A Tribute To The Best Damn Fiddle Player In The World: Or, My Salute To Bob Wills

Merle Haggard | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 20, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Koch Records
• ASIN: B000001SLO
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #252,815 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Brown Skinned Gal

2. Right Or Wrong

3. Brain Cloudy Blues

4. Stay A Little Longer (Stay All Night)

5. Misery

6. Time Changes Everything

7. San Antonio Rose

8. I Knew The Moment I Lost You

9. Roly Poly

10. Old Fashioned Love

11. Corrine, Corrina - Strangers

12. Take Me Back To Tulsa

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Merle Haggard and the Texas Playboys at their Best, February 26, 2000

By 

C. Earnshaw (Sedona, Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Tribute To The Best Damn Fiddle Player In The World: Or, My Salute To Bob Wills (Audio CD)

I've had this album for 15 years, and it continues to be one of my favorites. Merle always wanted to be a Texas Playboy, and here he finally got his chance. He made the most of it, with backing by some of the best to ever play with Bob Wills, many of whom have since passed on. The Playboys brought musicianship to country music, much as Steely Dan did to rock many years later. Here they are at their best, and Merle Haggard was a perfect fit.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Supurb and Deserving Tribute, April 26, 2001

By 

RGT (Houston, TEXAS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Tribute To The Best Damn Fiddle Player In The World: Or, My Salute To Bob Wills (Audio CD)

I'm also 33 years old but my parents actually had the LP of this great album. (What's a CD?) However it's been collecting dust for 25 years since it's too worn out to listen to. Plus, where is that darned old record player anyway! After recently acquiring this LP on CD, trust me, you'll be glad to hear this fine "tribute to the best" in true 21st century hi-fi sound (CD quality). Oh yeah, the songs are all good to, but I've loved this album since the '70s. Ahh Haa.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting historical document, but not a great record, December 5, 2003

By 

m_noland "m_noland" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Tribute To The Best Damn Fiddle Player In The World: Or, My Salute To Bob Wills (Audio CD)

When Merle Haggard hit superstardom in 1969 on the back of "Okie from Muskogee," in his typical idiosyncratic fashion, he chose to exercise his new found leverage over his record company to record and release his salute to Bob Wills, who by that time sadly had faded into obscurity beyond a few honky-tonk jukeboxes on the Texas prairie. Hag's championing of Wills was instrumental in the resurgence of interest in his music and some of his former Texas Playboys, such as fiddler Johnny Gimble were able to resuscitate their careers in the wake of this recording. So there is no questioning Hag's sincerity and dedication. What is at issue it the recording itself.

Bottom line: it's not bad, but it's not Bob Wills, either. Hag's band, the Strangers, is not entirely suited to this music, and it loses some of its swing. And while Hag's a fine vocalist, he is no Tommy Duncan, and his spoken interjections, a la Wills, don't really come off, at least to me. So I would give five stars for the intention and effort, but if you really want to hear "Time Changes Everything," "Take Me Back To Tulsa," "San Antonio Rose," or other Bob Wills classics...buy a Bob Wills record.