Merle Haggard Album: “Best of Merle Haggard [Capitol 2009]”

Having only ten songs from Merle Haggard's fruitful Capitol records days hardly represents the "best" of his material. Sure these are great songs, and some of them, like "Mama Tried," would have to be included in any discussion of his greatest works. These are mighty fine songs, but the album is way too incomplete to really deserve a "Best of" or "Greatest Hits" status. It's far from complete enough to even give his songs recorded for Capitol records adequate attention. "It's Not Love But It's Not Bad," "Swinging Doors," "Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)," "Hungry Eyes," "Workin' Man Blues," "Things Aren't Funny Anymore," "Always Wanting you', "The Bottle Let Me Down,' and "Kentucky Gambler" are all number one hits or significant performances from the Capitol record catalog that should be included to create anything that could be called "Best."

That being said, the songs on this album are all good ones that Merle Haggard fans recognize and cherish. Perhaps the album should be called, "Merle Haggard, a Quick Fix," "Brief Introduction to Merle Haggard," or "Early Career Sampler."

If someone was stuck out of town and needed a quick dose of Merle Haggard, at $7.98, a little more than a six pack of beer, this is a fine pickup, but for a worthy addition to a person's music library especially for a legend like Merle Haggard, it comes up way too short. It's just a little teaser, that's all.