Just Between the Two of Us/Fightin' Side of Me

 (8 customer reviews)

what a great album! my dad had this album on 8 track when i was a kid. i've been looking for it for 25 years and finally someone has re-released it! this is hag and the strangers at their best. the highlight of the album for me is merle doing his impersonations of marty robbins, hank snow, johnny cash, and a killer buck owens that you would swear is really him! if you're a haggard fan this is a must have. if i could own only one hag album, this would be it!

Just Between The Two Of Us,1966, Merle Haggard's second album on Capitol, shares the spotlight with Bonnie Owens, as they both showcase a pretty good collection of duets here with a solid country sound covering songs like Buck Owens', "Forever And Ever", Tommy Collins', "Wait A Little Longer", "Please Jesus" and countless others. Merle Haggard is in early top form, Bonnie Owens was probably one of the better female singers recorded, makes for an entertaining listen. This live recording, titled "The Fightin' Side Of Me" recorded,1970, in Philadelphia to a packed house, as Merle Haggard and the Strangers were in top form that night as they started out with a great version of, "Pride In What I Am", then Merle calls out the fiddle player,Chubby Wise, member of Hank Snow's band to help out on a Bob Wills number, titled "Corrine Corrina", the "hag" then introduces a Jimmy Rodgers tune, the "T.B. Blues" and sings it as if it was his own, remarkable, - Haggard was always right on key with a...Read more

YES, AS OTHER REVIEWERS HAVE SAID THIS IS HAGGARD AT HIS BEST, BUT BUYER BEWARE...I TOO HAD THIS ALBUM ON VINYL FOR YEARS. BUT THIS RE-ISSUE FROM BRITAIN IS HORRIBLY PROCESSED. THERE IS SO MUCH NOISE REDUCTION, IT TAKES AWAYS THE "AUDITORIUM FEEL" FROM THE ORIGINAL. IT TOTALLY COVERS UP LITTLE "SOUND" NUANCES YOU COULD HEAR ON THE ORIGINAL. THERE WAS NO NEED FOR THIS NOISE REDUCTION, THE ORIGINAL WAS PRODUCED BY CAPITOL RECORDS, FLAWLESSLY. IT'S STILL A GREAT RECORDING, JUST MISSING SOMETHING IN THIS CD RE-ISSUE. I WORK IN RADIO AND HAVE TAKEN MY VINYL ALBUM, RUN IT THROUGH ADOBE AUDITION'S "COOL-EDIT" PRO AND REMOVED ALL POPS AND CLICKS AND DID NOT USE NOISE REDUCTION AND COMPRESSION, AND NOW LUCKILY HAVE, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, THE RECORDING ON CD THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE. AND YES, I DO OWN THIS CD TOO, AND PAID WAY TOO MUCH FOR THE QUALITY I RECEIVED. NOW, THAT BEING SAID, THIS GROUP MUST HAVE LEARNED THEIR LESSON, BECAUSE THE FOLLOWING TWO LIVE CAPITOL ALBUMS FROM HAGGARD...Read more