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Live from Austin TX: 1985

Merle Haggard
1 disc

1. Okie from Muskogee's Comin' Home
2. Texas
3. Thank You for Keeping My House
4. What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life)
5. Mama Tried
6. Misery
7. Take Me Back to Tulsa
8. I Knew the Moment I Lost You
9. Silver Wings
10. Misery and Gin
11. Ida Red
12. Place to Fall Apart
13. I Wish Things Were Simple Again
14. Amber Waves of Grain
15. I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 6090
Credits

Producer Cameron Strang; Gary Briggs
Engineer
Personnel: Merle Haggard (vocals, guitar, fiddle); Donna Faye (vocals); Norm Hamlet (guitar, dobro); Roy Nichols, Clint Strong (guitar); Jim Belken (fiddle); Don Markham (saxophone, trumpet); Gary Church (cornet, trombone); Mark Yeary (piano); Biff Adam (drums).
Audio Mixers: Chet Himes; Gary Briggs .
Liner Note Author: Terry Lickona.
Recording information: Austin, TX (10/30/1983).
Editor: Gary Laird.
Though recorded in 1985, this performance by Merle Haggard and the Strangers for the legendary PBS series Austin City Limits wasn't released until 2006 (as part of the Live From Austin, TX, series). No matter, though, since Haggard's music has proved timeless--LIVE might have been recorded in the mid 1960s or yesterday and it would still have that classic sing-me-back-home Bakersfield sound.
Haggard does his fans a good turn by serving up favorites ("Mama Tried"), lesser-known gems ("Misery and Gin"), and genre standards (Bob Wills's "Take Me Back to Tulsa"). The Strangers offer smooth, flawless support behind Haggard's lovely singing, and prove that even 20 years into the game they can still kick it up a notch when necessary ("Ida Red"). This is yet another fine addition to a Hag catalogue already filled with fine music.
Critic Reviews

Record Collector (magazine) (p.96) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[H]e runs through a selection of his best-known numbers and some Bob Wills tunes, picking up a fiddle himself for the latter."