Merle Haggard goes to number one
Tuesday, October 16, 2007 – Merle Haggard racked up his highest first-week sales for a new release since 2000 following the Oct. 2 release of "The Bluegrass Sessions," which is number one on the bluegrass charts. The disc sold 2,865 units.
The Hag entered Billboard's Independent Albums chart at 34th and its Country Albums chart at 43rd.
Released on Del McCoury's McCoury Music label, Haggard's first-ever foray into bluegrass features a duet with Alison Krauss on his classic "Mama's Hungry Eyes." Joined by a cast of musicians (including Marty Stuart on guitar and mandolin), the Country Music Hall of Famer recorded "The Bluegrass Sessions" in two days of intimate "living room style" sessions.
"Each take became a performance. Merle's singing was totally inspired," Stuart writes in the album's liner notes. "In fact, he got to the point where he didn't even go into the control room to listen to playbacks. There was no need. All of us knew what we were doing was right."
"The Bluegrass Sessions" features reworked Haggard classics (including "Big City"), several new songs and a few nods to bluegrass tradition, including a medley of Jimmie Rodgers songs and an album-ending take on the Delmore Brothers' "Blues Stay Away From Me").
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Legendary Performances DVD
The Strangers are a talented and extremely flexible band, as Haggard's mood can vary from showing off his rich singing voice on ballads to playing the jazzy guitar hero via Western swing material. Thus, it takes a multi-faceted combo, like The Strangers, to keep up with Haggard's many moods.
This disc collects 15 Haggard TV clips, and the man is definitely not lip synching his way through these performances. For instance, viewers can clearly hear The Hag clear his throat right before »»» |
The Bluegrass Sessions
A current trend sees country stars dabbling in bluegrass, sometimes to mixed results. Not so with The Hag. The bluegrass is country influenced, but as one would anticipate from Merle Haggard, it is still genuine.
This is not flashy, show-off music. Instead it is a more relaxed pace blending the diverse styles of bluegrass, country and Jimmy Rodgers blues. In just a line there ain't no doubt - the gravelly voice seasoned by a lot of hard living hasn't lost one bit of emotion or the »»» |
Working Man's Journey
Merle Haggard must be in competition with compadre Willie Nelson about who can release the most CDs. Not clear who's ahead, but both demonstrate they are unwilling to fade away quietly. This CD includes six new songs and six new recordings of Hag songs like "Workin' Man Blues" and "Kern River." (although it's not at all clear when they were recorded).
Haggard shows no signs of slowing down as his vocals are on target. His take on "Workin' Man »»» |
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