Neither age nor a run-in with lung cancer has seemed to make a dent in Merle Haggard. I Am What I Am gives fans what they would hope for, and in spades. The opening track, "I've Seen It Go Away" is another song in the long (and damn good) line of Merle Haggard populist tunes, and "I Am What I Am" is another one of Merle's winning odes to honest individualism, warts and all. Listening to this cd, I was stunned by the consistent quality of the work. Thirty years ago, at least three or four of the songs wo..
Bakersfield's own Merle Haggard releases "I Am What I Am", his first album in three years on Vanguard Records. It's a bit of a comeback record of sorts. Unlike most comeback records, this album was written and produced entirely by the man himself with production assistance from Lou Bradley. The album starts off with "I've Seen It Go Away" in which Merle laments over the state of the world. "Stranger In The City" is a ballad about a traveling musician that refuses to stray from his marriage. Further down the..
After "The Bluegrass Sessions" in 2007, I had high expectations...and this CD delivers on them in new, exciting, and unexpected ways. Merle is, as always, great. I've been a fan of his music since my father listened to it when I was a kid, and he's only gotten better with age. After the strange, akward funk of the 90's, Haggard seems to have realized the limitations age has imposed on his voice and learned to fully utilize what still works. The results have been a musician growing older with grace and dign..
