Merle Haggard - Working Man's Journey

Cracker Barrel has been making a wonderful habit of bringing out traditional country in new and interesting packaging. This time, it's not just old country they've found, but instead a whole new album from country legend Merle Haggard. Certainly, there are some songs here a fan will recognize, but these are all brand-new recordings, including "Rainbow Stew" and "If We Make It Through December," as well as some brand-new songs, such as "C'mon Sixty-Five" and "In The Mountains To Forget." And if anyone thinks that Merle has slowed down any since he reached the grand old age of 70 (which happened to "the Hag" back in April), think again. Merle Haggard sounds as good today as he ever did, with the same incomparable cry in his voice and that same commanding tone. This is truly what country music is all about, right here, distilled into a fine brandy of great music, Merle Haggard backed by his current batch of Strangers (including Norm Stevens, Scott Joss, Red Lane, Doug Colosio, Don Markham, Red Volkaert, Floyd Domino, Clint Strong, and of course Theresa Haggard on backing vocals, and that's just a few of the amazing names associated with this recording). Now, why six brand-new songs were mixed with this particular set of oldies is anyone's guess (could be no one knows but ol' Hag himself), but it's not a bad stew, at that.

About the only complaint I'd have is the inclusion of one of my least favorite Merle songs of all time, the monotone wishing song, "Are The Good Times Really Over," which at least ends on an up note - and even the least of Merle's songs are still better than a lot of what's currently on the Top 20 (far as I can tell). Are the good times over, indeed. Maybe for mainstream country, but not for those who are willing to go looking, and discovering that, yeah, the legends are still out there, they're still recording, and man, they're still so freakin' good it's an absolute crime they're not being played on the radio. But that's an old complaint, I know, and I should let it go. It's not like I listen to the radio, anyway, these days - not when I have CDs like this one to listen to, instead. As long as music has folks like Merle, it's going to do all right. And as long as there's places that'll carry it and get it heard, we'll never be completely bereft of musicians with talents as phenomenal as Haggard's. The only real possible criminal is, of course, time. Merle Haggard is closing up on being one of the last of a truly dying breed - and there's precious few out there willing (or able!) to step up and fill his shoes, to take that working man's journey. With any luck someone can walk that walk. In the meantime, we still have Merle.