Notes & Personnel Info |  | Includes liner notes by John Lomax III. | | After a nearly five-year stint at MCA, Merle Haggard left the label for Epic in 1981, where he continued his remarkable string of number one country singles and chart-topping albums. Even though he had no less than nine number one hits for the label -- and he had nary a one for MCA, although he reached number two often -- this time is often overlooked in the history of Hag, because it didn't produce many flat-out classics, which were not running short on MCA (where he did record "I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall," "Misery and Gin," and "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink"). That's not to say that the Epic recordings were without classics -- "Big City," "Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)," "Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room," and "Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star," along with the Willie Nelson duet "Pancho and Lefty," are all firmly part of his canon. But they were a little quieter, a little more laid-back, the sound of a middle-aged man entering a reflective period of his life and career, which is why, even when they were uneven, they made for a fascinating listen. However, as Edsel's 23-track collection Yesterday's Wine 1981-1988 (billed as 24 on the back cover, but due to running time, a live version of "Workin' Man Blues" was cut) proves, Haggard was hardly erratic during his time at Epic. His first two records, Big City and Going Where the Lonely Go, were masterpieces, and he constantly delivered good music, which is effectively summarized on this necessary collection. This contains all of his Top Ten hits for Epic, along with a couple of smaller singles and a few live versions of classic oldies (which instead of functioning as filler or bait for the general audience, give the rest of the music here context, especially since his weathered voice gives these readings a different feel), and in their own quiet way they're as solid a body of work as the MCA or Capitol recordings -- not as groundbreaking or influential, but they have a deep emotional resonance and are among the finest straight-ahead country of the '80s. The biggest songs here are included at the end of the absolutely essential four-disc retrospective Down Every Road, but Haggard certainly had more to offer on Epic, and this necessary collection is as excellent a summary as could be assembled on this phase in Hag's career. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine |
Musical Guests | | Janie Fricke | | George Jones | | Willie Nelson |
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