concert_goer | Merle Haggard — Down Every Road 1962

This 4CD box comprises 100 songs Merle recorded between 1962 and 1994, offering more than four and a half hours of music. The first disc begins with Haggard's earliest known material for Talley Records, such as Skid Row and Sing a Sad Song, and then moves on to his first chart hits. The second part of the set focuses on a short but very prolific stretch from 1968 to 1970, when Merle released standout tracks like The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde, Mama Tried, and Hungry Eyes. His straightforward yet highly effective songwriting, combined with strong and expressive singing, shines throughout the first two discs.

Things become a little less exciting on the third CD, which wraps up in 1977, and on the last one as well, but both remain quite consistent, with a lot of truly delightful tunes, even from the eighties. I spent the whole weekend listening to these Haggard songs, many of which I know very well, and it was pure joy from beginning to end. There are no tracks from the last twenty years of Merle's career, which makes sense as the collection was released in 1996. Moreover, it essentially stops in 1983, with only one song from the nineties included.

The box itself is terrific. It comes in a proper old school long format, with the CDs housed in jewel cases and an excellent accompanying book. An awesome edition!