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IF I COULD ONLY FLY
Merle Haggard
(Anti- / Epitaph)
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)