Merle Haggard, If I Could Only Fly - 35m 48s

Tracks & Durations

1. Wishing All These Old Things Were New	3:20
2. Honky Tonky Mama	3:07
3. Turn To Me	3:10
4. If I Could Only Fly	4:59
5. Crazy Moon	2:07
6. Bareback	2:12
7. (Think About a) Lullaby	2:24
8. I'm Still Your Daddy	2:54
9. Proud To Be Your Man	2:26
10. Leavin's Getting Harder	2:10
11. Thanks To Uncle John	2:43
12. Listening (To The Wind)	4:10

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Review

On his first new studio album in four years, Merle Haggard writes bluntly about his own life experience and his own thoughts--only now, at age 63, his thoughts have turned toward fatherhood, marriage, and the stability of home life. When Hag bares his soul as he does here, it still makes for gripping music, no matter what the themes may be. --Marc GreilsamerMerle Haggard is still singing about Merle Haggard, and the results are as compelling as ever. He still writes plainspoken, brutally honest lyrics and he still sings with passion. Above all, he can still skillfully combine them in ways that make the whole far better than the sum of its parts. There is still profundity in his economy of words and there is still an element of mythology in his honesty. If I Could Only Fly changes the man's perspective to be sure: no longer is he recalling his mama and daddy, his modest upbringing, his wild youth, and his outsider's fate. Instead, he grapples with aging, comes to grips with familial responsibilities, and learns to appreciate the wonders of home life versus the pitfalls of the highway. He boasts maturity that he was sure he'd never have, maturity that he paid dearly to attain. And while his diminished vocal range may be the cost of age, his singing now carries with it a conviction that is age's reward--in fact, this sort of tradeoff serves as a perfect analogy. The fact that Haggard has released this record on a punk label really comes as no surprise; if nothing else, it gave him and the Strangers an opportunity to craft a wise, tasteful, minimalist record in the friendly confines of Hag's home studio. But it's awfully sad that the country world has no use for Merle Haggard's hard-earned wisdom. --Marc Greilsamer

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