The Hag goes to Vanguard
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 – Merle Haggard is not slowing down. At 72, he just signed a new record deal with Vanguard Records. "I Am What I Am" is slated to drop April 20. The Hag wrote 11 of the 12 songs on the release. Haggard co-produced the music with Lou Bradley.
The music was recorded with his longstanding band the Strangers at his Northern California headquarters, the Shade Tree Manor studio.
. "It was pretty much just the Strangers, but Reggie Young and Rob Ickes played on it, and we had an additional drummer that worked with us, George Receli from the Bob Dylan band." Haggard said. "Sometimes we try to find an inspiring player, to come and inspire us."
This is Haggard's first CD since October 2007 when he released "The Bluegrass Sessions" on Del McCoury's label. Since then, he battled lung cancer.
More news for Merle Haggard
- 11/13/20: Hag concert tribute release coming in December
- 03/17/17: Keith, Alabama join Hag tribute show
- 02/27/17: All-star concert set to pay homage to The Hag
- 06/22/16: Songwriter, producer Freddie Powers dies
- 05/11/16: The Hag releases final song
- 04/14/16: All for the Hall benefit raises $712K
- 04/06/16: The Hag dies at 79
- 04/06/16: Country performers pay homage to The Hag
CD reviews for Merle Haggard
Read Merle Haggard's Wikipedia entry. It talks, in the second sentence, of his having helped create the Bakersfield sound, with its "rough edge." Later, it discusses, at some length, his conservative touchstones, in particular Okie From Muskogee. While, in Wikipedia fashion, that may capture the popular perception of the recent Kennedy Center honoree, it doesn't hit at the core of what made him, along with Willie Nelson and George Jones, one of country music's three most ...
It seems that the legendary country artists who survive to their later years, often make some of their best music during that time. It certainly was true with Johnny Cash and apparently Merle Haggard is primed to follow suit. The evidence of that is spread all over his new 12-song outing.
Haggard has gone introspective, but he has done it in such a way that most of the songs are easy for the listeners to apply to their own experiences. The opener, I've Seen It Go Away, is about losing the ...
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 ...
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