Legendary Performances: Merle Haggard

Written by Fantasma el Rey

Merle Haggard is a true country outlaw and with the Legendary Performances DVD we get fifteen classic tunes spanning 1968-83. In just under an hour we get a good look at what drove his popularity and made this former inmate a country music star. The Hag, as he’s known to many, has a straightforward style and simplicity to his music that everyday working folk can relate to. Hag sang about his first-hand experiences in life, love and troubling hard times. The outsider and outlaw posses a calm charm that helps convey his message through his voice and distinct sound, a sound that he would become known for and would be labeled the Bakersfield sound.

Merle Haggard was born in Bakersfield, California in 1937 and spent his early years in and out of detention centers, finally ending with a spell in San Quentin’s solitary confinement. While in prison he cherished visits by performers such as Johnny Cash and clung to his guitar and the music he loved. Bob Wills and Hank Williams were who he admired most and though young Merle’s music had nothing to with the rockin’ styling of other youths of the mid to late 1950s (though he had no problems with the young southern gents that birthed a hybrid sound of their own). Determined to change his life, Merle worked hard to gain his parole and never return, only looking back in song.

Mixing Wills’ western swing with Hank’s straight country, Merle began to write his life and thoughts in lyrics and began to sing at night around town while digging ditches during the day. By 1963 he was on a local record label and two years later his records appeared on the Capitol label. With The Strangers, a new recording and touring band that added more drive to Merle’s sound and along with label mate Buck Owens, they forged a new sound, one that would be named after the town whose streets they both had survived: Bakersfield. The rest as they say is history and plays out in Merle and The Strangers’ music.

The DVD gives a good look at Merle at the height of his fame. Beginning in ’68 with appearances on local music showcases such as Country Music Holiday, Country Carnival and The Porter Wagner Show, we have a Merle that looks a bit uncomfortable in front of the camera and corny sets. Leaving off in 1983 singing at the Country Music Association (CMA nowadays = Country My Ass) and a Johnny Cash Christmas special. The song selection is a perfect display of the themes that put Merle on the map, being the outsider, boozing over a lost love, and fierce pride in what he believes and who he is. Featuring hits like “Branded Man,” “Mama Tried,” “I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am,” “The Bottle Let Me Down,” “Swinging Doors,” “I Started Loving You Again,” “The Fighting Side Of Me,” “Okie From Muskogee” and “Workin’ Man Blues.”

“Mama Tried” is the story of a hell raising “one and only rebel child from a family meek and mild” that “turns 21 in prison” even though Mama tried to steer him straight. “Branded Man” is easily the tale of what happened after the rebel child was granted parole and wants to set things right and get his life back on track. “A branded man out in the cold” is the perfect example an outsider’s looking in; further reflected upon in “Pride In What I Am.” “Pride” follows the life of a homeless man as he wanders the hobo jungles and streets of Chicago while looking back on life. More classic Merle and the outlook of the loner.

“Swinging Doors,” “The Bottle Let Me Down” and “Loving You Again” are Merle’s thinking, drinking, and dreaming songs. Sad tunes that reveal a softer side of the outlaw filled with pain in his heart over the girl who left or that he left behind. He gets close to forgetting her but his friend the bottle lets him down, lets her memory creep back in, and he starts loving her again. The missing side of the outlaw heart is the loving song about hard times, struggle, and the love for family that drives a man to do his best to provide for them, “If We Make It Through December.”

“Working Man Blues” stands on its own and is here worked out in a rocking jam complete with yakety sax and pumping piano, yet Merle manages to keep the pace jazzy and rather than rock ‘n’ roll. Ever since I was a teenage “pin monkey” working for peanuts at the local bowling alley, the song has had a place in my mind. The song took stronger hold and meaning as the years passed and I learned what it is to give up much for the good of family. You drink a little beer on the weekends, think about bumming around, but go back to doing what’s right and providing for your loved ones.

“Fighting Side” and “Okie” might just be Merle’s biggest hits that came at a time when the nation was colliding into each other and sides were being chosen across the nation. Merle hits hard with these tunes, which are really just extensions of his pride songs. He gives his point of view strong and solid but manages not to go over the edge, seeming to say “I get what you’re saying but don’t cotton to it. So you stay on that side and we’ll get along fine;” Seems simply enough, “I’ll stand my ground; you stand yours.” “Okie” on the other hand is a tune that I could just never take seriously seeing as how Merle never did too much either. It was kind of a joke and came about as the band passed said town one day while touring. Merle thought about the troubles on college campuses and wondered about life, hippies, and dope use in small-town Muskogee, Oklahoma and it all rolled from there.

Legendary Performances - Merle Haggard is truly that and in bonus features we get to see an older Merle, comfortable with the camera and joking with the crowd at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony. We even get firsthand knowledge of the man’s life in an interview filmed with his life Leona in their big ol’ touring bus. Entertaining and well done, I find this disc easily added to the list of “best things to come across my desk this year.” So go get it, fan or not, it’s a good look at a living country legend and true outlaw.

Hank Williams: The Unreleased Recordings

Written by Fantasma el Rey

Nearly sixty years have gone by since the world lost Hank Williams Sr. yet his haunting voice and music continue to tug at our souls and pull us into the dark night of his own, expressed in his songs and the way he delivered them. Time Life has finally put out The Unreleased Recordings of Hank Williams. These recordings, drawn from remaining acetates cut in 1951 for his fifteen-minute radio show sponsored by Mother’s Best Flour on WSM Nashville, were to air while he was on the road touring and unable to make the 7:15am start time Monday through Friday. These 54 offerings of Hank’s heart show a different side of the man and allow us to see a bit further into his tragically short life.

His career was truly meteoric; he came on fast and burned out quick. A star of The Grand Ole Opry, the first “rock star” some say, he was on top of the country music world in 1951 and his future looked to be even brighter as he began to tackle the pop charts. By this time Hank had already had hit records with “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and “Cold, Cold Heart” while bigger hits would follow in the remaining two years of his life. Those last two years would yield the tunes folks remember most, “Hey, Good Looking,” “Jambalaya (On The Bayou),” and “Your Cheatin’ Heart” to name a few but here we have Hank in 1951 just as his music’s popularity rises and his personnel life falls apart all by the age of twenty nine.

His wife Audrey would soon leave him due to his out-of-control, binge drinking brought on by his exhausting touring schedule which called for him to be back in Nashville every Saturday night to perform live on the Opry, which eventually kicked him out too. Hank’s longtime back pain would also become increasingly unbearable, forcing a long postponed operation. No doubt made worse by the back brace he had to wear while touring and traveling in an overcrowded automobile. Some of that pain shows on these recordings at times ever so slightly. But as with his studio recordings he left his music behind for us to enjoy as much as he did and to bring joy to our hearts and relieve our pain as he did through music and singing.

Hank Williams’ sound covers a lot of ground, pulling from hillbilly, western swing, bluegrass and gospel. His voice is the perfect vehicle to put it all together and carry it forth to the masses. His vocals are a bit constricted to squeeze out a few lines but for the better part of his recordings, especially on this set, his warm baritone stands out conveying the darkness and sorrow he hid well yet let show in his vocal delivery and songwriting. Guitar solos are minimal (although he does allow it to take off a time or two), the upright bass fiddle plunks and plucks steadily as fiddles sway, and the steel guitar fills in the sound of weeping sorrow all with Hank leading the way with his acoustic pickin’ and strummin’.

The three-disc set contains some real gems as we not only get to hear a few of Hank’s hits, but tunes he had been playing for years that touched his heart. He turns the page way back for “On Top Of Old Smokey” to the way his grandmother taught him, slow and plaintive, not up-tempo as was the recent version. His baritone shines here as the boys fall in behind him and stop you in your tracks. Many spirituals and gospel tunes (“The Pale Horse And His Rider,” “The Prodigal Son,” and “The Old Country Church”) make an appearance as to be expected as it’s the music that these men grew up with and knew their listeners did too. Hank, who was not very fond of cowboy tunes, even manages to turn Bob Nolan’s sagebrush saga, “Cool Water,” into a very spiritual-sounding number, making it all his own and providing a new take on an old favorite.

Hank treats his audience to many popular tunes such as “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You,” “When The Saints Go Marching In,” and “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain.” A song or two of his studio work has traces of what will become rock ‘n’ roll. Listen to the lyrics again to “Hey, Good Looking;” you got hot rods, soda, and dancing dates. He’s only a few steps away from truly being the granddaddy of rockabilly. Check out “Cherokee Boogie,” “California Zephyr” and “a little masterpiece of nonsense,” as Hank introduces it, titled “Mind Your Own Business” with its added edgy verse about getting knocked around by the missus.

Hank and the boys are loose and playful on these live recordings while making only the slightest flubs, but that’s all good as it adds to the entire feel of the live show. As long as sponsors are mentioned, no one swears, and the station gets no complaints, everything is gravy. For all his sadness Hank manages to laugh and cut up even mentioning his baby boy “Bocephus” and the song he wrote for him “There’s Nothing Sweeter Than My Baby.” It’s also good to hear Hank’s speaking voice throughout the box set. It further drives home why people grew to love him so much. Again, despite his sadness, he has a warmth to his voice that carries over into his music and it is made clear in these recording aimed which were straight at the everyday working folks.

Hank Williams - The Unreleased Recordings continues the fine work done by the people at Time Life. Here, the song selection and order flow well and keep a good pace. The fact that it isn’t another best-of adds to the listening experience. While the 40-page booklet is filled with photos and informative liner notes by the very knowledgeable Colin Escott, it isn’t over done and reads well, providing enough info on Hank’s life to set the stage for the music. A good boxed set overall; it’s one of the best, if not the best, offers to come my way this year, and to think I nearly passed it up.

Glen Campbell: Meet Glen Campbell

Written by Fantasma el Rey

Meet Glen Campbell, ladies and gents, a well-loved and respected country music artist whose career has spanned over fifty years and seventy albums. Along the way Campbell has racked up many country/pop hits that have stood the test of time and are still spun on jukeboxes today, like “Galveston,” “Wichita Lineman,” and “By The Time I Get To Phoenix.” These heartfelt songs of love and everyday working life are what have made him the beloved icon he is today. With his latest effort he has handpicked some of the best rock hits of past years and has left his warm, slightly melancholy impression on them.

The 72-year-old Campbell chose ten mid-tempo rock tunes and with his calm voice and accomplished guitar picking has interrupted them in a way that is definitely his own. Although that doesn’t mean that these ten tracks are completely re-worked just “Campbell-fied.” If you know his tunes, mentioned above, then you have the basic blueprint for this CD. There are some surprising choices but they all lend themselves well to Campbell’s style.

The disk opens with Travis’ “Sing,” which is a wonderful tune that sets the tone for the rest of the CD. Campbell’s version is almost a complete cover and not a remake. What I mean is that the song remains the same, no pun intended, as the original. The instrumentation is nearly exact; Campbell’s vocals are close as well. Tom Petty’s “Walls” and “Angel Dream” get the same sort of treatment: “Walls” has the same sweeping sound in its string section and a good, solid beat, as “Angel Dream” strikes a chord with its galloping drums and banjo-picking.

Campbell covers some major modern hits as well with U2’s “All I Want Is You” and Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life).” Both songs come across as more country sounding as “Good Riddance” adds more instruments, but too little has changed to make them truly stand out as Johnny Cash did with his American Recordings (specifically “Rusty Cage” and “Hurt”), shaking the originals into something different. The same can be said of The Replacements’ “Sadly Beautiful,” Jackson Browne’s “These Days” and John Lennon’s “Grow Old With Me.”

Foo Fighters’ “Times Like These” strays from the original as Campbell’s version is not as electric guitar noisy and his vocals shine through, adding warmth to the song. “Jesus” by The Velvet Underground is the most tweaked tune on the album. It has a more spiritual feel to it as the bells and strings make it stand far from the Velvets version, giving a true country feeling as opposed to a New York City street vibe. Not that I think Lou Reed has no faith but knowing Campbell as a country boy makes it less of a satire and more an honest plea for direction.

Meet Glen Campbell is a very enjoyable CD and one I will listen to many times over, “These Days” has had the biggest effect on me and I can’t get it out of my head. Glen Campbell puts all his effort and love into these songs and it shows, yet as far as being a groundbreaking album it falls short. It is nowhere near the horror/comedy of Pat Boone doing heavy metal covers, but don’t expect Cash on American Records either. It is all Glen Campbell though, all his feeling, all his love and experience put into songs that fit very well into his repertoire, and some even sound tailor-made for him. Keep your ears open for the single “Good Riddance” on the radio, Glen’s first in many, many years.

The Band of Heathens

Written by Fumo Verde

I grew up on the country sounds of Willie, Waylon, Hank, and Merle and representing the ladies, Patsy, Dolly, and the sweet Miss Loretta. Acquiring a taste for the new sound of country kind of made me throw up in my mouth just a little bit, and why after Sept. 11 did every other song have to be about God, country, and family values? Thank reason for the Band of Heathens. Here comes a fresh style of county with genuine lyrics and a steady southern beat. Coming out of Texas after being noticed at the Austin Music Awards as one of the best new bands, these Heathens slowed down to make this self-titled debut. So crack open a cold one or pack a freshy-fresh bowl and get ready to enjoy some country music Austin-style.

“Don’t Call On Me” opens up the disc with a perpetual rhythm that will get your feet tapping as the guitar strumming feeds the beat of the drums. Clever lyrics tell the story of everyday life and someone who is fed up with it too. Nothing too complex, which is good when doing a first album because it gives people something to identify with, and this brings us in. Songs such as “Jackson Station” and “Maple Tears” have that down-home southern twang with instruments, such as the lapsteel, mandolin, and Dobro. “Maple Tears” has that “Home on the Range” vibe with a slight hint of Delta Blues. This song alone gave me goose bumps. Patty Griffin adds her lovely voice, lending a lonely soul feel and a sense of realism to the lyrics. This whole album has a deep soul to it, even on the one song I considered the “radio friendly” tune, “Heart on my Sleeve,” and I’m finding myself humming the chorus in my head every now and then.

For a first album the Heathens did a fine job with tender songs like “40 Days” and fun songs such as “Cornbread,” and though “40 Days” seems like a biblical reference the song talks about loving someone through a turbulent world. Again, Patty Griffin joins in and really gives it an emotional bump as a duet.

“Second Line” is another with a Delta Blues feel as the lyrics tell the tale of drunken debauchery over a backdrop sound of mandolin along with slide guitar played by Ray Wylie Hubbard, who helped produce the album. Gurf Morlix adds pump organ, which breathes a sultry sound, giving the tune a gritty taste.

“Hallelujah” closes out the eleven-track disc as the tale is told that for this band, the road is their saving grace and from what I have read about them, these katz are an “On The Road Again” band. From this CD alone I would highly recommend seeing the Band of Heathens live as I also highly recommend The Band of Heathens. I used to feel that mainstream sound of country was as down to earth as cow shit in the meadow, but now with these Heathens out there making music such as this, that has all changed. Get the CD and go see them if they come by you.

This is Fumo Verde saying that I like my cornbread in the morning.

Dwight Yoakam: Dwight Sings Buck

Written by Fantasma el Rey

Dwight Sings Buck is more than a tribute album. It’s a salute to country music pioneer and innovator, Buck Owens. Performed by Dwight Yoakam who is the best modern representative and torchbearer of Buck’s signature style known as the Bakersfield sound. What Buck began Dwight has taken and pushed forward, adding his personal touch to the sound making it something all his own. What better way to salute his hero than to record an entire CD of Buck’s popular songs that Dwight likes most.

The Bakersfield sound is an edgy, electrified/twangy guitar-led rockabilly approach to honky-tonk style country. Buck and Merle Haggard are seen as its founding fathers, although Merle has the rockin’ rebel attitude. His brand of the Bakersfield sound leans more towards straightforward honky tonk. Buck, the first star from Bakersfield, brought this edge to country music in the 1960s at a time when the music from Nashville was over-produced and string-laden. From early on Buck’s influence could be heard, especially in the new country sounds being made by a younger generation with names like Gram Parsons and Willie Nelson at the head of the pack.

Skip to the 1980s and another generation at the reins, fusing another element to the sound, giving it new life and sparking the flame a new. With Dwight Yoakam out front the Bakersfield sound would be blended with a punk attitude and even more rockabilly thunder. In the mid ‘50s Buck did record a few rockabilly sides under the alias Corky Jones; yeah, needless to say they went nowhere but do live in the hearts of fans. Dwight took it all up a notch and delivered to the world what I like to call “revved-up hillbilly music,” drawing heavily from his boyhood heroes Buck and Merle. Shaking the scene around with his debut album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. and eventually teaming with Buck on a remake of “Streets Of Bakersfield.”

Taking another step forward, Dwight has reworked his favorite Buck tunes and puts his stamp on the songs he respects. His band is sharp and brings their own revved-up sound to Buck classics such as “My Heart Skips A Beat,” “Down On The Corner Of Love,” “Love’s Gonna Live Here” and the mega-hit “Act Naturally.” With Dwight the sound is kicked up by a solid and more pronounced rhythm section, drums hit harder and the bass plucks louder. In his hands the sound has a sharper edge and has never been as tough.

“Under Your Spell Again” comes off like a Duane Eddy surf tune with its electric bass over the originals doghouse bass. Losing none of the attitude and only adding to the toughness of the song. Dwight tackles “Excuse Me (I Think I’ve Got A Heartache)” with the same energy and makes the Buck-penned tune a Dwight rocker. He gives the same treatment to “Think Of Me” and “Foolin’ Around,” letting his twang-filled voice and his band loose to spread havoc on the honky-tonk hardwood floor. Dwight also shines on ballads, pleading his love on the songs “Cryin’ Time” and “Together Again,” where the tempo slows and the piano gently rolls along while the steel guitar cries its pain right along side Dwight’s vocals.

No matter what he decides to sing from Buck, or anyone else, Dwight does a fine job and carries the torch with style that remains all his own while pulling from the past, looking toward the future, and expanding the road first trod upon by other country music pathfinders and trailblazers.