284. Merle Haggard, "Down Every Road 1962-1994"

 

Merle Haggard could write a country song because Merle Haggard's whole life was a country song.  The child of real-life Okies, he grew up in the Central Valley and never forgot that place.  Songs like "Tulare Dust" and "Kern River," both on this 4-disc collection, hearken back to that youth.  Haggard was in and out of juvie, hitched rides on freight trains, and eventually ended up in San Quentin, where he saw Johnny Cash perform and was inspired to finally put his musical talent to good use.  

This collection is a tribute to the "Bakersfield Sound," a stripped-down, twangy version of country that was a reaction to the "Nashville Sound," which was seen, not completely unfairly, as overproduced and inauthentic.  And let me say, even at 4 discs, this is an absolute pleasure to listen to.  Not only did Merle have a beautiful voice; he was also a gifted songwriter, as this collection makes clear.  It starts with his earliest songs, like 1960's "Skid Row," and meanders through a career where you can hear the sounds change through the eras - here's some horns, there's some 80's drums - but the songs stay absolutely true to Merle's vision.  He never traded that for anything.

And those songs, Jesus.  Let's visit "The Bottle Let Me Down," an early-ish (1966) song from Swinging Doors.  Just listen to this gorgeousness:

That voice.  You have no doubt that he knows exactly what he's singing about.  There is no question about authenticity here.  The bottle has let Merle down at one point or another.

Fast forward 20 years, to 1985, and we have the haunting "Kern River," about a man who finds love by the river of the title and loses that love when the river sweeps her away.  It's chilling and beautiful:

And the whole collection is like this!  It's just one great song after another.  Of course, it includes the often-misunderstood "Okie from Muskogee," which purports to be a Real America rebuke to the changing world of the 60's and 70's, but is now understood to be a sarcastic rejoinder to middle American stuffiness.  (For an excellent deep dive into the song, please listen to this episode of Tyler Mahan Coe's indispensible podcast "Cocaine and Rhinestones," which you should already be listening to and why aren't you?)  If you're only used to covers of "Mama Tried," you'll enjoy hearing the original, which is far more tender and melancholy than the rocked-out versions the Dead or the Old 97's performed.  I could go on and on, there's literally too much to fit into a post.  The only real bummer for me was Merle and Willie Nelson's cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Pancho and Lefty," which was recorded in the 80's and sounds like it.  I'm addicted to Townes' original, sparse recording of the song, so maybe the sparkly "Flashdance" sound of this cover just doesn't work for me.  Anyway, small nit.

(One notable omission is "I Always Get Lucky With You," one of the best melodies you'll ever hear. It was on Merle's Big City album but he never released it as a single.  George Jones then covered it and took it to #1.  I doubt anyone realizes it's a Merle Haggard song any more.  When George Jones takes one of your songs, might as well kiss it goodbye.)

Does this album deserve to be in the Top 500? If we've decided that greatest hits and career retrospectives belong, then oh my god yes.