Haggard,Merle Workin Man Blues Live CD

Hag's first live record of the 1990s finds him, at age 62, in strong form as he skims the cream from his own remarkable songbook. His voice may not have the sheer force of his younger years, but his singing is full of attractive nuances and passionate depth. His finely tuned band is another asset here, most notably Telecaster magician Redd Volkaert, who has digested all of Roy Nichols's classic licks and has incorporated them into his own risk-taking style. Longtime Stranger steel player Norm Hamlet, fiddle legend Johnny Gimble, and Hag's "best boy," ex-wife, and harmony singer Bonnie Owens all make vital contributions. Haggard also pays homage to his three main idols with covers of Bob Wills's "Ida Red" and Lefty Frizzell's "That's the Way Love Goes" plus his own brand-new addition to Jimmie Rodgers's "Blue Yodel" series called "Motorcycle Cowboy/Blue Yodel #13." Acrobat. 2005.

1. A Soldiers Last Letter 2. Big City 3. Faded Love 4. Folsom Prison Blues 5. Ida Red 6. If You Want to Be My Woman 7. Medley-Brain Cloudy Blues/Milk Cow Blues 8. Okie from Muskogee 9. Ramblin' Fever 10. San Antonio Rose 11. T.B. Blues 12. Take Me Back to Tulsa 13. Fightin' Side of Me 14. Fightin' Side of Me 15. Today I Started Loving You Again 16. Workin' Man Blues 17. The Bottle Let Me Down 18. What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life) 19. Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Star 20. Mama Tried