Merle Haggard Album: “Mama Tried”

An underappreciated gem (I can't believe there are no other reviews). Many critics call this Merle Haggard's best album-- at least from the 60s-- and I tend to agree. It leads off with the title track, a great Haggard original (Bob Weir used to sing this with the Grateful Dead), and on this track as well as others, the use of one acoustic and one electric guitar provides a sound that both rocks and recalls traditional country. The band is excellent and the production is pleasantly subdued-- no soaring string sections obscuring the other instruments. Another standout track is I'll Always Know, also a Haggard original. Covers of Cash's Folsom Prison, and Green Grass of Home (which Cash did beautifully on Live at Folsom Prison), while they can't unseat Cash's versions, are very good. Little Ol' Wine Drinker Me is excellent, and Too Many Bridges to Cross Over is another highlight. Only Run 'Em Off is a dud, in my opinion.

Perhaps the most quintessential "Bakersfield-Sound" album ever recorded. Now you're covering a whole lot of territoy having said that. There's everyone from Buck Owens to Sonny James and Hank Thompson and the great Merle Haggard himself. Nobody could make you feel the hurt of having been taken from your home and living life behind bars. Nobody, not Johnny Cash, not George Jones, not even sweet ole' Willie Nelson. No Sir! Merle is special and this is Merle at his truest and best! Long live the sounds of Bakersfield...Long Live Merle Haggard!

"Mama Tried" includes the title track that is probably the best country song there is. Everything from the beginning riff to the lyrics to the ending. I have heard the song many times the last 40 years, but still get chills when I hear it. Get this album immediately.

I bought this when it was offered as a $.99 for the whole album special and it is one of the few albums that stays strong from start to finish. And let's face it, I would have payed $.99 for Mama Tried but instead I got 12 tracks at $08.3 apiece.

I like think of myself as a big country fan but never really got into the older stuff. I think it was a yr or two ago when I saw the movie, The Strangers that I heard this song. I finally decided to Google it today and found that it was Haggard. I love the song and since I recently started collecting vinyl I figured I'd by the LP. To my surprise the few reviews on here tout it as a gem, surely they're right because Mama Tried has a great sound and I can't wait to listen to the entire album.