Customer Reviews

It's All in The Game

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This record turned me on to Merle Haggard. Driving through the hills of Southern Calif. 1984-5, listening to a little cassette, I discovered a treasure I'd not known before. Haggard's voice could not be better; it's mature, mellow, yet strong and in total control. I think his version of "It's all in the Game" tops the original by a mile. Not only is he in fine form, but he's backed by a crack band; their accompaniment is perfection--especially the guitar player who plays like country and jazz are cousins. This record showed me country can swing and it can have a little complexity. The nuances of love and life are expressed in Haggard's vocals. I always hoped I could find something comparable to this treasure in his subsequent albums but I haven't.

This is such an easy disk to listen to. The combination of a rich voice, good songs and arrangements make this one of my favourites. It's so good that often when it's through I just hit replay and savour it all over again.

Thank Heaven for little girls... is a song my husband has been looking for...since our daughter let him pick the song (her & Dad) would dance to at her wedding...It was a big hit...even for those people that aren't country music fans...It did arrive very quickly as well
thank you,
Fletch/VA

When Merle Haggard left MCA Records and signed with CBS/Epic Records, he made one outstanding debut album, "Big City." All of his other CBS/Epic albums never approached the vibrant sound of "Big City". Virtually every subsequent album contained four to six enjoyable songs and five lackluster songs, poorly written and performed by Haggard. This is one such album.

Included in this collection are two singles that made the Billboard charts: "Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room," a nice, shuffle beat dance tune and "Natural High" (with backup singer Janie Fricke. There is also a new rendition of Ernest Tubb's "You Nearly Lose Your Mind" and three other songs are not songs you would expect to find in a Haggard album: "It's All in the Game", the old pop hit for Tommy Edwards; Maurice Chevalier's "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" and "To All the Girls I've Love Before" which Willie Nelson & Julio Iglesias recorded and turned it into a huge pop hit.

Haggard would be wise at this stage of his career to abandon writing and record some vibrant, new tunes by other talented songwriters. Like so many of Haggard's later albums, this album is not great Haggard, but the six cuts warrant adding it to your collection. Recommended.