Live at Billy Bob's Texas [Live]

Merle Haggard | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 5, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Smith Music Group
• ASIN: B00000JQXV
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,872 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #15 in Music > Country > Classic Country > Bakersfield Sound
  • #96 in Music > Country > Roadhouse Country

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As Advertised: "The Ultimate 'Hag' Album", March 4, 2005

By 

Brent A. Anthonisen "Johnny Sideburns" (Alpharetta, GA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live at Billy Bob's Texas (Audio CD)

Considering how long Merle Haggard has been not only a recording artist but an absolute GIANT in the industry it's really surprising that there aren't a lot more live compilations of his work out there.

This one's been around for a few years and as a career retrospective/greatest hits/REALLY WELL-RECORDED live set it is awfully hard to beat, especially on a single disc. I'd have to short-list this as one of the concerts throughout the history of music I would have really loved to have attended.

Whether you enjoy crying in your beer or just drinkin' it, Merle has got you covered in "The World's Largest Honky-Tonk", Billy Bob's of Texas. The crowd is obviously into it, the band is absolutely sharp as a tack, and Merle's sixty-something year-old whiskey-aged voice has never sounded better. The overall sound mix is terrific; all instruments are heard clearly and the lead/back-up vocal arrangements are superb. This has to have been one of the best concerts the man has ever played.

The songs themselves are a primer to country music history, and certainly offer as good an introduction to Hag's work as anyone could hope for. Possibly the only standard missing in this set is "The Fightin' Side Of Me", but with "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink", "Workin' Man Blues", "Silver Wings", "Swinging Doors", "The Bottle Let Me Down", "Misery & Gin" (notice a pattern here?), "The Emptiest Arms In The World", "Mama Tried", "Today I Started Loving You Again", "Okie From Muskogee" (of course), "Big City", and "If We Make It Through December" (the song most responsible for getting me through my own layoff in 2003), you get a reall phenomenal collection of music played with a vibrancy that frankly studio recordings (even Hag's) just don't seem to pull off.

Just an incredible set...see this guy live if you get half a chance; if you can't see him, but this CD. Any country music or Southern Rock fan needs to own this. Anyone who was ever remotely curious as to why Merle Haggard is as well-regarded as he is needs only to listen to this CD once to understand completely.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Attended This Outstanding Concert, December 10, 2005

By 

Ho Chi Minh (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live at Billy Bob's Texas (Audio CD)

Yeah, I was there at Billy Bob's with 2 Buddies from Work, I'm Glad to say, because this is a truly Great Performance! The Songs have more life than the Recorded Versions, and the Hag's Vocal Nuances are in abundance, almost all of His Best Songs are here...The Greatest Country Artist EVER! By the way, the CD contains all the songs played in exact order, as well as the stage banter, a REAL Live Event, the Show finished about 11:58 p.m. December 31, 1998, an impromptu Haggard sing-along of "Auld Lang Syne" followed at Midnight, Not included Here...
Buy this, You won't find a better "Live" Album...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Merle Hits a Home Run, November 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Live at Billy Bob's Texas (Audio CD)

I keep playing this CD over and over. Reproduction is not at clean as the 43 Legendary Hits CD, but heck, it's recorded in a really-big honky tonk. Ambiance and audience reactions add to the listening experience on a great collection of hits performed for new year's revelers and the rest of us too. I recommend it.