Wow. Merle Haggard. Now, he's come through Kansas City in recent memory, but he played the Midland, which is a fairly high-end joint. Let's be fair: country as Kansas City is, it's got nothing on Topeka. My wife and I saw George Jones at the Topeka Performing Arts Center back in February, and the people watching is worth half the ticket price alone. And when you figure these classic country shows run $40 to $60, you need all the entertainment value you can get from your dollar. Thankfully, there's not a bad seat in the house at the TPAC.
I've never seen Mr. Haggard live before, but I do own both Okie From Muskogee and The Fightin' Side of Me, live albums from 1969 and 1970, respectively. They were both recorded during Haggard's time as a rising star, and they are electric. He's got the audience eating out of the palm of his hand; he was quite possibly the most personable entertainer around those days, playing his songs with aplomb as well as covers by artists like Jimmie Rodgers (if you don't own Same Train, Different Time, then shame on you) and Bob Wills.
In the course of a covers medley on The Fightin' Side of Me he does several impersonations. His Marty Robbins and Johnny Cash aren't too bad, but Haggard does spot-on, pitch-perfect takes on Hank Snow and Buck Owens. Combine the live records with this review from the last time he played Topeka, in 2002, and I am in full-bore fanboy mode, especially when I start thinking about his list of hits.
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I was actually referring to Roots, Vol. 1. I thought this was a much more recent album than 2001 since I only discovered it in the last year or so. But it's a good listen nonetheless.
Well, Shirley, I'm actually waiting on that George Jones cd. I'll let you know when it gets here.
the latest cd by the Great George Jones is
A COLLECTION OF MY BEST RECOLLECTION
it has a 5 star rating at Country stars Central and is at #23 on the Billboard Country Charts we would all love to see it it the #1 spot
this cd is awesome has 10 most requested nd 2 previously unreleased songs
its available only at crackerbarrel restuaraunts or crackerbarrel.com
and if you get the cd and the webkinz opossum at Crackerbarrel send a picture of yourself with the cd and oppossum to the George Jones twitter site.you could win a cool prize good luck. lets get this cd to #1 and show the people in Nashville that we still love real Country Music and The Possum is not ready for a Rocking Chair yet thanks
I didn't know what his latest album was, so I went looking for a title. Still don't know. The guy's name is on so many live albums, re-releases, greatest hits, special sessions, etc. on various labels and such over the years that it's impossible to keep track. Hag had four records come out in 2004 alone. And who knows what his involvement is with any given release? It's rather impressive.
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll...|HAGGARD&sql=11:3ifrxql5ldse~T2
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