
'HAGGARD' GOLD This old coot only gets better with age
Credits
Release Date: Sep 30, 2003; Lead Performance: Merle Haggard; Genre: Country/Bluegrass
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Do not mistake Haggard Like Never Before -- a deceptively jaunty, brief (a tad over half an hour) album -- as minor Merle Haggard. While the title song invites you to apply the pun of his surname to his aging musical prowess, the music refutes his joshing. There's a lotta spunk in the old coot: Beyond the typically anti-media, anti-Iraq-war-policy politics behind the single ''That's the News,'' ''Never Before'' has a fun novelty song (''Garbage Man''), a great ballad (''The Downside''), and a beautiful ballad (''Because of Your Eyes''). And, except for the novelty number, he wrote all those, and he sings them in a voice that, impossibly, has grown smoother and more flexible with age.
Posted Oct 17, 2003
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You Might Also Like
- Music Review The Bluegrass Sessions | Chris Willman
- Music Review Last of the Breed | Chris Willman
- EW.com Exclusive First Listen: New music from Merle Haggard
- Music News The fightin' side of Merle Haggard | Chris Willman






