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It's interesting hearing Brooks and Dunn, Alabama, and Jewel (and Willie, of course) mixing it up with Merle, but in many cases it sounds as if Merle is just going through the motions or changing the songs just for the sake of change, rather than because there was a compelling reason to do so. If a person wants to hear the songs exactly as they sound on the radio--listen to the album at home. But in a "Greatest Hits" or "Best Of" package, such as this one, new wine should not be put into the old wineskins. Although I'm primarily an aficianado of rock and blues (and subgenres such as country rock, rockabilly, etc)., I love Merle Haggard's music.That having been said, this compilation is something of a letdown. In other words, in my opinion, these "oldies but goodies" are, on the whole, only about 75% as good as the original versions.If you want an overview of Haggard's work, get "Epic Hits" and "Best Of", not this collection. In particular, "Makeup and Faded Blue Jeans", "Leonard", and "5:01 Blues" should be among the top 43, but they are not represented here.Even more than the songs selected, the reason I was disappointed with this album is because the songs have all been modified (they are new recordings). First, as seems to be true with every retrospective, songs that should have made the cut didn't. I understand how musicians feel the need to update their songs over time, to change the feel, tempo, timing, phrasing, even lyrics, but I think that should be left to live performances.
His duets with Jewel are priceless and should not be missed. All of the great hits in one collaboration.
This is a wonderful cd. He has a wonderful voice, an awesome band, great tunes and amazing lyrics. The man is great.
About all the Haggard I'd heard was Mamma Tried and Oakie from Muskogee, so I was looking forward to exploring his work. I realized that I still hadn't heard this man's work, and that I had this cd. Like many others, I was fooled by this cd.
So I played it.What a revelation. I am looking forward to hearing the originals, and if they are better than this, then I will be truely blessed. When Mamma Tried fired up, I realized this was a remake and in a fit of rage I tossed the cd into the back of my closet.
Time passed.
Be careful, everything here is remakes. A few years ago, Merle Haggard sat down and remade almost all of his biggest hits in a mamoth recording session. Now all of these songs are spreading around to every cheap record company who repackages them.
he just didn't have the original strength & punch of his original recordings. I still respect Merle, and think he's still making wonderful contributions to real country music, but. It's like listening to Johnny Cash sing "Hurt," and imagining him singing Folsom Prison Blues in the same voice -- painful.Avoid, avoid, avoid. I bought this CD set thinking the songs were the original recordings. I was wrong.
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