Merle Haggard - For the Record: 43 Legendary Hits
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Merle HaggardEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1999-08-24
Music Label: RCA
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Mama Tried
- Sing A Sad Song
- Swinging Doors
- I'm A Lonesome Fugitive
- Branded Man
- Sing Me Back Home
- The Legend Of Bonnie And Clyde
- Hungry Eyes
- Workin' Man Blues
- Silver Wings
- Okie From Muskogee
- The Fightin' Side Of Me
- Daddy Frank
- Carolyn
- It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)
- Everybody's Had The Blues
- If We Make It Through December
- Old Man From The Mountain
- Things Aren't Funny Anymore
- Movin' On
- Always Wanting You
- It's All In The Movies
- The Roots Of My Raisin'
- Cherokee Maiden
- Ramblin' Fever
- I'm Always On A Mountain When I Fall
- It's Been A Great Afternoon
- Footlights
- The Way I Am
- Misery And Gin
- I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink
- Rainbow Stew
- My Favorite Memory - (newly recorded version)
- Big City
- Poncho And Lefty
- Are The Good Times Really Over
- Going Where The Lonely Go
- Let's Chase Each Other Around The Room
- A Place To Fall Apart
- That's The Way Love Goes
- Natural High
- Kern River
- Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Star
Free Music Notes for For the Record: 43 Legendary Hits
Free Music Review: Not as good as the originals; song selection somewhat suspect
Hit: 3 Stars
Although I'm primarily an aficianado of rock and blues (and subgenres such as country rock, rockabilly, etc.), I love Merle Haggard's music.
That having been said, this compilation is something of a letdown. First, as seems to be true with every retrospective, songs that should have made the cut didn't. In particular, "Makeup and Faded Blue Jeans", "Leonard", and "5:01 Blues" should be among the top 43, but they are not represented here.
Even more than the songs selected, the reason I was disappointed with this album is because the songs have all been modified (they are new recordings). I understand how musicians feel the need to update their songs over time, to change the feel, tempo, timing, phrasing, even lyrics, but I think that should be left to live performances. If a person wants to hear the songs exactly as they sound on the radio--listen to the album at home.
But in a "Greatest Hits" or "Best Of" package, such as this one, new wine should not be put into the old wineskins. It's interesting hearing Brooks and Dunn, Alabama, and Jewel (and Willie, of course) mixing it up with Merle, but in many cases it sounds as if Merle is just going through the motions or changing the songs just for the sake of change, rather than because there was a compelling reason to do so. In other words, in my opinion, these "oldies but goodies" are, on the whole, only about 75% as good as the original versions.
If you want an overview of Haggard's work, get "Epic Hits" and "Best Of", not this collection.
For the Record: 43 Legendary Hits Poster
History occurs twice, first as tragedy, later as farce--or so the adage goes. With these new versions of old classics, Merle Haggard is somewhere between defying and fulfilling that fate. Some cuts are like faded carbon copies; others, given Hag's stately quaver, have a mellow poignancy; a few, like the duets with Jewel, Brooks & Dunn, and Alabama, are simply irrelevant. But just when you're ready to dismiss such misguided revisionism, there's a refreshed, superlative version of "Pancho and Lefty" and the perfected heartbreak of "Going Where the Lonely Go." To his credit, Haggard sticks with his long-running road band, and it's hard to imagine anyone else delivering these songs with more authority, more emotional insight. Anyone, that is, save their original interpreters: Merle Haggard and the Strangers of the '60s and '70s, whose definitive work can still be heard on collections like the four-CD Down Every Road and double-disc Lonesome Fugitive. Haggard may never make records that great again, but perhaps he'll find a new, and not redundant, way to harness his timeless gifts. --Roy KastenCountry Music CDs
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