The Hag still knows how to make an entrance. "Watching while some old friends do a line / Holding back the want to end my own addicted mind," are the first lines of Merle Haggard's new CD If I Could Only Fly. And the bald-faced candour of those words is pretty much par for the course on this satisfying comeback album from the country outlaw, now recording for maverick punk label Epitaph. Like Johnny Cash and George Jones, Haggard has never separated his life from his music, nor has he bowed to trends. These 12 tracks stick to that program as the 63-year-old legend reflects frankly on the good times (Wishing All These Old Things Were New, Thanks to Uncle John) and not-so-good (Leavin's Getting Harder, If I Could Only Fly) in his world-weary whiskey drawl over an Americana soundtrack that includes, blues, ragtime, honkytonk, country swing and simple, old-school country. As long as he can write opening lines like, "I knew some day you'd find out about San Quentin," he'll remain the last word in musical integrity.

Track Listing 1.Wishing All These Old Things Were New
  02.Honky Tonk Mama
  03.Turn To Me
  04.If I Could Only Fly
  05.Crazy Moon
  06.Bareback
  07.(Think About A)Lullaby
  08.I'm Still Your Daddy
  09.Proud To Be Your Old Man
  10.Leavin' Getting Harder
  11. Thanks To Uncle John
  12. Listening (To The Wind)