Merle Haggard & The Strangers – Roots Of My Raising (1976/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 30:37 minutes | 656 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Capitol Nashville
The Roots of My Raising is the 21st studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1976. It was his third release in 1976 and his last on the Capitol label until his return in 2004. It reached number 8 on the Billboard country albums chart.
Read moreMerle Haggard – Merle Haggard’s Christmas Present (1973/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 25:35 minutes | 580 MB | Genre: Christmas
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © CMCapNash (N91)
While Hag keeps the mood light with selections such as “Santa Claus and Popcorn” and more traditional fare, he also has some bite with the high and lonesome “Daddy Won’t Be Home for Christmas.” His matter-of-fact tale about layoffs at the factory, “If We Make It Through December,” has become timeless in tough times. – Dennis MacDonald
Read moreMerle Haggard – Live From Austin TX (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 45:38 minutes | 493 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © New West Records
This 1985 performance of Merle Haggard and his swinging Strangers — with a two-piece horn section that sounds like five — were in fine form at Austin City Limits. There are 15 tunes on Live from Austin, TX many of them barn burners. It opens with “The Okie from Muskogee’s Comin’ Home,” a fine choice since it’s not a novelty song. Haggard sticks to his own material most of the time, and he rambles over it, pulling from classics like “Mama Tried” and “Silver Wings,” to newer material from the MCA and Epic periods — which were creatively fertile times for him. An example is in the lovely “What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life),” the fourth tune in the set. But there are more, too, in “Place to Fall Apart” and “I Wish Things Were Simple Again.” There are two Tommy Duncan tunes here, where Haggard pays homage to his first real influence, Bob Wills — “Misery,” “Take Me Back to Tulsa,” and one by Wills, as well as “Ida Red.” Thankfully, a great version of Johnny Durrill’s “Misery and Gin” is here from Back to the Barrooms, as is the wonderful closer, Haggard’s own “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink,” to take the thing out on the right note. It’s true most could have lived without his pseudo-orchestral paean to xenophobic political values, “Amber Waves of Grain,” but it wouldn’t be a complete show without an accurate portrayal of the songwriter and the man. Haggard fans will dig this one just fine.
Read moreWillie Nelson, Merle Haggard – Django and Jimmie (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 47:02 minutes | 842 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Legacy Recordings
Django and Jimmie is a new duet album featuring country artists Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. The record marks the sixth collaborative album released by the duo and features guest artists Jamey Johnson and Bobby Bare. Django and Jimmie is a mix of originals as well as covers including Bob Dylan’s famous title “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”.
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