Merle Haggard - Hag: The Studio Recordings 1969 - 1976 [6CD] (2007)

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine:
Twelve years after they released their first Merle Haggard box, The Untamed Hawk, Bear Family delivered the sequel, Hag: The Studio Recordings 1969-1976. This picks up where The Untamed Hawk left off, which is more of a musical dividing point than it initially seems. If The Untamed Hawk caught Haggard as he was reaching full flight, Hag captures him in his prime, as every single he released reached the Country Top Ten -- often capturing the number one slot -- and as he sometimes crossed over into the pop Top 40. Hag was without a doubt the biggest star in country music but the remarkable thing about his reign at the top was that he never played it safe. During this eight-year span, he recorded few songs as iconic as "Strangers," "Swinging Doors," "The Bottle Let Me Down" or "Mama Tried," but a notable exception was "Okie from Muskogee" and its ornery cousin, "The Fighting Side of Me." Both were reactionary rhetoric in the midst of the Vietnam war, but where the latter was itching for a brawl -- a perfect pairing for its tough, twangy, Bakersfield sound -- "Okie" was gentler in its music and sweetly nostalgic in its tone, romanticizing an America that may never have been there.

Tracklist:

Disc: 1
01. I'd Rather Be Gone
02. Montego Bay
03. I Die Ten Thousand Times A Day
04. California On My Mind
05. California Cotton Fields
06. White Line Fever
07. I Came So Close To Failure
08. Workin' Man Blues
09. The Sea Shores Of Old Mexico
10. Okie From Muskogee
11. If I Had Left It Up To You
12. Streets Of Berlin
13. Huntsville
14. Train Of Life
15. They're Tearing The Labor Camps Down
16. The Fightin' Side Of Me
17. I Wonder What She'll Think About Me Leaving
18. No Reason To Quit
19. Jesus, Take A Hold
20. I Ain't Got Nobody
21. New York City Blues
22. One Row At A Time
23. Shelly's Winter Love
24. I'll Be A Hero When I Strike
25. If You've Got Time (To Say Goodbye)
26. I'm A Good Loser
27. I Can't Be Myself
28. I've Done It All
29. One Sweet Hello

Disc: 2
01. Worried, Unhappy, Lonesome And Sorry
02. Somewhere In Between
03. The Sidewalks Of Chicago
04. The Farmer's Daughter
05. Tulare Dust
06. When The Feelin' Goes Away
07. Soldier's Last Letter
08. The Only Trouble With Me
09. Making Believe
10. Big Time Annie's Square
11. You're The Only Girl In The Game
12. The Conversion Of Ronnie Jones
13. Carolyn
14. It's Great To Be Alive
15. Someday We'll Look Back
16. Somewhere In Between
17. My Heart Would Know
18. Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)
19. Goodbye Comes Hard For Me
20. The Man Who Picked The Wildwood Flower
21. You Don't Love Me (But I'll Always Care)
22. This Cold War With You
23. Irma Jackson
24. Recitation: The Proudest Fiddle In The World (A Maiden's Prayer)
25. Turnin' Off A Memory
26. Grandma Harp

Disc: 3
01. They're Tearin' The Labor Camps Down
02. Bill Woods From Bakersfield
03. Old Doc Brown
04. A Shoulder To Cry On
05. The Funeral
06. Bring It On Down To My House, Honey
07. Combine Blues
08. Blues Stay Away From Me
09. Tired Of Your Understanding Ways
10. Hag's Dixie Blues #2
11. I Ain't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares For Me)
12. Moanin' The Blues
13. Don't Let The Deal Go Down
14. Stingeree
15. Lovesick Blues
16. Blues For Dixie
17. I Forget You Every Day
18. A Shoulder To Cry On
19. I Know An Ending When It Comes
20. Dad's Old Fiddle
21. I'm A White Boy
22. I Wonder Where I'll Find You At Tonight
23. My Woman Keeps Lovin' Her Man
24. It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)
25. Somewhere To Come When It Rains
26. My Woman Keeps Lovin' Her Man

Disc: 4
01. I Wonder If They Ever Think Of Me
02. To Each His Own
03. I Wonder What She'll Think About Me Leaving
04. I'm An Old, Old Man (Tryin' To Live While I Can)
05. I'd Never Told On You
06. I Wonder If They Ever Think Of Me
07. I Forget You Every Day
08. Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)
09. If We Make It Through December
10. I'll Break Out Tonight
11. Love And Honor Never Crossed Your Mind
12. This Is The Song We Sing
13. There's Just One Way
14. The Emptiest Arms In The World
15. Come On Into My Arms
16. Radiator Man From Waco
17. Uncle Lem
18. Daddy Won't Be Home Again For Christmas
19. Bobby Wants A Puppy For Christmas
20. Silent Night
21. Winter Wonderland
22. White Christmas
23. Silver Bells
24. Jingle Bells
25. Grandma's Homemade Christmas Card
26. Santa Claus And Popcorn

Disc: 5
01. White Man Singin' The Blues
02. Better Off When I Was Hungry
03. Things Aren't Funny Anymore
04. That's The Way Love Goes
05. Got A Letter From My Kid Today
06. Honky Tonk Night Time Man
07. A Man's Got To Give Up A Lot
08. The Girl Who Made Me Laugh
09. No More Trains To Ride
10. Holding Things Together
11. So Long Train Whistle
12. September In Miami
13. A King Without A Queen
14. It Don't Bother Me
15. Travelin'
16. Don't Give Up On Me
17. Here In 'Frisco
18. Railroad Lady
19. Old Man From The Mountain
20. Mirrors Don't Lie
21. Movin' On
22. The Seeker
23. Kentucky Gambler
24. You'll Always Be Special To Me
25. Life's Like Poetry
26. I've Got A Darlin' (For A Wife)
27. These Mem'ries We're Making Tonight
28. The Hobo
29. The Coming And The Going Of The Trains
30. My Love Affair With Trains
31. The Silver Ghost

Disc: 6
01. Where Have All The Hobos Gone
02. I Won't Give Up My Train
03. Union Station
04. When My Last Song Is Sung
05. I've Got A Yearning
06. Always Wanting You
07. Nothin's Worse Than Losing
08. Colorado
09. The Roots Of My Raising
10. Living With The Shades Pulled Down
11. After Loving You
12. Cotton Patch Blues
13. Runnin' Kind
14. Walk On The Outside
15. Let's Stop Pretending (Dirty Old Hat Band)
16. Right Or Wrong
17. It's All In The Movies
18. The Way It Was In '51
19. Goodbye Lefty
20. I Never Go Around Mirrors
21. Am I Standing In Your Way?
22. A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today
23. The Waltz You Saved For Me
24. Cherokee Maiden
25. What Have You Got Planned Tonight, Diana
26. Here Comes The Freedom Train
27. Campaign Of '76