Tulare Dust 00 Notes.txt
The fun part about any of these various artists compilations is finding
rare songs from artists that you may be a fan of that aren't included on
any of their own albums. This singer/songwriter compilation provides
plenty; Iris Dement, Joe Ely, Billy Joe Shaver, Lucinda Williams and
Dwight Yoakam all clock in with great efforts. A really nice compilation!
The album cover is a 3 square fold out measuring 14" so I scanned it in
sections. The 'cover' side was printed in color and the 'inside' song
credits printed in black and white. You should be able to figure out what
goes where...
AllMusic Review by Jeff Burger
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.
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