while the new Country Music Association voted him Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist in 1970. Haggard released a sequel to "Okie" called "The Fightin Side of Me" at the beginning of 1970, and it also shot to number one. That year, he released A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (Or My Salute to Bob Wills), which helped spark a revival of Western swing in the 70s. Throughout 1971 and 1972, the hits kept coming, including "Soldiers Last Letter," "Someday Well Look Back," "Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)," "Carolyn," "Grandma Harp," "Its Not Love (But Its Not Bad)," and "I Wonder If They Ever Think of Me." In 1972, the governor of California, Ronald Reagan, granted Haggard a full pardon. The following year, his hit streak continued, and he scored his biggest hit, "If We Make It Through December," which peaked at number 28 on the pop charts. As his reign on the top of the country charts continued in 1974, he played on Bob Wills last album, For the Last Time. Wills died in 1975, leaving Merle his fiddle. Haggard stayed with Capitol Records until 1977, and never once did his grip on the American audience slip during his tenure there. During his time on MCA afterward, he continued to have a number of hits, but his work was becoming slightly inconsistent. His first two singles for the record label, "If Were Not Back in Love by Monday" and "Ramblin Fever," hit number two and he continued to have hits with the label throughout the end of the decade and the first part of the 80s. "Im Always on a Mountain When I Fall" and "Its Been a Great Afternoon" were number two hits in 1978. In 1979, he only had two hits, while in 1980, two selections from the Clint Eastwood movie Bronco Billy reached the Top Three, "The Way I Am" and "Misery and Gin"; Haggard also appeared in the film. The two hits paved the way for his two biggest singles with MCA, the number one duet with Eastwood "Bar Room Buddies" and the number one "I Think Ill Just Stay Here and Drink." Early in 1981, Haggard had a Top Ten hit with "Leonard," a tribute to his old friend Tommy Collins. Later that year, Haggard published his autobiography, Sing Me Back Home; he also left MCA and signed with Epic Records. Once at Epic, he began producing his own records, which gave the music a leaner sound. His first two singles for the label, "My Favorite Memory" and "Big City," were number one hits. The following year, he released a duet album with George Jones called A Taste of Yesterdays Wine, which featured the number one single "Yesterdays Wine" and the Top Ten "C.C. Waterback." From 1983 until the beginning of 1985, Haggard continued to score number one hits, including the number one duet with Willie Nelson "Pancho and Lefty." Merles chart fortunes began to change in 1985 as a new breed of singers began to dominate the chart. Nearly every one of the artists, from George Strait to Randy Travis, was greatly influenced by Haggard, but their idols new singles now had a tough time reaching the top of the charts. He had two Top Ten hits in 1986, and 1987s Chill Factor was a success, spawning the Top Ten title track and "Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star," which would prove to be his last number one hit. In 1990, he signed with Curb Records, but he continued to have trouble reaching the charts; 1994 spawned his last modest hit, "In My Next Life," which reached the Top 60. When his contract with Curb ran out, Haggard, hoping for better promotion and greater artistic freedom, signed with Anti, a subsidiary of the Epitaph punk-pop label. His first effort for Anti was released in late 2000; titled If I Could Only Fly, the gentle acoustic album was greeted with strong reviews. Haggard released one more album for Anti, 2001s Roots, Vol. 1, before departing. After 2003s Like Never Before, Haggard returned to his old home, EMI, the following year, releasing a collection of American pop standards called Unforgettable at the end of that year. Chicago Wind appeared in the summer of 2005. Haggard then turned to bluegrass, releasing the appropriately titled The Bluegrass Sessions, which featured appearances by Marty Stuart, Aubrey Haynie, and Alison Krauss (among others) in 2007. In 2008 he got the Bear Family treatment with the release of the multi-disc box sets Hag: The Studio Recordings 1969-1976 and Hag: Concepts, Live & the Strangers: The Capitol Recordings 1968-1976. I Am What I Am, an album of new songs, appeared from Vanguard Records in 2010. A second Vanguard album, Working in Tennessee, co-produced by Haggard with Lou Bradley at Haggards own northern California studio, appeared the following year in 2011. Four years later, Haggard teamed up with his old friend Willie Nelson for Django and Jimmie, their first collaboration in 20 years. Preceded by the single "Its All Going to Pot," the album debuted at number one on the Billboard country chart upon its June 2015 release. Less than a year later, exactly on his 79th birthday (April 6, 2016), Haggard died of complications from pneumonia at his home in Palo Cedro, California. Even when success eluded him, Merle Haggards music remained some of the most consistently interesting and inventive in country music. Not only have his recordings remained fresh, but each subsequent generation of country singers shows a great debt to his work. That fact stands as a testament to his great talent even more than his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 35 Title: Strangers Released: 1965-09-06 Tracks: 12 Duration: 28:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 (My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers (02:29) 2 Falling for You (02:18) 3 Please Mr. DJ (02:26) 4 You Dont Have Far to Go (02:31) 5 Sing a Sad Song (02:35) 6 Sam Hill (02:28) 7 Im Gonna Break Every Heart I Can (02:00) 8 You Dont Even Try (02:17) 9 If I Had Left It Up to You (02:24) 10 Id Trade All of My Tomorrows (02:31) 11 The Worst Is Yet to Come (02:41) 12 Walking the Floor Over You (01:44) |
| Strangers : Allmusic album Review : Merle Haggards first album Strangers was an impressive debut. Apart from the classic singles "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers," "Sam Hill," "Sing A Sad Song," and "Im Gonna Break Every Heart I Can," theres a number of fine album cuts, including "Id Trade All of My Tomorrows," "If I Had Left It Up To You," and "You Dont Even Try." Granted, there is some filler on Strangers, but that was the case for nearly every country album recorded in the 60s. What counts is the good stuff and the best songs on the record richly illustrate Haggards talent and his potential. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 35 Title: Just Between the Two of Us Released: 1966 Tracks: 12 Duration: 29:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Just Between the Two of Us (02:46) 2 House Without Love Is Not a Home (02:19) 3 Slowly but Surely (02:21) 4 Our Hearts Are Holding Hands (02:24) 5 I Wanta Live Again (02:05) 6 Forever and Ever (02:07) 7 That Makes Two of Us (02:46) 8 Ill Take a Chance (02:02) 9 Stranger in My Arms (02:48) 10 Too Used to Being With You (02:59) 11 So Much for Me, So Much for You (02:36) 12 Wait a Little Longer, Please Jesus (02:10) |
| Just Between the Two of Us : Allmusic album Review : Within the California country music community, theres no arguing that Bonnie Owens married well; her first husband was Buck Owens, whom she married in 1948, and in 1965 she tied the knot again with Merle Haggard. Bonnie performed in the same band with Buck for a brief period while they were first married, and she later enjoyed a few hits as Haggards duet partner; when Just Between the Two of Us was released, Hags career as one of countrys most dependable hitmakers was only just getting off the ground. However, while Bonnie Owens was a good honky tonk singer, she was hardly a great one like Haggard, who seems to be holding himself back a bit musically as he defers to his spouse. And while Hag and his band the Strangers are in typically strong form, this set of love songs (and the occasional cheatin weeper) lacks the flinty power of Haggards classic outlaw ballads. Its good to have Just Between the Two of Us available again, but only Haggard completists will really feel obligated to own it. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 35 Title: Same Train, a Different Time Released: 1969 Tracks: 29 Duration: 1:16:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Jimmie the Kid (02:04) 2 My Rough and Rowdy Ways (02:24) 3 California Blues (02:51) 4 Narration #1 (00:49) 5 Hobos Meditation (02:45) 6 Waitin for a Train (02:52) 7 Mother, the Queen of My Heart (02:42) 8 My Carolina Sunshine Girl (02:53) 9 Narration #2 (00:38) 10 Train Whistle Blues (03:16) 11 Why Should I Be Lonely (03:21) 12 Jimmies Texas Blues (03:38) 13 Blue Yodel #6 (03:14) 14 Narration #3 (00:54) 15 Mule Skinner Blues (03:26) 16 Peach Picking Time in Georgia (03:00) 17 Down the Old Road to Home (02:04) 18 Travellin Blues (03:18) 19 Miss the Mississippi and You (03:17) 20 Frankie and Johnny (03:47) 21 No Hard Times (02:50) 22 Narration #4 (00:55) 23 Hobo Bills Last Ride (02:50) 24 My Old Pal (03:03) 25 Nobody Knows but Me (02:45) 26 Narration #5 (01:34) 27 Jimmie Rodgers Last Blue Yodel (03:09) 28 Mississippi Delta Blues (03:35) 29 Gambling Polka Dot Blues (02:36) |
| Same Train, a Different Time : Allmusic album Review : Same Train, Different Time is Merle Haggards affectionate tribute to Jimmie Rodgers. Haggard provides narration between the songs, offering tales of Rodgers life and music. While the album is rooted in the past, the key to its success is how Haggard updates these traditional songs without losing sight of their roots. There are contemporary folk, country and blues influences scattered throughout the record, adding depth to the music and proving that Rodgers music is indeed timeless. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 35 Title: A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World: Or, My Salute to Bob Wills Released: 1970 Tracks: 12 Duration: 31:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Brown Skinned Gal (00:50) 2 Right or Wrong (02:36) 3 Brain Cloudy Blues (03:38) 4 Stay a Little Longer (02:48) 5 Misery (03:19) 6 Time Changes Everything (02:37) 7 San Antonio Rose (02:39) 8 I Knew the Moment I Lost You (03:00) 9 Roly Poly (02:39) 10 Old Fashioned Love (02:32) 11 Corrine Corrina (02:16) 12 Take Me Back to Tulsa (02:38) |
 | Album: 5 of 35 Title: Someday Well Look Back Released: 1971 Tracks: 11 Duration: 29:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Someday Well Look Back (02:30) 2 Train of Life (02:43) 3 One Sweet Hello (02:46) 4 One Row at a Time (03:07) 5 Big Time Annies Square (02:34) 6 Id Rather Be Gone (02:35) 7 California Cottonfields (02:47) 8 Carolyn (02:33) 9 Tulare Dust (01:48) 10 Huntsville (03:07) 11 The Only Trouble With Me (03:10) |
| Someday We'll Look Back : Allmusic album Review : Someday Well Look Back is a terrific early-70s LP from Merle Haggard, one that showcases not only his exceptional songwriting skills, but also his rich, subtle eclectism. Much of the album is given over to ballads, including both lush, string-laden country-pop crossovers and simple, folky tunes, but there are also hints of twangy Bakersfield honky-tonk and blues, as well as western swing. But what really makes the record so distinctive is the quality of the material. Haggards original songs--including "Someday Well Look Back," "Tulare Dust," "Id Rather Be Gone," "One Sweet Hello"--are uniformly excellent, while he invests considerable emotion into covers of Tommy Collins "Carolyn," Dallas Frazier and Elizabeth Montgomerys "California Cottonfields," and Roger Millers "Train of Life." The result is one of the finest albums he ever recorded. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 35 Title: Let Me Tell You About a Song Released: 1972 Tracks: 11 Duration: 34:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man) (03:23) 2 Theyre Tearin The Labor Camps Down (03:33) 3 The Man Who Picked the Wildwood Flower (03:26) 4 The Proudest Fiddle in the World (02:24) 5 Bill Woods From Bakersfield (03:15) 6 Old Doc Brown (03:26) 7 Grandma Harp (03:11) 8 Turnin Off a Memory (02:48) 9 Irma Jackson (02:56) 10 The Funeral (03:18) 11 Bring It On Down to My House, Honey (02:49) |
| Let Me Tell You About a Song : Allmusic album Review : Merle Haggard designed 1972s Let Me Tell You About a Song as a kind of musical autobiography, crafted in equal parts from personal reminiscence and from songs that formed the core of Hag the musician. So, in a way, the album brings together two big themes within Haggards recording career -- tribute albums and a rose-colored, nostalgic view of the past -- and it does so smashingly. A project like this cant help but succumb to corniness on occasion, which this certainly does, particularly in the spoken recitations that pepper the album (he is, after all, telling you about a song on this record) and on the hit opening track, "Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)," a tale about a traveling family band with a blind father and a deaf mother who "read our lips and helped the family sing," a story that Haggard says explains itself but only gets more mystifying with each listen. Some could also argue that his tribute to his recently deceased grandmother, "Grandma Harp," is also a little corny, but it gets through on its heart, and the rest of the album is so remarkably clear-eyed, even with those spoken introductions, that it makes up for the slight silliness. The album is pretty evenly divided between originals and covers, and the two hits -- the aforementioned "Daddy Frank" and "Grandma Harp" -- are actually the slightest numbers here, since they sit next to the stark autobiographical "Theyre Tearing the Labor Camps Down," the beautiful barroom ballad "Turnin Off a Memory," and "Irma Jackson," a song about an interracial romance that Haggard was finally able to release on this record. These songs are contrasted by the covers: one song by Red Simpson, one by Red Foley, and two each by his heroes Tommy Collins and Bob Wills. None of these songs were hits and, in fact, apart from Wills "A Maidens Prayer," theyre not particularly well-known, which only emphasizes Haggards connection to the music, and helps ties together the album into the musical biography that was intended. Its quite a journey, and its yet another excellent record from an artist who at this time in his career seemed capable of delivering nothing less. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 35 Title: Merle Haggards Christmas Present: Something Old, Something New Released: 1973-11 Tracks: 10 Duration: 25:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 If We Make It Through December (02:43) 2 Santa Claus and Popcorn (02:16) 3 Bobby Wants a Puppy Dog for Christmas (02:17) 4 Daddy Wont Be Home for Christmas (03:07) 5 Grandma’s Christmas Card (01:54) 6 White Christmas (02:31) 7 Silver Bells (03:23) 8 Winter Wonderland (02:34) 9 Silent Night (02:32) 10 Jingle Bells (02:21) |
 | Album: 8 of 35 Title: If We Make It Through December Released: 1974-02 Tracks: 11 Duration: 30:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 If We Make It Through December (02:43) 2 Love and Honor (02:52) 3 To Each His Own (02:31) 4 Youre the Only Girl in the Game (02:58) 5 Im an Old, Old Man (02:35) 6 Come on in to My Arms (02:47) 7 Better Off When I Was Hungry (02:29) 8 Ill Break Out Again Tonight (02:54) 9 This Cold War (72) (02:58) 10 Uncle Lem (02:59) 11 Theres Just One Way (02:52) |
| If We Make It Through December : Allmusic album Review : Usually, Merle Haggards musical eclecticism is a virtue, but on If We Make It Through December, it hurts the overall impact of the album. Many of the individual tracks--particularly the gentle, yearning title track and good versions of Lefty Frizzells "Im An Old, Old Man (Tryin To Live While I Can)" and the country standard "To Each His Own"--work well on their own, but often the straight-up country, western swing, Dixieland experiements and pop-tinged ballads seem at odds with each other. As a result, the LP never quite gels, yet there are enough fine moments to make it a worthwhile purchase. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 35 Title: My Farewell to Elvis Released: 1977 Tracks: 11 Duration: 24:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 From Graceland to the Promised Land (02:17) 2 In the Ghetto (02:56) 3 Dont Be Cruel (02:00) 4 Jailhouse Rock (02:15) 5 Love Me Tender (02:43) 6 Thats All Right (Mama) (02:30) 7 Heartbreak Hotel (02:18) 8 Blue Christmas (02:24) 9 Blue Suede Shoes (02:02) 10 Are You Lonesome Tonight (02:48) 11 Merles Farewell to Elvis (00:17) |
| My Farewell to Elvis : Allmusic album Review : Merle Haggards 1977 album My Farewell to Elvis was obviously a labor of love. Haggard has made no secret of his admiration for the King and often said in interviews that if he could have been any other performer, it would have been Presley. His interpretations of "Thats All Right Mama," "Jailhouse Rock," and "Dont Be Cruel" more than stand the test of time. Even "Blue Christmas," which could have been omitted for a zillion other tunes, fits in perfectly because Haggard respects it as an Elvis standard, not just a Christmas song. My Farewell to Elvis may not be on par with Same Train, Different Time or Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World, but its a decent, if overlooked, session in the Haggard discography. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 35 Title: Ramblin Fever Released: 1977-02-01 Tracks: 10 Duration: 30:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Ramblin Fever (03:11) 2 When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again (03:18) 3 Ghost Story (02:45) 4 Set Me Free (02:46) 5 Love Somebody to Death (03:16) 6 If Were Not Back in Love by Monday (03:16) 7 I Think Its Gone Forever (02:57) 8 Aint Your Memory Got No Pride at All (02:35) 9 My Love for You (02:26) 10 Last Letter (03:33) |
 | Album: 11 of 35 Title: Im Always on a Mountain When I Fall Released: 1978 Tracks: 10 Duration: 32:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Im Always on a Mountain When I Fall (02:53) 2 Its Been a Great Afternoon (02:49) 3 Love Me When You Can (03:26) 4 There Wont Be Another Now (04:03) 5 Dont You Ever Get Tired (Of Hurting Me) (03:32) 6 Life of a Rodeo Cowboy (03:00) 7 There Aint No Good Chain Gang (03:08) 8 The Dream (03:05) 9 The Immigrant (03:08) 10 Mama Ive Got to Go to Memphis (03:01) |
| I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall : Allmusic album Review : During his 1977-1981 tenure at MCA Records, Merle Haggard radically revamped his music. Haggards first decade atop the music business was spent at Capitol Records, where he cultivated a spare sound built around James Burtons guitar, Norman Hamletts dobro, and Bonnie Owens backing vocals. As the 70s progressed, Haggard expanded his band, probably in an effort to emulate his hero Bob Wills. Following Wills lead, Haggard started swinging the beat on more of his recordings. His song writing (which had flagged in the early 1970s) sharpened again, and the combination of all these factors resulted in some of the best music of Haggards career. All of Haggards MCA albums--IM ALWAYS ON A MOUNTAIN among them--are well worth owning. MOUNTAIN includes three top ten hits: the title track, the hangover-inspired "Its Been A Great Afternoon," and "Love Me When You Can." Much of the rest of the album is given over to touching melancholy ballads, including "There Wont Be Another Now," "The Dream," and a cover of Hank Cochrans "Dont You Ever Get Tired Of Hurting Me." | ||
 | Album: 12 of 35 Title: The Best of Merle Haggard Released: 1979 Tracks: 10 Duration: 28:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Im a Lonesome Fugitive (02:32) 2 I Threw Away the Rose (03:18) 3 Swinging Doors (02:51) 4 House of Memories (1966) (02:47) 5 Shade Tree (Fix-It-Man) (1966) (02:20) 6 Sing Me Back Home (02:52) 7 Branded Man (03:04) 8 High on a Hilltop (02:58) 9 The Bottle Let Me Down (02:45) 10 Sam Hill (02:33) |
 | Album: 13 of 35 Title: Back to the Barrooms Released: 1980 Tracks: 11 Duration: 36:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Misery and Gin (02:50) 2 Back to the Barrooms Again (02:34) 3 Make-Up and Faded Blue Jeans (04:05) 4 Ever-Changing Woman (02:28) 5 Easy Come, Easy Go (03:32) 6 I Dont Want to Sober Up Tonight (03:30) 7 Cant Break the Habit (03:04) 8 Our Paths May Never Cross (02:45) 9 I Dont Have Any More Love Songs (03:04) 10 Leonard (03:39) 11 I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink (04:32) |
| Back to the Barrooms : Allmusic album Review : "Memories and drinks dont mix too well/Jukebox records dont play those wedding bells." So begins "Misery and Gin," the opening track on Merle Haggards strongest -- and second from last -- outing for MCA. While this album is deservedly known for its four classic drinking songs -- the aforementioned cut, "Back to the Barrooms," "I Dont Want to Sober Up Tonight," and "I Think Ill Just Stay Here and Drink" -- what Back to the Barrooms is really about is the wreckage caused by broken amorous relationships and boozy escape as the only way to cope. Produced by Jimmy Bowen with his progressive country style, he understood Haggards wish to utilize horns and strings in ways not necessarily in concert with traditional country music -- à la Bob Wills -- yet to write and perform in grand honky tonk fashion. Other than Haggards relationship with Lewis Talley at Columbia, the Bowen-Hag collaboration was his most successful of the 1970s. Haggard wrote or co-wrote the majority of the album, and, whether intentionally or not, it coincides with the beginnings of his troubles with his then-wife, songwriter Leona Williams (whose co-write with Haggard, "Cant Break the Habit," appears here) as chronicled in his autobiography, Sing Me Back Home. The swinging barroom stomp of "Make-Up and Faded Blue Jeans" reveals the kind of trouble a man can get into when he loses his focus and his inherent distrust in relationships based on "100 reasons for lookin away one more time." The contradictions in love are revealed in how we love those who can hurt us the most in Curly Putmans "Ever Changing Woman," with its gorgeous low-end piano lines and Travis-style fingerpicked guitars. Like his best theme records, Haggard reveals all sides of the conflict and its paradoxical nature, showing that nobody ever wins when love ends. The drinking songs here also document the beginning of Haggards beginning long descent into chronic substance abuse, something he didnt pull out of until the 1990s. Even "Leonard," the seeming oddball track on the record, deals with the meteoric rise to country music fame and fortune to the ruin and redemption of a close friend (Tommy Collins); it is fraught with the loss of relationships and resultant substance abuse as if it were an equation. This is underlined on the albums closer, "Think Ill Just Stay Here and Drink," which both Wills would have and Ernest Tubb did love. Hardcore honky tonk and swinging Western jazz meet head-on in a tale of romantic loss and alcoholic oblivion: "I could be holdin you tonight/I could quit doin wrong and start doin right/But you dont care about what I think/I think Ill just stay here and drink." This album features Haggards most consistent, inspiring performance since he left Capitol, and was the beginning of a creative renaissance, though the personal toll it took on him would prove considerable. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 35 Title: Big City Released: 1981 Tracks: 12 Duration: 39:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Big City (03:01) 2 My Favorite Memory (03:06) 3 Good Old American Guest (02:36) 4 I Think Im Gonna Live Forever (02:29) 5 This Song Is Mine (02:33) 6 Stop the World and Let Me Off (03:18) 7 Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver) (04:14) 8 Texas Fiddle Song (02:19) 9 You Dont Have Very Far to Go (03:14) 10 I Always Get Lucky With You (03:31) 11 Call Me (04:18) 12 I Wont Give Up My Train (04:43) |
| Big City : Allmusic album Review : When Merle Haggard & the Strangers, along with producer Lewis Talley, entered a recording studio in July of 1981 to make his debut album for Epic -- after leaving his long association with MCA -- he had no idea that just 48 hours later he and the band would leave, having recorded enough material for two albums, Big City and its follow-up, Going Where the Lonely Go. Big City is a collection of songs focused on the themes of freedom from urban life. Haggard wrote or co-wrote almost every song on the record -- except "Texas Fiddle Song," written by his then-wife, Leona William -- and the free abandon the band plays with here stands in sharp contrast to the material featured on the latter album. Big City, both the cut and the album, revisits the seemingly eternal themes in Haggards best work -- the plight of the honest, decent working man amid the squalor, complication, and contradiction of urban life. Besides the title cut, there are bona fide Haggard classics here -- and some that arent but should be. The obvious ones were part of his shows in his fourth decade as a bona fide country legend: "My Favorite Memory" (one of the most beautifully sung and arranged moments of his long career), "Stop the World and Let Me Off," and "Are the Good Times Really Over for Good (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)" (an elegiac tome that reveals with resignation and disappointment -- as well as some enlightenment -- what was spouted off anthemically in "The Fightin Side of Me" or "Rainbow Stew" nearly 20 years earlier). For those who see Haggard as an unthinking, reactionary redneck, this song -- with its waltz time and striking metaphors -- is a prayer for a restoration not only to simplicity, but for those who make decisions to be held accountable for them: "I wish coke was still cola and a joint was a bad place to be/Back before Nixon lied to us all on TV," along with the complexities of his other side: "I wish a man could still work and still wood/I wish a girl could still cook and still would." And while most of the song is an elegy, it ends with Haggard pronouncing hope: "Stop rollin downhill like a snowball thats headed for hell/Stand up for the flag and the Liberty Bell/Lets make a Ford and a Chevy last ten years like they should/The best of the free life is still yet to come/And the good times aint over for good." The album closes with a Hag stunner, one of his most beautiful and jazzy love songs, "I Always Get Lucky with You." | ||
 | Album: 15 of 35 Title: Songs for the Mama That Tried Released: 1981-09 Tracks: 11 Duration: 33:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 When God Comes and Gathers His Jewels (02:57) 2 Suppertime (02:42) 3 He Walks with Me (In the Garden) (02:18) 4 Softly and Tenderly (03:00) 5 Why Me (03:09) 6 Where No One Stands Alone (03:00) 7 One Day at a Time (03:16) 8 What a Friend We Have in Jesus (02:33) 9 Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (03:35) 10 The Old Rugged Cross (03:44) 11 Keep on the Sunny Side (02:53) |
 | Album: 16 of 35 Title: A Taste of Yesterdays Wine Released: 1982 Tracks: 10 Duration: 32:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Yesterdays Wine (03:15) 2 After I Sing All My Songs (03:16) 3 I Think Ive Found A Way (03:29) 4 The Brothers (04:03) 5 Mobile Bay (03:18) 6 C.C. Waterback (03:37) 7 Silver Eagle (03:35) 8 Mustve Been Drunk (02:40) 9 I Havent Found Her Yet (02:27) 10 No Show Jones (02:26) |
| A Taste of Yesterday's Wine : Allmusic album Review : So what happens when you put two country music legends on the same record? Apparently Epic and Columbia were big on finding out in the early 80s. This set of Merle Haggard and George Jones is only one of a series -- Willie Nelson and Haggard did two--the frist netted a hit with Townes Van Zandts "Poncho and Lefty"-Ray Price, Leon Russell, Jones, and on and on. As to the album at hand, its a satisfying, pleasant listen if not a mind-blowing one. Both men were experiencing resurgences in their careers, particularly Haggard, who was on a roll of fine records, and Jones had come off the enormous success I Am What I Am. Most of the tracks here are somewhat melancholy such as the title track by Nelson, "After I Sing My Songs" by Haggards wife at the time, and Merles "I Think Ive Found a Way," which are on the sad side, good for sipping whiskey on a cloudy afternoon. The pairs voices blend seamlessly and compliment each other in almost symbiotic fashion. The only problem is, Hag and Possum are a bit too courteous around one another. Its obvious they didnt set out to make a honky tonk record, but they did. Billy Sherrill in the producers chair was swinging for the radio fences, and he got close, but even he stayed the hell out of the way most of the time here and let the music take its course, and this pair just treated each other deferentially. So side one is pure downer music, and side two picks up the tempo and the grit level. "C.C. Waterback," a Haggard tune written just for this session, is a pure drinking masterpiece with the two trying to keep from laughing their asses off. Its got Haggards version of Bob Wills Western swing complete with a Dixieland trumpet solo. Theres also the Vern Gosdin and Max Barnes honky tonk classic anthem "Mustve Been Drunk." And the album closes with a novelty track that can be listened to over and over, a good-natured self-deprecating song by Jones called "No Show Jones" due to his Sly Stone rep for not making his gigs. Its hilarious and sad at the same time, referencing all the country legends with their talents and reputations, and here, in good-time fashion, Jones disappears from the song too. This is a fine album for enjoyment among friends -- especially if youre not looking for revelation. | ||
 | Album: 17 of 35 Title: Pancho & Lefty Released: 1982 Tracks: 10 Duration: 35:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Pancho and Lefty (04:48) 2 Its My Lazy Day (02:52) 3 My Mary (03:14) 4 Half a Man (04:16) 5 Reasons to Quit (03:31) 6 No Reason to Quit (03:15) 7 Still Water Runs the Deepest (02:45) 8 My Lifes Been a Pleasure (I Still Love You as I Did in Yesterday) (03:24) 9 All the Soft Places to Fall (03:33) 10 Opportunity to Cry (03:59) |
| Pancho & Lefty : Allmusic album Review : On Pancho & Lefty, their first album together, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson managed a rare feat: an album by two legends that lives up to, and at one point exceeds, expectations. In 1982, both artists were at the top of their game, Haggard just having released a great comeback album in Big City, and Nelson in the midst of a creative and commercial peak. The centerpiece of the album is the title track. Penned by Texas songwriter Townes Van Zandt, the ballad of two renegades and the respect they earned from the law is the perfect vehicle for Haggard and Nelson, both of whom managed to achieve legendary status in spite of being outsiders to the Nashville establishment. The songs production enhances its power; it is polished without becoming slick (note Nelsons double-tracked guitar solo), and theres power in reserve -- in the wrong hands, this could easily have become a bombastic, over the top performance. Nothing else on the album comes close to the majesty of "Pancho and Lefty." Thats not to say that the rest is not good, though. The other songs are all relaxed ruminations on life, from the joys of taking it easy on the throwaway "Its My Lazy Day" to the pain of love lost on Nelsons chestnut "Half a Man." Throughout, Haggard and Nelson duet in equal measure; one gets the sense that this is a collaboration in every sense. The sequence of "Reasons to Quit" and "No Reason to Quit" is an inspired bit of programming, both honky tonk songs of the first rank. Pancho & Lefty was followed in 1987 by Seashores of Old Mexico, a far less successful collaboration. | ||
 | Album: 18 of 35 Title: Going Where the Lonely Go Released: 1982-11 Tracks: 11 Duration: 43:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Going Where the Lonely Go (04:48) 2 Why Am I Drinkin (02:40) 3 If I Had Left It Up to You (02:35) 4 I Wont Give Up My Train (04:33) 5 Someday Youre Gonna Need Your Friends Again (04:02) 6 Shopping for Dresses (02:35) 7 You Take Me for Granted (02:40) 8 Half a Man (04:05) 9 For All I Know (03:56) 10 Nobodys Darlin but Mine (03:34) 11 Now I Know Why Im Drinkin (07:47) |
| Going Where the Lonely Go : Allmusic album Review : Recorded after his Columbia hit Big City, Going Where the Lonely Go is one of Merle Haggards most criminally overlooked recordings. Recorded in 1982, the vibe is one of Haggards most laid-back albums, co-produced with Lewis Talley, one of Nashvilles kings of understatement (not that there are many). Haggard wrote over half the album, the rest comprised of two songs by his then-wife, Leona Williams; a co-write with Little Jimmy Dickens; Willie Nelsons "Half a Man"; and Jimmy Davis "Nobodys Darlin but Mine." But it is Haggards songs that make this a stellar outing. The title track is a piece of pure country poetry. A painfully slow 4/4 time signature fronted by a bassline, adorned by a three-chord pattern, and filled by slippery piano lines, Haggard sings, "Rollin with the flow/Goin where the lonely go/Anywhere the lights are low/Goin where the lonely go/Makin up things to do/Not runnin in all directions tryin to find you/Im just rollin with the flow/Goin where the lonely go/And Ive got to keep goin/I cant lay down/Sleep wont hardly come/Where theres loneliness all around/Ive got to keep goin/Travellin down this lonesome road/Ill be rollin with the flow/Goin where the lonely go." As Haggard gets to the bridge, a steel guitar and lead guitar trade lines as strings fall in from the edges and cascade around his gorgeous, bluesy voice. The next track, "Why Am I Drinkin?," is pure honky tonk blues, full of heartbreak and resignation when he asks the question, "Is love just another word for memory?/And is love just another word for pain?/The question is love really the answer/And if so why is love so much to blame/If love is what were really after, then why am I runnin away?/And why am I drinkin/Why am I hurtin this way?" The guitars and fiddles wend their way around Norm Hamletts gorgeous pedal steel and drive home the desolate edge in the song. "I Wont Give up My Train," another country ballad, is particularly poignant, as Haggard addresses the metaphor of his life in music via a brakeman who is married and probably wont be for long, because his wife is tired of always waiting for him. Hargus "Pig" Robbins piano is unmistakable as it ushers in the a narrative of paradox, contradiction, and loss. When Hag sings, "The baby came in April in Chicago in the pourin rain/With 12 black cars and empty tank/With three box cars and an empty sack of mail," we can hear Jimmy Rogers in the grain of his voice, calling from out in the freight yards of history. Other notables are the truly moving "Shopping for Dresses (With No One to Wear Them)," written with Dickens, and "For All I Know," another broken-love song from the other side of loves great divide. Haggard and the Strangers were one of the tightest and most sophisticated bands in country music, inspired by the elaborate arrangements of Bob Wills band, to the point where Haggards music from this period transcends country music in its appeal and elegance. Its a pity this one didnt get the notice it deserved -- its a masterpiece. | ||
 | Album: 19 of 35 Title: Out Among the Stars Released: 1986 Tracks: 11 Duration: 37:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Out Among the Stars (04:27) 2 My Lifes Been Grand (02:30) 3 Love Keeps Hanging On (02:32) 4 Why Cant I Cry (05:00) 5 Love Dont Hurt Every Time (02:29) 6 Pennies From Heaven (04:15) 7 Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa (03:15) 8 The Shows Almost Over (03:56) 9 Bleachers (03:21) 10 Susie (02:24) 11 Almost Persuaded (03:12) |
| Out Among the Stars : Allmusic album Review : On his 90s comeback album, If I Could Only Fly, this country legend makes a reference to the "roaring 80s." Listeners familiar with the Merle Haggard output during that decade, however, will know that for Hag it was more like the snoring 80s, at least musically. This is a typical album from this period, and although a low point on a Haggard album might be better than entire records by some country artists, there is still plenty of room for criticism. What he does emotionally with his lyrics is so ripe with sentimentality that with the wrong kind of production it can quickly evolve into just plain rotten. The liquor store robbery that forms the narrative line for the opening track, "Out Among the Stars," might be perfect fodder for a Haggard album of another time and another place, and in fact he makes reference to this type of lawless violence in the lyrics to the much later "Wishing All These Old Things Were New," one of the finest songs he has ever written. But here the result is just overblown, a potboiler on the level of the worst Bruce Springsteen material. Haggard looks exhausted on the cover -- it looks like an airbrush was used to remove lines from his face -- and perhaps the picture is a reaction shot to the playing of the session guys here. The swinging "Pennies From Heaven," the kind of material Haggard does really well, is a welcome relief from the dirge of over-processed country music, 80s style, but even on this song we have a drummer with feet of lead. The turgid "My Lifes Been Grand" is pretty good proof that country music is better when the artist is complaining about things and not indulging in a pastime best described by the Yiddish word "kvelling." | ||
 | Album: 20 of 35 Title: A Friend In California Released: 1986 Tracks: 10 Duration: 28:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 A Friend in California (03:21) 2 This Time I Really Do (03:02) 3 This Cold War With You (03:04) 4 I Had a Beautiful Time (03:03) 5 Texas (01:55) 6 The Oakie From Muskogees Comin Home (02:25) 7 Mamas Prayer (02:53) 8 Silverthorn Mountain (02:03) 9 This Song Is for You (03:32) 10 Thank You for Keeping My House (03:20) |
 | Album: 21 of 35 Title: Walking the Line Released: 1987 Tracks: 10 Duration: 31:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Gotta Get Drunk (02:11) 2 No Show Jones (02:28) 3 Pancho & Lefty (04:47) 4 Yesterdays Wine (03:15) 5 Half a Man (04:12) 6 Big Butter and Egg Man (02:26) 7 Heaven or Hell (02:15) 8 Midnight Rider (02:50) 9 Are the Good Times Really Over (04:14) 10 A Drunk Cant Be a Man (02:43) |
 | Album: 22 of 35 Title: Seashores of Old Mexico Released: 1987 Tracks: 10 Duration: 39:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Seashores of Old Mexico (03:37) 2 Without You on My Side (03:07) 3 When Times Were Good (06:40) 4 Jimmy the Broom (03:33) 5 Yesterday (03:27) 6 If I Could Only Fly (05:13) 7 Shotgun and a Pistol (03:05) 8 Love Makes a Fool of Us All (03:31) 9 Why Do I Have to Choose (03:54) 10 Silver Wings (03:41) |
| Seashores of Old Mexico : Allmusic album Review : Five years after the triumph of Pancho & Lefty, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson recorded the follow-up, Seashores of Old Mexico. Alas, little of what made the earlier album so great is in evidence. At times the album sounds like a Merle Haggard record with Willie Nelson on hand as support. "Without You on My Side" reveals no evidence of Nelson and his guitar at all; it sounds like a castoff from Haggards 1987 Chill Factor album. More importantly, the song selection is a mixed bag, with a few top-notch songs mixed with many second-rate ones. The title track and "Jimmy the Broom," both by Haggard, dont match his best writing of the period, and sound stilted and forced. A cover of the Beatles "Yesterday" doesnt really work either, although they give it a good try. The best tracks on the album are the last two: Nelsons "Why Do I Have to Choose" and Haggards "Silver Wings," both from the artists back catalogs. These mark the only times on the album when it sounds like they are really working together. Having achieved a masterpiece on their first outing together, Haggard and Nelson may have set a standard impossible to match; Seashores of Old Mexico certainly doesnt come close. | ||
 | Album: 23 of 35 Title: Blue Jungle Released: 1990-06-12 Tracks: 10 Duration: 30:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples AlbumCover | 1 Blue Jungle (02:27) 2 Sometimes I Dream (03:01) 3 My Home Is in the Street (02:56) 4 When It Rains It Pours (03:26) 5 Me & Crippled Soldiers (03:16) 6 Under the Bridge (02:59) 7 Lucky Old Colorado (03:13) 8 Driftwood (03:04) 9 Never No Mo Blues (03:05) 10 A Bar in Bakersfield (03:00) |
 | Album: 24 of 35 Title: 1994 Released: 1994-03-22 Tracks: 11 Duration: 34:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 I Am an Island (03:37) 2 In My Next Life (03:50) 3 Way Back in the Mountains (03:12) 4 Whats New in New York City (02:49) 5 Set My Chickens Free (02:21) 6 Chores (03:08) 7 Valentine (03:12) 8 Solid as a Rock (03:13) 9 Bye, Bye, Travelin Blues (02:58) 10 Troubador (02:29) 11 Ramblin Fever (03:58) |
| 1994 : Allmusic album Review : After a four-year recording silence, he returns with his strongest record since 1981s Big City. The first single, "In My Next Life" (written by Max D. Barnes), is the latest entry in Haggards incomparable registry of the unfulfilled dreams of the salt of the bitter earth. | ||
 | Album: 25 of 35 Title: 1996 Released: 1996 Tracks: 10 Duration: 32:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Sin City Blues (02:32) 2 No Time To Cry (04:26) 3 Beer Can Hill (03:17) 4 Truck Drivers Blues (03:06) 5 Too Many Highways (02:59) 6 Five Days A Week (02:13) 7 Kids Get Lonesome Too (03:01) 8 If Anyone Out To Know (03:04) 9 Untanglin My Mind (04:10) 10 Winds Of Change (03:27) |
| 1996 : Allmusic album Review : In late 1995, Merle Haggard stood on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry House, acknowledging the music industrys ovation as he accepted his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. A few months later, however, his next album came out with no fanfare at all. His record company didnt send promotional copies to reviewers until the album had been out for nearly a month, and no advertising or promotion has been devoted to the music. The album artwork and cover reflect this lack of care: the title, 1996, is boxed on the cover like a tomb, exactly like Hags last set, 1994. Whats inside deserves more attention. Recorded in Bakersfield, Haggards album takes a jaunty yet melancholy look at a middle-aged mans concerns. Not everything works; "Kids Get Lonesome Too" has a grandfatherly sentimentality, but its not very substantial. The rest carries plenty of meat: "Sin City Blues" bemoans the temptations of New Orleans with Dixieland verve; "Beer Can Hill" is a humorous reminiscence about honky tonkin in Bakersfiel; and "Untanglin My Mind" (a hit for co-writer Clint Black) is a textbook example of the difference between the stiff perfection of Nashville over-production and the loose, life-affirming musicianship that Haggard prefers. The albums standout is a cover of Iris Dements great "No Time to Cry," which Haggard fills with aged, tired wisdom. | ||
 | Album: 26 of 35 Title: Serving 190 Proof Released: 1998 Tracks: 11 Duration: 34:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Footlights (04:00) 2 Got Lonely Too Early This Morning (03:03) 3 Heaven Was a Drink of Wine (02:46) 4 Driftwood (03:04) 5 I Cant Get Away (03:12) 6 Red Bandana (02:31) 7 My Own Kind of Hat (02:53) 8 I Must Have Done Something Bad (03:26) 9 I Didnt Mean to Love You (02:30) 10 Sing a Family Song (03:13) 11 Roses in the Winter (03:54) |
| Serving 190 Proof : Allmusic album Review : Haggard appears here in the midst of what he admitted was a mid-life crisis. Thats no reason to dismiss this record, however, as crisis introspection served him well. Possibly the best of his MCA albums, it includes "Red Bandana," "My Own Kind of a Hat," and a brooding meditation on the emptiness of stardom called "Footlights." | ||
 | Album: 27 of 35 Title: If I Could Only Fly Released: 2000-10-10 Tracks: 12 Duration: 35:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Wishing All These Old Things Were New (03:19) 2 Honky Tonk Mama (03:07) 3 Turn to Me (03:10) 4 If I Could Only Fly (04:59) 5 Crazy Moon (02:07) 6 Bareback (02:12) 7 (Think About a) Lullaby (02:24) 8 Im Still Your Daddy (02:54) 9 Proud to Be Your Man (02:26) 10 Leavins Getting Harder (02:10) 11 Thanks to Uncle John (02:43) 12 Listening (To the Wind) (04:10) |
| If I Could Only Fly : Allmusic album Review : For all the 90s, Merle Haggard was stuck in a kind of exile, recording albums that were strangely perched between familiar Haggard material and futile compromises to a modern country radio that would never play material from veterans. Hag knew that he hadnt lost it, so when he finally ran out his contract for Curb, he smartly signed to Anti-, a subsidiary of the indie punk label Epitaph. Finally at a label that would let him record a traditional Haggard album, he seized the opportunity with If I Could Only Fly, a gentle, understated, largely acoustic album thats easily his best in over a decade. Its easy to draw comparisons to Johnny Cashs Rick Rubin-produced American Music, but this is actually a better fit, since nothing here is forced. Theres no mention of his wild ways or outlaw posturing; instead he, dwells on being old, not wanting to leave home, and writes frequently about his family. This is not sad and melancholy, its a sweet, soothing record, filled with intimately autobiographical songs, delivered with ease and subtle shading through Haggards always superb vocalizing. If I Could Fly benefits considerably from its sheer, warm musicality, and its easy to be charmed by its stripped-back, organic sound. It sounds so good that its also easy to overlook that the album is shy a couple of great songs it needed to be an unqualified triumph. Only the sublime "Wishing All These Old Things Were New," "If I Could Only Fly," and "Listening (To the Wind)" are truly significant additions to Haggards canon. Ultimately, that may be a bit of nitpicking -- If I Could Only Fly is the first album in years that deserves to be compared to Haggards classic work. | ||
 | Album: 28 of 35 Title: Cabin in the Hills Released: 2001-05-01 Tracks: 10 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lifes Railway to Heaven (?) 2 A Cabin in the Hills (?) 3 What Will It Take (?) 4 Father Along (?) 5 Precious Lord Take My Hand (?) 6 Apart for a While (?) 7 Love Lifted Me (?) 8 Shores of Jordan (?) 9 Lord Dont Give Up on Me (?) 10 This World Is Not My Home (?) |
| Cabin in the Hills : Allmusic album Review : A Bakersfield-style collection of spirituals, either penned or arranged by Haggard, with the exception of Iris Dements sublime "Shores of Jordan" and Brumley and Brumleys "This World Is Not My Home." Self-produced and put out on his own label, Hag, Haggard is joined on dobro and steel guitar by Norman Hamlet and on vocals by Porter Wagoner and Bonnie Owens, with whom Haggard dueted on his second hit single, the 1964 release "Just Between the Two of Us." Haggards own spiritual evolution, which took root while in solitary confinement at San Quentin prison, lends grit and intrigue to this highly listenable set. | ||
 | Album: 29 of 35 Title: Mama Tried Released: 2001-10-23 Tracks: 12 Duration: 32:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Mama Tried (02:13) 2 Green, Green Grass of Home (03:15) 3 Little Old Wine Drinker Me (02:39) 4 In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad) (02:46) 5 I Could Have Gone Right (02:34) 6 Ill Always Know (02:22) 7 The Sunny Side of My Life (02:12) 8 Teach Me to Forget (03:15) 9 Folsom Prison Blues (02:48) 10 Run Em Off (02:52) 11 Youll Never Love Me Now (02:46) 12 Too Many Bridges to Cross Over (02:25) |
| Mama Tried : Allmusic album Review : Mama Tried is a typically fine late-60s LP from Merle Haggard, comprised of a number of strong originals and several excellent covers. While "Mama Tried" stands out among Haggards original material, "Ill Always Know" and "Youll Never Love Me Now" are both solid songs. Still, those two tracks pale next to the best covers on the record. Merle delivers "Little Ole Wine Drinker Me," "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)," "Teach Me to Forget," "Run Em Off" and "Too Many Bridges to Cross Over" with grit and an open, affecting honesty that makes Mama Tried one of Hags best records. | ||
 | Album: 30 of 35 Title: Roots, Volume 1 Released: 2001-11-06 Tracks: 12 Duration: 35:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Always Late (with Your Kisses) (03:16) 2 More Than My Old Guitar (03:29) 3 If Youve Got the Money (Ive Got the Time) (03:04) 4 Look Wat Thoughts Will Do (02:30) 5 My Babys Just Like Money (02:29) 6 Honky Tonkin (02:53) 7 Runaway Mama (04:10) 8 Ill Sign My Heart Away (02:31) 9 Ive Got a Tender Heart (02:23) 10 The Wild Side of Life (02:44) 11 Take These Chains From My Heart (02:44) 12 I Want to Be With You Always (03:00) |
 | Album: 31 of 35 Title: The Peer Sessions Released: 2002-05-21 Tracks: 12 Duration: 40:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Peach Pickin Time in Georgia (03:52) 2 If Its Wrong to Love You (03:14) 3 Sweethearts or Strangers (02:52) 4 Put Me in Your Pocket (03:52) 5 Anniversary Blue Yodel (03:53) 6 Shackles and Chains (02:26) 7 Miss the Mississippi and You (03:01) 8 It Makes No Difference Now (04:03) 9 Whippin That Old T.B. (03:13) 10 Hang on to the Memories (03:06) 11 I Love You So Much It Hurts (03:26) 12 Time Changes Everything (03:21) |
| The Peer Sessions : Allmusic album Review : Recorded from 1996 to 1999, Merle Haggards Peer Sessions finds the singer and guitarist in a relaxed and friendly setting, revisiting many of music publisher Peermusics best-loved songs. Fellow Country Music Hall of Fame member Roy Horton worked with Haggard in selecting which compositions from Ralph S. Peers extensive library to choose from, and the pair came up with 12 songs from the pens of Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmie Davis, Floyd Tillman, and Tommy Duncan, among others. The sessions are loose and informal, with Haggards rough but tender vocals rolling around the lyrics, keeping the new recordings faithful to the original recordings, but with his own unmistakable touch. Overall, The Peer Sessions work both as an interesting collection of classic country songs and a solid individual work. | ||
 | Album: 32 of 35 Title: Goin Home for Christmas Released: 2003 Tracks: 11 Duration: 28:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Goin Home for Christmas (02:29) 2 Grandmas Homemade Christmas Card (02:18) 3 Santa Claus Is Comin to Town (02:16) 4 Santa Claus and Popcorn (02:33) 5 Daddy Wont Be Home Again for Christmas (03:25) 6 If We Make It Through December (02:40) 7 Bobby Wants a Puppy Dog for Christmas (02:11) 8 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (02:49) 9 Blue Christmas (02:09) 10 Lonely Night (02:56) 11 White Christmas (From the 1986 Album "Nashvilles Greatest Christmas Hits") (03:09) |
| Goin' Home for Christmas : Allmusic album Review : Merle Haggards contribution to the holiday season is a generally festive affair. He does a creditable version of Elviss "Blue Christmas" and performs manfully on standards like "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Claus Is Comin to Town." But this wouldnt be a Haggard album without songs about the holidays less cheerful aspects, and so theres also "If We Make It Through December," about being laid off at Christmas, and the tearful "Daddy Wont Be Home Again For Christmas," about an absent father whos either sick or in jail. Mostly though, Haggard is an unexpectedly sensitive interpreter of these seasonal favorites. | ||
 | Album: 33 of 35 Title: Like Never Before Released: 2003-09-23 Tracks: 11 Duration: 31:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Haggard (Like Ive Never Been Before) (03:22) 2 Thats the News (02:33) 3 Garbage Man (02:56) 4 Reno Blues (Philadelphia Lawyer) (03:33) 5 The Downside (01:59) 6 Because of Your Eyes (03:48) 7 Lonesome Day (02:06) 8 I Dreamed You Didnt Love Me (03:04) 9 Yellow Ribbons (02:59) 10 I Hate to See It Go (02:53) 11 Return to San Francisco (02:24) |
| Like Never Before : Allmusic album Review : Much was made of Merle Haggards "Thats the News," a scathing indictment of media culture and the Bush administrations handling of the war in Iraq. A simple country song, its the kind of thing Haggard had been writing throughout his entire career in his celebration of core American values. And because hes critical of the American government, listeners should not make the mistake that Haggard suddenly became a pacifist or sympathetic to the American left. "Are the Good Times Really Over for Good" trod some similar ground and argued against--what he perceived to be--a welfare state and has made repated public statements about closing our borders. Also, given the rest of the album, another brick in the foundation of Haggards artistic and popular renaissance, it should not overshadow the rest of these songs. They are all solid, even brilliant efforts by Haggard and are rooted deeply in Bakersfield honky tonk ("Haggard (Like Ive Never Been Before)", Western swing ("Garbage Man" and "Lonesome Day"), the bluesy roots of "Reno Blues," a duet with Willie Nelson, the innovative, jazzy balladry of "Because of Your Eyes" (with gorgeous guitar playing from Hag), and "I Hate to See It Go." This is mostly a laid-back affair for Haggard, but it is meticulously crafted and arranged, full of beautiful charts and striking vocal and instrumental performances. The albums final track, "Return to San Francisco," is a country song meeting the jazzier side of Bob Wills ghost with a mariachi horn section in the bridge for good measure. Haggard hears many different kinds of music in his head; thankfully, for everyone else, he effortlessly gets it down on tape time and time again. | ||
 | Album: 34 of 35 Title: Unforgettable Released: 2004-12-14 Tracks: 12 Duration: 40:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 As Time Goes By (03:09) 2 Gypsy (03:31) 3 Unforgettable (03:04) 4 Stardust (04:01) 5 I Cant Get Started (03:18) 6 Still Missing You (02:46) 7 Pennies From Heaven (03:21) 8 Cry Me a River (03:59) 9 Ill Get By (As long I Have You) (03:06) 10 Youre Nobody til Somebody Loves You (02:37) 11 What Love Can Do (03:31) 12 Goin Away Party (04:26) |
 | Album: 35 of 35 Title: Chicago Wind Released: 2005-10-25 Tracks: 11 Duration: 40:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Chicago Wind (04:08) 2 Wheres All the Freedom (03:22) 3 White Man Singin the Blues (03:47) 4 Leavins Not the Only Way to Go (03:38) 5 What Ive Been Meaning to Say (02:36) 6 Mexico (03:11) 7 Honky Tonk Man (03:04) 8 America First (02:43) 9 It Always Will Be (04:01) 10 I Still Cant Say Goodbye (03:38) 11 Some of Us Fly (06:38) |