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5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
As Advertised: "The Ultimate 'Hag' Album" Mar 04, 2005
By Brent A. Anthonisen
"Johnny Sideburns"
Considering how long Merle Haggard has been not only a recording artist but an absolute GIANT in the industry it's really surprising that there aren't a lot more live compilations of his work out there.
This one's been around for a few years and as a career retrospective/greatest hits/REALLY WELL-RECORDED live set it is awfully hard to beat, especially on a single disc. I'd have to short-list this as one of the concerts throughout the history of music I would have really loved to have attended.
Whether you enjoy crying in your beer or just drinkin' it, Merle has got you covered in "The World's Largest Honky-Tonk", Billy Bob's of Texas. The crowd is obviously into it, the band is absolutely sharp as a tack, and Merle's sixty-something year-old whiskey-aged voice has never sounded better. The overall sound mix is terrific; all instruments are heard clearly and the lead/back-up vocal arrangements are superb. This has to have been one of the best concerts the man has ever played.
The songs themselves are a primer to country music history, and certainly offer as good an introduction to Hag's work as anyone could hope for. Possibly the only standard missing in this set is "The Fightin' Side Of Me", but with "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink", "Workin' Man Blues", "Silver Wings", "Swinging Doors", "The Bottle Let Me Down", "Misery & Gin" (notice a pattern here?), "The Emptiest Arms In The World", "Mama Tried", "Today I Started Loving You Again", "Okie From Muskogee" (of course), "Big City", and "If We Make It Through December" (the song most responsible for getting me through my own layoff in 2003), you get a reall phenomenal collection of music played with a vibrancy that frankly studio recordings (even Hag's) just don't seem to pull off.
Just an incredible set...see this guy live if you get half a chance; if you can't see him, but this CD. Any country music or Southern Rock fan needs to own this. Anyone who was ever remotely curious as to why Merle Haggard is as well-regarded as he is needs only to listen to this CD once to understand completely.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
I Attended This Outstanding Concert Dec 10, 2005
By Ho Chi Minh
Yeah, I was there at Billy Bob's with 2 Buddies from Work, I'm Glad to say, because this is a truly Great Performance! The Songs have more life than the Recorded Versions, and the Hag's Vocal Nuances are in abundance, almost all of His Best Songs are here...The Greatest Country Artist EVER! By the way, the CD contains all the songs played in exact order, as well as the stage banter, a REAL Live Event, the Show finished about 11:58 p.m. December 31, 1998, an impromptu Haggard sing-along of "Auld Lang Syne" followed at Midnight, Not included Here...
Buy this, You won't find a better "Live" Album...
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Merle Hits a Home Run Nov 07, 1999
I keep playing this CD over and over. Reproduction is not at clean as the 43 Legendary Hits CD, but heck, it's recorded in a really-big honky tonk. Ambiance and audience reactions add to the listening experience on a great collection of hits performed for new year's revelers and the rest of us too. I recommend it.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Motorcycle Cowboy Jun 11, 2000
By Jeff Ballard
One of his best CD's yet, he is truely a legend in his own time.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
If you could have just one Hag CD, it should be this one! Aug 19, 1999
Some things never change, some just keep on getting better. Leave it to Merle to improve on what were already some of the best recordings in country music history. The 17 Hag classics are freshly styled and flawlessly performed. You can sense how Merle engages his audience, especially on "That's the Way Love Goes". Any wind he may have lost with age is more than compensated for by his patented phrasing and what is still one of country music's richest baritone voices.All of The Strangers and their instrumental guests, including Johnny Gimble, were "On" that night. "Telewacker" Redd Volkaert merges the signature licks of Roy Nichols and James Burton with a cutting style uniquely his own. Norm Hamlet--steel player extraordinare-- has never sounded better, or played more, in over 31 years of Hag recordings. His tone and tasteful playing will raise the neck hair of most listeners and all pedal steel guitar players. These two pickers, Gimble, and Don Markham on the horns, do a fantastic job of blending and trading spots when it's their time to play. Country music fans everywhere will be impressed with this "real" country music. Merle does his mentors and longtime fans equally proud with this one.
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