[TR24][OF] Merle Haggard - Live From Austin TX 1985 - 2017 (Country)

Merle Haggard's October 1985 show had him picking a decent mix of signature hits with other equally well-crafted material. And while he's basically mute between songs, it's the music that Haggard shone on time after time. Throughout it all, Haggard seems to be right at home delivering what could be called a country kind of soul, particularly on the tender, heartbreaking and honest "What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life)". Starting slow and then picking things up just a hair in terms of the tempo, Haggard's electric guitar polishes off some nice licks, not playing up a storm but saying a lot with a little. And the band seems to feed of that vibe, with each given a mini-moment to strut their stuff. The first real highlight however comes with "Mama Tried" judging by the response from the rapt audience present. "I turned 21 in prison doing life without parole," Haggard sings as the song's swing-meets-country groove takes off. However, the ensuing "Misery" doesn't quite measure up while Haggard, with his name visible on his guitar strap around his shoulder, acts like a conductor briefly for this song.
One surprise is how solid the toe-tapping, fiddle-fuelled "Take Me Back to Tulsa" comes across. A bouncy, Texas two-stepper kind of song from the massive Bob Wills catalogue, Haggard seems to let himself go briefly and really gets into the song before Gary Church adds his own two cents worth of sound. But as nice as this song is, I'll take Cajun maestro Doug Kershaw's remake of the song "Take Me Back to Mama" any day of the week.
Haggard moves from fiddle to guitar and back whether it's the high-octane "Ida Red" that ends just a moment too soon. But he saves some of his best for the homestretch with "Place to Fall Apart" and "I Wish Things Were Simple Again", two songs that while decades old still have that timeless quality. And if Haggard's stories of heartbreak, drinking and life didn't turn your crank yet, he saves a great one for almost the last. Given the time of the taping, Farm Aid was just getting off the ground, and Haggard looks directly into the camera singing "Amber Waves of Grain". It's one of his better vocal performances of the 15 songs presented. And if you can't catch him on the road this year, part of which has him teamed with Bob Dylan, this snapshot of his music is a great addition to any country music lover's collection.

This 1985 performance of Merle Haggard and his swinging Strangers -- with a two-piece horn section that sounds like five -- were in fine form at Austin City Limits. There are 15 tunes on Live from Austin, TX many of them barn burners. It opens with "The Okie from Muskogee's Comin' Home," a fine choice since it's not a novelty song. Haggard sticks to his own material most of the time, and he rambles over it, pulling from classics like "Mama Tried" and "Silver Wings," to newer material from the MCA and Epic periods -- which were creatively fertile times for him. An example is in the lovely "What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life)," the fourth tune in the set. But there are more, too, in "Place to Fall Apart" and "I Wish Things Were Simple Again." There are two Tommy Duncan tunes here, where Haggard pays homage to his first real influence, Bob Wills -- "Misery," "Take Me Back to Tulsa," and one by Wills, as well as "Ida Red." Thankfully, a great version of Johnny Durrill's "Misery and Gin" is here from Back to the Barrooms, as is the wonderful closer, Haggard's own "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink," to take the thing out on the right note. It's true most could have lived without his pseudo-orchestral paean to xenophobic political values, "Amber Waves of Grain," but it wouldn't be a complete show without an accurate portrayal of the songwriter and the man. Haggard fans will dig this one just fine.