Untamed Hawk: The Early Recordings of Merle Haggard

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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The thing that makes Bear Family's Untamed Hawk a little difficult to listen to for pleasure is the very reason it's necessary for serious Merle Haggard fans and collectors: Over the course of five discs, it contains all of the Capitol recordings plus his early work for Talley between 1962 and 1968, including alternate takes and unreleased cuts. This is a bonanza, since from the outset, Haggard was one of the most reliable of all country singers, turning out consistently enjoyable work due to his terrific ear for material and excellent songwriting and performances. He certainly did record a few duds, or at least unrealized tracks, during this time, but those are...
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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The thing that makes Bear Family's Untamed Hawk a little difficult to listen to for pleasure is the very reason it's necessary for serious Merle Haggard fans and collectors: Over the course of five discs, it contains all of the Capitol recordings plus his early work for Talley between 1962 and 1968, including alternate takes and unreleased cuts. This is a bonanza, since from the outset, Haggard was one of the most reliable of all country singers, turning out consistently enjoyable work due to his terrific ear for material and excellent songwriting and performances. He certainly did record a few duds, or at least unrealized tracks, during this time, but those are fascinating in context either on the original albums or in this box set. Yet the consistency is rather remarkable; the singles are usually the standouts, but there are many tracks nearly as compelling as well. This is all apparent on the original albums as well as Untamed Hawk, but the box set may not be the best way to hear this music, largely because of the sequencing. Like many Bear Family boxes or at least their sets from the '80s through the mid-'90s, this places chronological order before listenability, as it presents everything in session order -- which means that the alternate takes and false starts slow the momentum of the sessions. This is a problem, but it is one that can be avoided through judicious use of CD programming or at least the fast-forward button, but it does also point out that this set is more for the historian than the casual listener. That said, those listeners who want a complete set of Merle Haggard's groundbreaking '60s recordings will certainly not be disappointed with this, particularly because many of these songs are not easily available on CD, even with the straight-up reissues of his '60s albums. And, frankly, if you love Merle Haggard, it is worth investing in this set. His music may have grown richer in the years after this set, but even at the outset, he was one of the most inventive, interesting, enjoyable, and flat-out wonderful country artists of his time, and it's all worth hearing, from the singles to the album tracks to the cuts that never were aired before this set. Even if not everything here is perfect, the overall effect is pretty awe-inspiring all the same.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 5/2/1995
  • Label: Bear Family
  • UPC: 790051157449
  • Catalog Number: 15744

Tracks

Disc 1
  1. 1 Sing a Sad Song (2:36)
  2. 2 You Don't Even Try (2:18)
  3. 3 Life in Prison (False Start) (1:14)
  4. 4 Life in Prison (2:25)
  5. 5 You Don't Have Very Far to Go (2:33)
  6. 6 Sam Hill (2:37)
  7. 7 Sam Hill (2:37)
  8. 8 Please Mr. D.J. (2:28)
  9. 9 I'd Trade All of My Tomorrows (For Just One Yesterday) (2:32)
  10. 10 (My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers (2:32)
  11. 11 Slowly But Surely (2:23)
  12. 12 Just Between the Two of Us (2:46)
  13. 13 So Much for Me So Much for You (2:35)
  14. 14 Falling for You (2:19)
  15. 15 I Wanta Live Again (2:05)
  16. 16 A House Without Love Is Not a Home (2:18)
  17. 17 Walking the Floor Over You (1:48)
  18. 18 The Worst Is Yet to Come (2:44)
  19. 19 Piedras Negras (Go Home) (2:09)
  20. 20 Singin' My Heart Out (2:19)
  21. 21 Skid Row (1:45)
  22. 22 Falling for You (2:20)
  23. 23 I'd Trade All of My Tomorrows (For Just One Yesterday) [Without String (2:47)
  24. 24 If I Had Left It Up to You (2:24)
  25. 25 I'm Gonna Break Every Heart I Can (2:02)
  26. 26 Stranger in My Arms (2:48)
  27. 27 If I Could Be Him (2:53)
  28. 28 Shade Tree (Fix-It-Man) (2:22)
  29. 29 This Town's Not Big Enough (2:38)
Disc 2
  1. 1 I'll Take a Chance on Loving You (2:02)
  2. 2 Our Hearts Are Holding Hands (2:23)
  3. 3 Too Used to Being With You (3:00)
  4. 4 That Makes Two of Us (2:47)
  5. 5 Forever and Ever (2:09)
  6. 6 Wait a Little Longer Please Jesus (2:08)
  7. 7 Swinging Doors (2:55)
  8. 8 Swinging Doors (2:52)
  9. 9 The Girl Turned Ripe (2:19)
  10. 10 I Threw Away the Rose (2:59)
  11. 11 The Fugitive (2:54)
  12. 12 Loneliness Is Eating Me Alive (2:35)
  13. 13 Someone Told My Story (2:53)
  14. 14 I Threw Away the Rose (3:05)
  15. 15 Hang Up My Gloves (2:43)
  16. 16 The Longer You Wait (2:22)
  17. 17 The Bottle Let Me Down (2:48)
  18. 18 I Can't Stand Me (2:18)
  19. 19 Someone Else You've Known (2:11)
  20. 20 High on a Hilltop (3:00)
  21. 21 I'll Look Over You (2:11)
  22. 22 No More You and Me (2:20)
  23. 23 Mixed Up Mess of a Heart (2:10)
  24. 24 I'm a Lonesome Fugitive (2:59)
  25. 25 Life in Prison (3:03)
  26. 26 House of Memories (2:48)
  27. 27 All of Me Belongs to You (2:39)
Disc 3
  1. 1 Mary's Mine (2:56)
  2. 2 If You Want to Be My Woman (2:17)
  3. 3 Someone Told My Story (2:34)
  4. 4 Piedras Negras (Go Home) (2:34)
  5. 5 Whatever Happened to Me (2:57)
  6. 6 Loneliness Is Eating Me Alive (2:34)
  7. 7 Skid Row (2:00)
  8. 8 Drink Up and Be Somebody (2:31)
  9. 9 Gone Crazy (2:04)
  10. 10 I Threw Away the Rose (3:22)
  11. 11 Some of Us Never Learn (2:41)
  12. 12 Branded Man (3:09)
  13. 13 You Don't Have Very Far to Go (2:21)
  14. 14 Wine Take Me Away (2:47)
  15. 15 If You See My Baby (2:30)
  16. 16 Somewhere Between (3:06)
  17. 17 Don't Get Married (2:31)
  18. 18 My Hands Are Tied (2:18)
  19. 19 I Made the Prison Band (2:32)
  20. 20 Look Over Me (2:56)
  21. 21 Long Black Limousine (3:14)
  22. 22 I'll Leave the Bottle on the Bar (2:40)
  23. 23 Sing Me Back Home (2:49)
  24. 24 The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp (2:59)
  25. 25 Seeing Eye Dog (1:57)
  26. 26 Will You Visit Me on Sundays? (2:52)
  27. 27 Home Is Where a Kid Grows Up (2:22)
Disc 4
  1. 1 Where Does the Good Times Go (2:05)
  2. 2 Good Times (2:37)
  3. 3 News Break (1:24)
  4. 4 My Past Is Present (1:56)
  5. 5 Mom and Dad's Waltz (2:54)
  6. 6 My Ramona (3:01)
  7. 7 Because You Can't Be Mine (2:42)
  8. 8 The Train Never Stops (At Our Town) (2:21)
  9. 9 You Still Have a Place in My Heart (2:31)
  10. 10 Money Tree (2:49)
  11. 11 A Picture from Two Sides of Life (3:32)
  12. 12 The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde (2:06)
  13. 13 I Started Loving You Again (2:22)
  14. 14 Love Has a Mind of Its Own (2:23)
  15. 15 Fool's Castle (2:48)
  16. 16 Is This the Beginning of the End? (3:03)
  17. 17 The Sunny Side of My Life (2:13)
  18. 18 Run 'Em Off (2:51)
  19. 19 I'll Always Know (2:22)
  20. 20 You'll Never Love Me Now (2:46)
  21. 21 Mama Tried (2:14)
  22. 22 In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad) (2:46)
  23. 23 Little Ole Wine Drinker Me (2:40)
  24. 24 Teach Me to Forget (3:16)
  25. 25 Lookin' for My Mind (2:36)
  26. 26 Lookin' for My Mind (1:32)
  27. 27 Lookin' for My Mind (2:10)
Disc 5
  1. 1 Green, Green Grass of Home (3:15)
  2. 2 I Could Have Gone Right (2:33)
  3. 3 The Day the Rains Came (2:42)
  4. 4 I Think We're Livin' in the Good Old Days (2:07)
  5. 5 Somewhere on Skid Row (2:52)
  6. 6 Who Do I Know in Dallas (2:28)
  7. 7 Folsom Prison Blues (2:47)
  8. 8 Too Many Bridges to Cross Over (2:29)
  9. 9 You're Not Home Yet (2:40)
  10. 10 I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am (2:50)
  11. 11 I Just Want to Look at You One More Time (3:04)
  12. 12 I'm Bringin' Home Good News (2:50)
  13. 13 Keep Me from Cryin' Today (3:01)
  14. 14 I Can't Hold Myself in Line (2:56)
  15. 15 I'm Free (1:57)
  16. 16 It Meant Goodbye to Me When You Said Hello to Him (2:35)
  17. 17 Who'll Buy the Wine (2:37)
  18. 18 She Thinks I Still Care (2:36)
  19. 19 What's Wrong With Stayin' Home (2:49)
  20. 20 When No Flowers Grow (3:40)
  21. 21 Every Fool Has a Rainbow (2:30)
  22. 22 Hungry Eyes (3:28)
  23. 23 Silver Wings (2:43)
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Album Credits

Performance Credits
Merle Haggard Primary Artist, Guitar, Vocals
Glen Campbell Vocals
James Burton Dobro, Electric Guitar
Phil Baugh Guitar
Roy Edward Burris Drums
Jack Collier Guitar
Glen D. Hardin Piano
Ralph Mooney Steel Guitar
Bob Morris Bass
Roy Nichols Guitar, Electric Guitar
Loulie Jean Norman Vocals
Bonnie Owens Vocals, Track Performer
Lewis Talley Guitar
Roy Huskey Jr. Bass
Jerry Ward Bass
Bobby Austin Bass
Helen "Peaches" Price Drums
Robert Zwirn Vocals
Bert Dodson Bass
Gene Moles Guitar
Randall Shepard Vocals
Betty Jane Baker Vocals
Joe Simpson Guitar
Leonard Raymond Sipes Guitar, Rhythm Guitar
James Ellington Piano
George French Jr. Piano
Technical Credits
Merle Haggard Composer
Buck Owens Composer
Bruce Dunlap Composer
Onie Wheeler Composer
Casey Anderson Composer
Tommy Collins Composer
Red Simpson Composer
Larry Brown Composer
Jenny Carson Composer
Dallas Frazier Composer
Tommy "Snuff" Garrett Composer
Bob Gaudio Composer
Ken Nelson Producer
Bonnie Owens Composer
Wynn Stewart Composer
Ben Weisman Composer
Hank Williams Composer
Bob Wills Composer
Brad Benedict Illustrations
Marvin Hughes Producer
Fuzzy Owen Composer, Producer
Liz Anderson Composer
Patrick Milligan Illustrations
Jim Schumacher Tape Research
Dale Vinicur Liner Notes
R.A. Andreas Illustrations
Richard Weize Reissue Producer, Tape Research
Sid Wayne Composer
Dickey Lee Lipscomb Composer
Joe Simpson Composer
Chester Smith Composer
Ernie Freeman Combo String Arrangements
Hank Mills Composer
Dick Jennings Composer
Tony Lee Composer
Dean Holloway Composer
Steve Duffy Composer
Hazel Marie Spencer Composer
Frazier Composer
Claude "Curly" Putman Jr. Composer
J. Saunders Composer
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