Merle Haggard Album: “16 Biggest Hits”

Description :

Producers include: Merle Haggard, Dean Holloway, Lewis Talley. Recorded between 1981 and 1996. All tracks have been digitally remastered using HDCD technology. This is part of Legacy's "16 Biggest Hits" series. Remastered in HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital). In 1995, Merle Haggard and his band the Strangers re-recorded many of Haggard's hits. Those recordings have since been licensed to various record companies, including one of the Hag's old labels, Epic. For 16 BIGGEST HITS, Epic licensed 13 rerecordings of hits Haggard originally released on Capitol and MCA, then completed the disc with three of Haggard's Epic hits. Haggard's new versions of his classics are appealing, even if they add little to the original recordings. Because these recordings were made at Haggard's home studio with his stage band providing backing support, they sound a lot like board recordings of a '95 Merle Haggard concert. The sound is simple but clean, the band plays with the confidence of a group that has played the material hundreds of times, and Haggard, as always, sings superbly. A few of the choices are odd--are "The Fighting Side Of Me" and "Daddy Frank" really among Haggard's 16 biggest or best hits?--but BIGGEST HITS remains a solid collection nonetheless. All these re-recordings, and a dozen others, are available on two Sun records, CLASSICS and GREATEST HITS-FINEST PERFORMANCES.

I withhold one star from this because these tracks were all recorded in October, 1994, although the original singles were released in the '60's, 70's and 80's. That said, it is still a fine one-disc collection of SOME of Merle's best. His voice was still great in '94, and the man knows how to write a song and put one over. "Lonesome Fugitive" and "Branded Man" and "Sing Me Back Home" and "Fightin' Side of Me" and "Big City" are all great. "Mama Tried" is universal. There is a two-CD collection just released earlier this year (2004) which probably represents the artist more completely, but if you find this one at a good price, it should please all his fans. Merle sings "Working Man Blues" on this disc, and I have tickets to see him perform on July 3rd. Check out his website and you'll see he works a heck of a lot for an old geezer born in 1937 (seven years older than I am!) He is one of country's greatest singers, along with Jones and Cash and Nelson, and still has something to say to music fans young enough to be his grandchildren.

Okay, so you might be wondering why I love this album so much being that my main staple of music is punk and metal. To me the answer isn't so difficult. Merle Haggard is an artist whose music has touched the lives of people everywhere. this man has been not only a monumental inspiration to members of the country/ western genre, but to people of ALL musical diversities. For me, Haggard stands supreme above all other musicians.

The CD is not the problem. The problem is that it doesn't say that these are re-recordings on the front cover. So, people expecting the originals feel like they've gotten ripped off.

However, Merle's voice has gotten better over time. It's deeper and more nuanced. Recording technology has also improved since the 60s. Combine all that into one package, and you've got this collection right here. So, if what you're after is the nostalgia of the original recordings, then this isn't it. But if you prefer his old man voice: the smoky, honey whiskey, country legendary voice, then this is the collection for you.

You take a look at the track listing and you notice all the undeniable, country hall of fame classics such as Bottle Let Me Down, Swinging Doors and Sing Me Back Home, & you think what a great collection. Then you put the disc in & immediately realize these are rerecordings. Granted, Merle's voice sounds wonderful considering these rerecordings are from 1994. And the songs stay somewhat true to the originals, which makes one wonder why not just use the originals? The songs themselves are worth 4 stars (if they had been the original versions, my rating would be 5 plus). A simple sticker on the front alerting one to the true nature of these recordings would have been more than sufficient. Record labels have a history of fleecing people out of their money. This collection goes a long way towards explaining why people obtain music illegally, and why no one felels sorry for the financial downfall of the recording industry.