Kern River/Amber Waves of Grain

by Merle Haggard

Overview

This BGO set features remasters from the middle of Merle Haggard's tenure at Epic; both were released in 1985. Kern River is easily the most diverse recording he issued for the label. Though the sad, weary title track is one of the finest country tunes he penned during the 1980s, it's actually an outlier here. There are other ballads, but the emphasis on the material leans more toward uptempo numbers and his particular take on Western swing and jazz, as evidenced by "I Wonder Where I'll Find You Tonight," "The Old Watermill," and a cover of Louis Armstrong's "Big Butter and Egg Man." Amber Waves of Grain is a live date, cut during shows at the Holiday Theater in Merrillville, Indiana and the Bob Devaney Sports Complex in Lincoln, Nebraska. Both shows were tributes to American farmers and all of the album's original royalties were donated to farm-oriented charities and aid organizations. Musically, it falls into the trap of a lot of Haggard's post-1972 concert offerings. It's a mixed, uneven bag. The title track is one of a number of patriotic tunes here, though this is one of his particularly jingoistic ones. To boot, rather than fire up the base, it sounds like an elegy. Other patriotic tunes here include "American Waltz" and "I Wish Things Were Simple Again," which feels like a lackluster sequel to "Are the Good Times Really Over for Good." The band kicks it, though, particularly on the smattering of hits that include fine medleys of "Tulare Dust/Mama Tried," a brief sequel entitled "The Okie from Muskogee's Comin' Home" (a hard-driving country boogie that actually prefaces the original), and "Working Man's Blues/Always Late with Your Kisses." ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	06/15/2010
Label:	Beat Goes On
UPC:	5017261209351
Rank:	83023

Tracks

1. Kern River
2. Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You
3. There I've Said It Again
4. You Don't Love Me Anymore
5. Natural High
6. Big Butter and Egg Man
7. Ridin' High
8. There's Somebody Else on Your Mind
9. I Wonder Where I'll Find You at Tonight
10. There Won't Be Another Now
11. The Old Watermill
12. Amber Waves of Grain
13. Tulare Dust/Mama Tried
14. The Farmer's Daughter
15. The Okie from Muskogee's Comin' Home/Okie from Muskogee
16. Gone with the Wind
17. I Wish Things Were Simple Again
18. Working Man's Blues/Always Late with Your Kisses
19. American Waltz

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Merle Haggard   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Gary Church   Horn
Freddie Powers   Guitar (Rhythm)
Grady Martin   Guitar (Electric)
Reggie Young   Guitar (Electric)
Tiny Moore   Fiddle,Mandolin
Jimmy Belken   Fiddle
Mark Yeary   Keyboards
Jim Belken   Fiddle
Donna Faye   Vocals (Background)
Dennis Hromek   Bass,Bass (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Biff Adam   Drums
Bill Hullett   Guitar
Tammy Wynette   Vocals (Background)
Curtis Young   Vocals (Background)
Don Markham   Horn,Vocals (Background)
Don Potter   Guitar (Rhythm)
Janie Fricke   Vocals (Background)
Hoot Hester   Fiddle
Clint Strong   Guitar
Roy Nichols   Guitar
Norm Hamlet   Guitar (Steel)
Bobby Wood   Keyboards

Technical Credits

Grady Martin   Producer
Venable   Composer
Jeff Morris   Design
Randee St. Nicholas   Photography
J.B. Matteotti   Crew
Fritz Lange   Crew
Maurice Hope   Liner Notes
Fast Eddy Hudson   Assistant Engineer
Bob Montgomery   Producer
Andrew Thompson   Remastering
Ron "Snake" Reynolds   Engineer
G.S. Martin   Cover Design,Illustrations
Robert Harms   Cover Design,Illustrations
Ralph Riboul   Assistant Engineer
Patti Joblon   Crew
John Tobler   Editing
Gene Eichelberger   Engineer
Fuzzy Owen   Production Assistant
Freddy Powers   Composer
Frank Dickinson   Engineer
Lewis Talley   Production Assistant
Dean Holloway   Production Assistant
Phil Gitomer   Crew
Ray Baker   Producer
Merle Haggard   Composer,Producer
Denny Purcell   Mastering
Don Cobb   Engineer