Search - Merle Haggard :: More of the Best

Companion to Capitol Collector's Series

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 04/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When the 20-track Capitol Collectors series compilation was released, the liner notes made it clear that there would be a second volume containing all the obvious omissions. Unfortunately, this plan was later abandoned. Rhino stepped in and released this collection to fill the gap. It is not the same as the second volume would have been, as it only contains 18 tracks and eight of those are from Merle's brief period with MCA. So even this volume doesn't contain all the omissions from its companion. Two other compilations (Best of the early years, 18 rare classics), both on the Curb label, contain all of the remaining omissions except Carolyn. The quality of the songs here is undeniable. Branded man, Mama tried, It's not love but it's not bad, Everybody's had the blues, If we make it through December and It's all in the movies - all classics that Merle recorded during his period on Capitol. You also get less famous but important songs from this period - Sing a sad song, Silver wings and White line fever, plus Someday we'll look back featuring Bonnie Owens.The MCA tracks include such classics as If we're not back in love by Monday, Rambling fever, I'm always on a mountain when I fall and It's been a great afternoon, all of which peaked at number two on the country charts. Of course, most of his Capitol hits had gone all the way to number one but Merle had more number ones in the eighties, after he moved to Epic.As the Capitol Collectors album is now out of print, so is this album. This is a useful introduction to Merle's music on its own but works best as a companion to that Capitol collection. Other compilations have since been released that make it easier to collect Merle's hits - these include double albums and a boxed set."