Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(54 customer reviews) 18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Pure Country,
September 3, 2005 KZR (Georgetown, TX) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Down Every Road (Audio CD)
I've been a country music fan dang near all my life. There's only one time that I was willing to put out over $40 (which is a lot of money to a workin' man like me) for a box set of music and this is it. That was about a year ago, and I have absolutely no regrets. They don't call Merle the "working man's poet" for nothing. Just pop one of these CDs in -- sit back, and listen closely to the words. He sings about what life really boils down to -- the hurtin', the lovin', the laughin', the cryin', the dyin', and in a way that just soaks into your soul. Just listen to the words and emotions behind "The Fugitive", "Branded Man", "The Bottle Let me Down", and "Silver Wings" for example. Merle's isn't just successful at singing heart-tugging songs, he can also belt out "get up and boogie" songs with the best of them -- songs like "Workin' Man Blues" and "Stay a Little Longer". Out of these 100 songs within these 4 CDs, there's not one bad song in the lot. You don't have a music...Read more
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Best Merle Haggard collection available,
November 3, 2002 D. Newton (southeast, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Down Every Road (Audio CD)
It would be rare for a major label to compile a better 4-CD Merle Haggard collection than this one. The box consists of 3 discs of Capitol material (up to 1977) and 1 cross-licensed disc of Haggard's later MCA and Epic recordings. Very listenable, since the emphasis here is simply on presenting quality songs rather than attempting to compile a hit list (consequently, many big hits are missing, especially from the later years). However, fans will have to search elsewhere to obtain "Old Man From The Mountain", "Natural High", "A Place To Fall Apart", "I Can't Be Myself", "Always On A Mountain When I Fall", "Every Fool Has A Rainbow", "What Am I Gonna Do With the Rest of My Life", "Going Where The Lonely Go", "We're Strangers Again", "Always Get Lucky With You", "My Favorite Memory", "Roots of My Raising", and several others. Still, this is the best collection available and features good sound and packaging.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Fantastic. An Absolute Must-Have for New and Old Hag Fans,
April 24, 1998 JM "JM" (New York City) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Down Every Road (Audio CD)
It's my humble opinion that Merle Haggard is the best American songwriter of all time. The songs of Merle Haggard resonate stronger today than ever before. It's unfortunate that country music now emphasizes tight blue jeans and big hair more than powerful lyrics and great music. From Merle's early 3-chord songs such as Lonesome Fugitive and Sam Hill to some of his later work such as Are the Good Times Really Over, Merle always tells a story with a powerful message. I find it ironic that some of the very same messages we find today in inner city-rap music about doing time, keeping it real, staying true to yourself, Merle sang about 30 years ago. The book that comes with the CD set is a nice little biography about Merle. Nobody will be disappointed with this collection. Merle is the epicenter of country music.
