Just so you know, Amazon MP3 is currently offering downloads of Merle Haggard’s 1968 album Mama Tried (one of three Haggard albums released that year, if I’m not mistaken… now that’s prolific) and Steve Earle’s tribute to Townes Van Zandt – which isn’t even officially released until tomorrow – for $0.99 and $2.99 respectively. That’s a whole lot of good music for $3.98. I already have the Haggard album, but am taking advantage of the Earle deal. Thought I’d pass along the word to others who might be interested. Not sure how long these prices will last, so act quickly if you want to get in on the action.
Click the cover art to visit the appropriate download page on Amazon.
Well the Haggard album is now $ 4.58 for the full download version. Merle was very prolific back the the latter 60′s but the albums themselves suffered for it. Many if not most were filled with a lot of shallow sound alike filler that grows tiring very quickly. There is a label now that puts two of Hag’s older albums together on single CDs, but rarely are there enough good songs on these CDs to fill a single album with all quality material.
A notable exception is the wonderful “Let Me Tell You About A Song” album which is still my favorite Hag album. The spoken word recitations in that album grab you by the heart and don’t let go. And where else are you going to hear Merle say the song “Irma Jackson” was one of his personal favorite compositions? An amazing album.