Search - Merle Haggard :: Live at Billy Bob's

Live at Billy Bob's
Merle Haggard
Live at Billy Bob's
Genres: Country, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (18) - Disc #1

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 attr...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Merle Haggard
Title: Live at Billy Bob's
Members Wishing: 2
Total Copies: 0
Label: Razor & Tie
Release Date: 5/9/2000
Album Type: Live
Genres: Country, Pop
Styles: Roadhouse Country, Classic Country
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 793018500029

Synopsis

Amazon.com
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." --Marc Greilsamer

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CD Reviews

As Advertised: "The Ultimate 'Hag' Album"
Brent A. Anthonisen | Alpharetta, GA, USA | 03/04/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Considering how long Merle Haggard has been not only a recording artist but an absolute GIANT in the industry it's really surprising that there aren't a lot more live compilations of his work out there.



This one's been around for a few years and as a career retrospective/greatest hits/REALLY WELL-RECORDED live set it is awfully hard to beat, especially on a single disc. I'd have to short-list this as one of the concerts throughout the history of music I would have really loved to have attended.



Whether you enjoy crying in your beer or just drinkin' it, Merle has got you covered in "The World's Largest Honky-Tonk", Billy Bob's of Texas. The crowd is obviously into it, the band is absolutely sharp as a tack, and Merle's sixty-something year-old whiskey-aged voice has never sounded better. The overall sound mix is terrific; all instruments are heard clearly and the lead/back-up vocal arrangements are superb. This has to have been one of the best concerts the man has ever played.



The songs themselves are a primer to country music history, and certainly offer as good an introduction to Hag's work as anyone could hope for. Possibly the only standard missing in this set is "The Fightin' Side Of Me", but with "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink", "Workin' Man Blues", "Silver Wings", "Swinging Doors", "The Bottle Let Me Down", "Misery & Gin" (notice a pattern here?), "The Emptiest Arms In The World", "Mama Tried", "Today I Started Loving You Again", "Okie From Muskogee" (of course), "Big City", and "If We Make It Through December" (the song most responsible for getting me through my own layoff in 2003), you get a reall phenomenal collection of music played with a vibrancy that frankly studio recordings (even Hag's) just don't seem to pull off.



Just an incredible set...see this guy live if you get half a chance; if you can't see him, but this CD. Any country music or Southern Rock fan needs to own this. Anyone who was ever remotely curious as to why Merle Haggard is as well-regarded as he is needs only to listen to this CD once to understand completely."
Live at Billy Bob's Texas
Barry Biesecker | Pa | 06/11/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Merle's band sounds much better live than in studio.The solos are much longer and vibrant on this disc. A must have for Merle fans."
I Attended This Outstanding Concert
Ho Chi Minh | Texas | 12/10/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yeah, I was there at Billy Bob's with 2 Buddies from Work, I'm Glad to say, because this is a truly Great Performance! The Songs have more life than the Recorded Versions, and the Hag's Vocal Nuances are in abundance, almost all of His Best Songs are here...The Greatest Country Artist EVER! By the way, the CD contains all the songs played in exact order, as well as the stage banter, a REAL Live Event, the Show finished about 11:58 p.m. December 31, 1998, an impromptu Haggard sing-along of "Auld Lang Syne" followed at Midnight, Not included Here...

Buy this, You won't find a better "Live" Album..."