Merle Haggard Album: “Serving 190 Proof”

Description :

Digitally remastered by Glenn Meadows and Milan Bogdan. <p>Merle Haggard's music is great for many reasons. One is Haggard's voice, among the most expressive and beautiful in all of country music. Another is his insistence on working only with top musicians whose assets include an understanding of many traditional country styles, including folk, blues, and Western swing. Most important, though, is Haggard's ability to give voice to the quiet despair of those too romantic to give up hope but too cynical to believe those hopes could ever amount to anything but heartbreak. <p>This last ability is particularly apparent on Haggard's SERVING 190 PROOF. Whether bemoaning the grind and loneliness of life on the road ("Footlights"), describing a doomed relationship ("Got Lonely Too Early This Morning," "Driftwood," "Red Bandana"), or turning to the bottle for solace ("Heaven Was A Drink Of Wine"), Haggard expresses a longing for a serenity he knows he'll never have. As he makes clear in the deceptively upbeat "My Own Kind Of Hat," Haggard understands perfectly well where he doesn't fit in; he just can't find a place he belongs. All that separates Haggard from his audience, he seems to be saying, is his ability to transform his melancholy into art.

Hag's voice has deepened by this album and he uses that instrument very well here. This recording is as artistically superior as his Capitol stuff, but with a different sound and different topics. The whole album fits together, from the theme of running from life and trying to forget one's problems, to memories (false or imagined?) of a loving childhood, to staring all the problems a man can have in the face and declaring that there'll be roses in the winter because love is all we have to have (though you know a tough road lies ahead). A great combination of songs, singing, and musicianship. That this is basically a bargain bin album tells you all you need to know about the state of country music today. This album deserves a remastered, deluxe version with liner notes for godsakes.

This album has a permanent place in my "desert island disks". A top candidate for the best country album of all time. With the exception of the mawkish "Sing A Family Song", it is one great song after another. Hag delivers each song with acuity and makes you a believer.

The band is tight and contributes plenty interesting moments. I've always admired Hag for stepping outside the confines of traditional country arrangements (adding horns for example) and having the wisdom of assembling great players and letting them play.

Bookmarked by perfect, melancholy songs, "Footlights" and "Roses In the Winter", my favorites also have to include "Driftwood", for its great flat picking, and "Heaven Was A Drink of Wine", for its witty pathos.

This album showcases Hag at his best and it just doesn't get any better. It belongs in everyone's CD cabinet.

I have been a Merle Haggard fan for over 40 years. I saw in person once, here in Calif. He is top notch in my book as a performer and the kind of songs he plays. I am 80 and hope to outlive his performance days because he will be one of C&W's singers, EVER!!!! I want to be here as he continues his exemplary career.

I am an occasional listener to country music. I am a big fan of Mr Cash, and also an admirer of Hank Williams and Kristofferson. I am 62 years old and just discovered Merle Haggard. His voice is so remarkable, as soon as I stumbled over the threshold I got about ten of his records. This one, closely followed by 'Back to the Barrooms', are my favourites. In my humble estimation these two records are two of the greatest records I have ever heard. If you are looking for someone who has cojones and who tells it like it is, even if some of his honesty could be mistaken by the passer-by for cliche, Merle is your guy.