Merle Haggard - Greatest Hits - Finest Performances '1995

Tracks list

       GREATEST HITS contains 12 new versions of classic Merle Haggard songs.
Because it was recorded at Haggard's home studio in 1995 with his stage band
providing backing, the record sounds a lot like a board recording 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 time, and
Haggard, as always, sings superbly. None of the cuts here improves on the
original hit recordings (an impossibly tall order, given the excellence of
Haggard's early records), but nearly all are solid nonetheless. Haggard's band
sticks pretty close to the arrangements of the original records, but Haggard
takes some liberties with the melodies, playfully dropping down an octave or
back-phrasing on occasion. He never undercuts the songs, it's just that, like
the other great pure singer of his era, George Jones, Haggard rarely sings a
song the exact same way twice, which makes GREATEST HITS valuable to those
interested in hearing a slightly different take on these familiar songs.

Tracklist:
1 01. Merle Haggard - Today I Started Loving You Again (03:47)
1 02. Merle Haggard - Swinging Doors (Re-Recorded) (02:48)
1 03. Merle Haggard - Workin Man Blues (02:43)
1 04. Merle Haggard - Lonesome Fugitive (I m A) (03:17)
1 05. Merle Haggard - Mama Tried (02:11)
1 06. Merle Haggard - Bottle Let Me Down (Re-Recorded) (02:40)
1 07. Merle Haggard - Okie From Muskogee (Re-Recorded) (02:40)
1 08. Merle Haggard - Branded Man (03:12)
1 09. Merle Haggard - Hungry Eyes (03:39)
1 10. Merle Haggard - Fightin Side Of Me (02:54)
1 11. Merle Haggard - I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am (02:44)
1 12. Merle Haggard - I Think I ll Just Stay Here And Drink (Re-Recorded)
(03:50) 

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