Merle Haggard: Roots: Volume 1

With his inaugural recording for the punk label Epitaph, last year's If I Could Only Fly, Merle Haggard sounded revitalized by the creative freedom his new home allowed him. It was good to have Haggard back in fighting form. The album showcased a legend whose creative spark remained unextinguished by years of commercial neglect and self-destructive behavior. Epitaph now seems prepared to indulge Haggard's almost comically prolific recording schedule. (This is the man, after all, who released Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album back in 1974.) Don't be misled by the title: Roots: Volume 1 may be the first in a new series of tributes to Haggard's influences, but it's hardly the first of his career. Haggard has never been shy about tipping his hat to the musicians and styles he loves, with albums dedicated to Jimmie Rodgers (Same Train—A Different Time), Bob Wills (A Tribute To The Best Damn Fiddle Player In The World), and the self-explanatory I Love Dixie Blues… So I Recorded Live In New Orleans, My Farewell To Elvis, and My Love Affair With Trains. Here, the focus is largely on the great Lefty Frizzell, but for the recording itself, Haggard had another idol on hand: Frizzell's guitarist, Norman Stephens. Recorded in Haggard's living room, and sounding suitably intimate, the album drifts through such Frizzell classics as "Always Late (With Your Kisses)" and "If You've Got The Money, Honey (I've Got The Time)," and keeps going to include songs by Hank Thompson and Hank Williams, plus three new Hag originals. As an artistic statement, Roots is far from startling, but that's hardly the point. Though his own successors may forget him, Haggard knows the importance of paying his dues, and his connection with the material is evident on every track.