Merle Haggard - Going Where The Lonely Go '1982; 2015

Tracks list

Living Legends collects songs from Conway Twitty, George Jones, and Merle
Haggard. Haggards Yesterdays Wine, Jones He Stopped Loving Her Today, and
Twittys Hello Darlin are among the albums highlights; while this collection is
far from definitive, its also an entertaining, concise reminder of why these
three artists are considered living legends.“

„Recorded after his Columbia hit Big City, Going Where the Lonely Go is
one of Merle Haggards most criminally overlooked recordings. Recorded in 1982,
the vibe is one of Haggards most laid-back albums, co-produced with Lewis
Talley, one of Nashvilles kings of understatement (not that there are many).
Haggard wrote over half the album, the rest comprised of two songs by his
then-wife, Leona Williams; a co-write with Little Jimmy Dickens; Willie Nelsons
Half a Man; and Jimmy Davis Nobodys Darlin but Mine. But it is Haggards songs
that make this a stellar outing. The title track is a piece of pure country
poetry. A painfully slow 4/4 time signature fronted by a bassline, adorned by a
three-chord pattern, and filled by slippery piano lines, Haggard sings, Rollin
with the flow/Goin where the lonely go/Anywhere the lights are low/Goin where
the lonely go/Makin up things to do/Not runnin in all directions tryin to find
you/Im just rollin with the flow/Goin where the lonely go/And Ive got to keep
goin/I cant lay down/Sleep wont hardly come/Where theres loneliness all
around/Ive got to keep goin/Travellin down this lonesome road/Ill be rollin with
the flow/Goin where the lonely go. As Haggard gets to the bridge, a steel guitar
and lead guitar trade lines as strings fall in from the edges and cascade around
his gorgeous, bluesy voice. The next track, Why Am I Drinkin?, is pure honky
tonk blues, full of heartbreak and resignation when he asks the question, Is
love just another word for memory?/And is love just another word for pain?/The
question is love really the answer/And if so why is love so much to blame/If
love is what were really after, then why am I runnin away?/And why am I
drinkin/Why am I hurtin this way? The guitars and fiddles wend their way around
Norm Hamletts gorgeous pedal steel and drive home the desolate edge in the song.
I Wont Give up My Train, another country ballad, is particularly poignant, as
Haggard addresses the metaphor of his life in music via a brakeman who is
married and probably wont be for long, because his wife is tired of always
waiting for him. Hargus Pig Robbins piano is unmistakable as it ushers in the a
narrative of paradox, contradiction, and loss. When Hag sings, The baby came in
April in Chicago in the pourin rain/With 12 black cars and empty tank/With three
box cars and an empty sack of mail, we can hear Jimmy Rogers in the grain of his
voice, calling from out in the freight yards of history. Other notables are the
truly moving Shopping for Dresses (With No One to Wear Them), written with
Dickens, and For All I Know, another broken-love song from the other side of
loves great divide. Haggard and the Strangers were one of the tightest and most
sophisticated bands in country music, inspired by the elaborate arrangements of
Bob Wills band, to the point where Haggards music from this period transcends
country music in its appeal and elegance. Its a pity this one didnt get the
notice it deserved -- its a masterpiece.“ (Thom Jurek, AMG)

Merle Haggard, vocals
George Jones, vocals
Conway Twitty, vocals

Tracklist:
01. Merle Haggard - Going Where the Lonely Go (4:51)
02. Merle Haggard - Why Am I Drinkin (2:44)
03. Merle Haggard - If I Left It Up To You (2:38)
04. Merle Haggard - I Wont Give Up My Train (4:37)
05. Merle Haggard - Someday Youre Gonna Need Your Friends (4:06)
06. Merle Haggard - Shopping for Dresses (2:40)
07. Merle Haggard - You Take Me For Granted (2:44)
08. Merle Haggard - Half A Man (4:10)
09. Merle Haggard - For All I Know (4:00)
10. Merle Haggard - Nobodys Darling But Mine (3:35)

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