Tulare Dust: A Songwriters' Tribute To Merle Haggard

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 8, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hightone Records
• ASIN: B0000005QY
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #175,452 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

If you've been paying any attention at all, you know Merle Haggard ranks among the best singers country music has ever produced. What you might not realize is that he's also one of the genre's finest songwriters. For evidence, just listen to this tribute album, which finds a motley crew of roots artists performing 15 of their favorite Haggard tunes. Despite the absence of many of his best-known songs, the package leaves little doubt that, as the liner notes put it, "Haggard may be the last of a breed of great country songwriters that began with Jimmie Rodgers, and continued through Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell." Every composition radiates with Haggard's honesty, eye for detail, and strong point of view, and every track has the feel of a classic. The vast majority of the performances are as impressive as the songs. Tom Russell, who co-produced with Dave Alvin, delivers the package's most Haggard-like vocal on a beautifully handled medley of dust-bowl stories, "Tulare Dust/They're Tearin' the Labor Camps Down," while Alvin turns in a haunting "Kern River." Among the many other highlights: Iris DeMent's "Big City," which Haggard reportedly loved; Rosie Flores' interpretation of "My Own Kind of Hat," one of Haggard's many declarations of independence; Barrence Whitfield's version of "Irma Jackson," which addresses race relations via the tale of an interracial romance; Steve Young's affecting "Shopping for Dresses"; and the melancholy "I Can't Be Myself," where Katy Moffatt hits thrilling high notes. Nobody sings Haggard quite like Haggard, but these recordings are classics in their own right. ~ Jeff Burger, Rovi All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Iris Dement worth the price of admission, March 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tulare Dust: A Songwriters' Tribute To Merle Haggard (Audio CD)

Buy this CD if for no other reason than to hear Iris Dement singing 'Big City'. It's the best thing she's ever done, IMHO. If Angels ever come down and complain about their dead end jobs, it'll sound just like this. Only maybe not quite so sweet. Who knew old Merle could write something that could sound like an angel fixin' to turn in her timecard? It just goes to show, "the Hag" can do it all. Good tribute album to the body of work contributed by a genuine 'force of nature' in American music.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This tribute saved Merle's career, December 2, 2003

By 

Bt "Cat." (Parts unknown) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tulare Dust: A Songwriters' Tribute To Merle Haggard (Audio CD)

The story goes that ol' Merle was ready to pack it in at the time this disc was made. What happened? He heard some young angel named Iris Dement sing a version of his tune "Big City" and he melted. Merle said that after hearing Iris, he felt there was hope for country music after all! A nice story, but the truth is, this disc is one of the best tribute albums you're likely to hear anywhere. While Iris does shine, the stand-out track is Tom Russell doing "Tulare dust/They're tearin' the labor camps down." Fantastic. The rest of the disc is interesting. Some of it quite different than Merle's version, but good nevertheless. A good buy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Tribute to a Great Artist, September 15, 2004

By 

James Carragher (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tulare Dust: A Songwriters' Tribute To Merle Haggard (Audio CD)

The songs on this tribute to Merle Haggard show better than some of his own inconsistent work just what a huge, multi-faceted talent Haggard has been for decades. For those who might still only recall him as a tunnel-visioned patriot (neither Okie from Musgokee or The Fighting Side of Me are here, fortunately), Tulare Dust sets the record straight -- Haggard is the champion of each human's daily struggle (the title cut and A Working Man), the romantic of rough open road (White Line Fever, Ramblin Fever), and the chronicler of tragic romance (Kern River). Most surprisingly, perhaps, considering his origins and audience, he writes of love across the color line (Irma Jackson). Picking the best of this outstanding collection is tough, but try Iris Dement's amazing take on Big City, Dwight Yoakam's weepy Holding Things Together, Billy Joe Shaver and Ramblin Fever, but most especially Dave Alvin and Kern River. In just about the only disappointment, while almost all the other singer-songwriters deliver inspired covers of these songs, Marshall Crenshaw's version of the classic Silver Wings is bland and rote.

A must have CD.