Merle Haggard - Strangers/Swinging Doors & The Bottle Let Me Down

Congratulations Capitol country

Capitol country has done a fantastic job with these five 2 CD sets of Haggard's early Capitol LP's. Mastering is pristine and the extra cuts are all well worth including, especially Jimmie the Kid. Booklet including liner notes is thorough as well. GREAT job by Capitol, only wish they were continuing this set of releases beyond Haggard's first 10 Capitol LP's. March 15, 2007

All hail MERLE!

How great it is that 10 classic Haggard albums have been remastered and re-released on 5 CDs. For the price of one album, you get Merle's first and second albums--over an hour of music--and it's all top-choice. "Strangers" understandably find Merle a bit undeveloped (as he became classically known). His voice isn't quite up to its signature snuff and the arrangements/production still sounds a bit old-guard and not quite 60's Bakersfield. This said, it's still Merle, and it's still great. The title track, the early version of "You don't have very far to go," and the attitude in "I'm gonna break every heart I can" are all worth the price of admission. "Sam Hill," the novelty song, adds a little humor to the mix, and you've got Merle's first album.

What really gets this review the 5 stars is the second album. All the songs are at least co-written by Merle, and what great writing it is! At least 2 huge hits, for a reason (the two title tracks) still sound fresh today. Uptempo numbers like "The Girl Turned Ripe" "Shade Tree Fix it Man" and "I Can't Stand Me" are probably my favorites, but the ballads are among some of Merle's best. From drinking to heartache, Merle serves up a platter like only he can. Of all the reissues, I think this album has the best, most riveting pedal steel--every single song on this album is filled with lively, interesting slide work. As usual, the bonus tracks don't add too much, but they don't hurt the album either. If you're just getting into Merle, these reissues are a great place to start, and this first combo is probably the best choice as a first. You'll be hooked from the beginning, trust me. November 16, 2006

Powerful one-two punch of Haggard's debut and follow-up

Capitol's deluxe series of Haggard 2-fer reissues kicks off with his first two solo albums, 1965's "Strangers," and 1966's "Swinging Doors and The Bottle Let Me Down." From the get-go Haggard was a force; wedding the directness of Johnny Cash (who Haggard had famously seen perform at San Quentin in 1959) with the danceable Bakersfield beats of Buck Owens and Wynn Stewart (in whose bands Haggard played in the early '60s). He adopted the core of the Bakersfield Sound (including the crowd-piercing Telecaster guitar and driving rhythms), but tuned it with sorrow several shades deeper than the Saturday-night honky-tonk of Bakersfield's initial stars.

Haggard's debut was constructed from six pre-Capitol sides recoded for the Tally label, and a half-dozen more produced by Fuzzy Owen specifically for the album. Liz Anderson's lead-off title cut, "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers," sets the album's tone, with Haggard flattened by romantic fallout, but warily soldiering on. The album is rife with withered relationships and broken hearts, from Haggard's plaintive phone call, "Please Mr. D.J.," to a tearful cover of Wynn Stewart's "Sing a Sad Song." Even the revenge of "I'm Gonna Break Every Heart I Can" feels more like frustrated imaginings than a realistic call to action.

Bonus tracks for the debut include an alternate take of the Anderson-penned "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" that differs significantly from the version Haggard's subsequent 1967 LP. This early take substitutes harmonica for the later version's delicate guitar filigree, and employs a chorus in place of the latter's more polished harmony vocals. Also included is a previously unreleased cover of Jimmie Rodgers' train song, "Jimmie the Kid," a sweet, old-timey country-blues whose acoustic picking and dobro break fit Haggard wonderfully.

Haggard's second solo album (his third for Capitol, with the duet LP "Just Between the Two of Us" having dropped earlier in '66) is his first full masterpiece. Where his debut staked out the romantic desolation that also fuels this follow-up, his handpicked band, featuring the pedal steel of Ralph Mooney and signature guitar licks of Roy Nichols, kick things up a notch. Liz Anderson's haunted "This Town's Not Big Enough" and Tommy Collins' gospel-tinged "High on a Hilltop" complement ten Haggard-penned tunes, settling his romantic pain into the local watering hole ("Swinging Doors"), and finding that even drink may not provide escape ("The Bottle Let Me Down").

The sense of loss is nearly unrelenting throughout the LP, with Haggard singing of romantic triangles, self-loathing, and love that was never true. His desperation is at turns delicate, tearful, lonely and lost, creating a perpetual cloud of self-pity. The few rays of sunshine include the Buck Owens-styled "The Girl Turned Ripe" and the playful "Shade Tree (Fix-It Man)." A trio of bonus tracks includes a previously unreleased cover of Tommy Collins' "When No Flowers Grow," and earlier alternates of "Skid Row" (which turns up in final form on 1967's "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive") and "I Threw Away the Rose" (which turns up in final form on 1967's "Branded Man"). All three make worthy additions to an already-rich collection.

Capitol's terrific two-fer reissues include the original album covers (one on each side of the booklet), color photo reproductions, and newly struck liner notes. Fans are likely to have much of this material on previous single-CD reissues or larger box sets, but the album pairings and remastered 24-bit sound make these sets especially attractive. The lack of session credits, master numbering and chart positioning is regrettable (as is the lack of detail on the bonus tracks), but this can't detract from the magnificence of what Haggard laid down in the first place. [©2006 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com] April 5, 2006

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