Merle Haggard Album Recommendations

A must have IMHO is Merle and Willie Nelson "Pancho and Lefty".

. . . man am I glad you posted this question. I picked up "Pancho and Lefty" a few months ago and every time I listen to it I keep thinking Merle has a fantastic voice, I gotta get more by him. I'll be picking up some of the suggestions here for my own collection.

Kern River is by far my favorite.

CD is hard to find, great recording.

Second, Kern River. Also, if you like Merle Haggard, give Joe Nichols a try. I think he has the best male voice in country music in recent history, although his choice of material has not always been the best. However, his "Revelation" album is quite good and he is certainly influenced by Merle. Also, if you want to go back to Merle's influences, you can try Lefty Frizell and Vern Gosdin.

Thanks for your suggestions. Here's a link to what purports to be the entire discography.

http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/anxietyfriend/2merlehaggard.html

'Down Every Road" Box Set is a good one. $26 on Amazon is allot of Hag for your money.

Merle Haggard is the real deal. His writing and singing reek with authenticity. When he sings "I turned 21 in prison doin life without parole" you know that he knows what despair and helplessness feels like. He captures the working mans condition with an efficiency in words like no other. One of my favorite songs is "If we make through December". A simple poem with simple words but a real tear jerker.

If you like Hag then I recommend Waylon Jennings. Another guy who can really sing. Anything either one of these guys sing with Willie are classics.