Merle Haggard Album: “Live from Austin, TX [DVD]”

He had a great band back then, with horns added for his typical "country jazz" sound. Hag is in great shape vocally, too. The musicians all excel with great solos. So why only four stars. Just personal taste, I guess. I would have liked to hear songs like "Today I started lovin' you again", "swinging doors" plus other old, bluesy tunes. But, by all means, this is a disc well worth owning. Both picture and sound are top notch.

This was filmed on January 18, 1978. It has a running time of approximately 52 minutes. Overall, I was a little disappointed, I was expecting a better show. It's good, but it comes across as a little too "mellow" for me.

The line-up:

Merle Haggard - guitar, fiddle, vocals

Bonnie Owens (Merle's Ex)- tamborime, backing vocals

Ronnie Reno - guitar

Biff Adam - drums

Paul Anastasio - fiddle

Wayne Durham - bass

Norman Hamlet - steel guitar

Don Markham - saxaphone, trumpet

Roy Nichols - guitar

Gordon Terry - fiddle

Mark Yeary - piano

The songs:

1.Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today

2.Silver Wings (A Merle Haggard Classic)

3.Ramblin' Fever

4.Lonesome Fugitive

5.Sing Me Back Home (Another Merle Haggard Classic)

6.Orange Blossom Special

7.Old Fashioned Love

8.Long Black Limousine

9.Cherokee Maiden

10.San Antonio Rose (a Bob Wills song)

11.Misery

12.Farmer's Daughter

13.Brain Cloudy Blues

14.Workin' Man Blues (Another Merle Haggard Classic)

Thanks!!!!

Merle at his peak! Taped Austin City Limits performance from the 1980's. Merle's voice and guitar sound great and his band, The Strangers, is top notch. Have watched this one many times over and it never gets old.

Arrived very quickly and in excellent shape. This is a great collectors item for anyone who admires the one and only Merle Haggard. Great performance by the Hag.

Great to see him in middle age with some great songs. Funny my kids didn't want to see him, but after asking them to just watch one song, they loved it. Has some minor gliches but all in all great.