"I've been a country music fan dang near all my life. There's only one time that I was willing to put out over $40 (which is a lot of money to a workin' man like me) for a box set of music and this is it. That was about a year ago, and I have absolutely no regrets. They don't call Merle the "working man's poet" for nothing. Just pop one of these CDs in -- sit back, and listen closely to the words. He sings about what life really boils down to -- the hurtin', the lovin', the laughin', the cryin', the dyin', and in a way that just soaks into your soul. Just listen to the words and emotions behind "The Fugitive", "Branded Man", "The Bottle Let me Down", and "Silver Wings" for example. Merle's isn't just successful at singing heart-tugging songs, he can also belt out "get up and boogie" songs with the best of them -- songs like "Workin' Man Blues" and "Stay a Little Longer". Out of these 100 songs within these 4 CDs, there's not one bad song in the lot. You don't have a music career that spans decades if you're not touching a bunch of folks out there -- and Merle does just that with his heartfelt, believable singing. But, if you're checking out this album, you probably allready know that. Thanks, Merle, for all the great music."
Best Merle Haggard collection available
D. Newton | southeast, USA | 11/04/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It would be rare for a major label to compile a better 4-CD Merle Haggard collection than this one. The box consists of 3 discs of Capitol material (up to 1977) and 1 cross-licensed disc of Haggard's later MCA and Epic recordings. Very listenable, since the emphasis here is simply on presenting quality songs rather than attempting to compile a hit list (consequently, many big hits are missing, especially from the later years). However, fans will have to search elsewhere to obtain "Old Man From The Mountain", "Natural High", "A Place To Fall Apart", "I Can't Be Myself", "Always On A Mountain When I Fall", "Every Fool Has A Rainbow", "What Am I Gonna Do With the Rest of My Life", "Going Where The Lonely Go", "We're Strangers Again", "Always Get Lucky With You", "My Favorite Memory", "Roots of My Raising", and several others. Still, this is the best collection available and features good sound and packaging."
Fantastic. An Absolute Must-Have for New and Old Hag Fans
JM | New York City | 04/24/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It's my humble opinion that Merle Haggard is the best American songwriter of all time. The songs of Merle Haggard resonate stronger today than ever before. It's unfortunate that country music now emphasizes tight blue jeans and big hair more than powerful lyrics and great music. From Merle's early 3-chord songs such as Lonesome Fugitive and Sam Hill to some of his later work such as Are the Good Times Really Over, Merle always tells a story with a powerful message. I find it ironic that some of the very same messages we find today in inner city-rap music about doing time, keeping it real, staying true to yourself, Merle sang about 30 years ago. The book that comes with the CD set is a nice little biography about Merle. Nobody will be disappointed with this collection. Merle is the epicenter of country music."
Yes! I love it... This is the REAL thing.
W. David Ferrell | West Virginia | 04/16/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Just when I'm sick of all the "Re-Records" passing themselves off as merle's hits... Now this one is the real thing. BUY THIS SET! For all you new country people out there who are looking at the "For The Record" set by Merle, buy this one instead. These are the original Merle Haggard hits, and some great album cuts too. You can trace his magical music from the beginning to the last big hits he had in the late '80s/early '90s... Don't miss this one. If only "Jesus Take A Hold", "Movin' On", "Turnin' Off A Memory" and "Kern River" were on this collection, it would be perfect. Buy it today.. Don't be fooled by the "re-fried Merle" collections that are out there today... They don't hold a candle to this!"
Almost perfect
Daniel Ribel Sr | Florida | 02/22/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Merle Haggard is one of the few artist I truly respect. This set almost contains all you need from the greatest country music talent ever. It is missing some classics, which you can find on the series of cds called Prison, Hurtin, Drinkin and Cheatin. These songs are Love and Honor, My Ramona, You can't be mine, I came so close to losing my home, Drink up and be somebody, Wine take me away, Some of us never learn, Who'll buy the wine?, Little ol wine drinker me, Making believe and Every fool has a rainbow. Those are the Capital gems not included. Only a few other label greats are not here, mainly I'm always on a mountain when I fall. I feel many of the songs, though good ones, on the box set could have been sacrificed for the ones mentioned above, but there are enough greats to make it an essetial collection nonetheless. Haggard, unlike George Strait and Conway Twitty, who are the only two country artist with more #1 singles, wrote the majority of his songs and albums, Hag is second in #1 albums as well. Only Hank Williams Sr. can be credited as such a great singer/composer of both the lyrics and music in the country field along side Haggard. Sure, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, are often mentioned, but if you examine the body of their work it is more 50/50 on what they actually wrote themselves or had written by others. And even Hank did not sing as good as Merle, in my opinion. Only George Jones challenges Haggard in that area. But at the end of the day, Merle Haggard is the best all around country music "ARTIST" ever."