Merle Haggard "Two Old Friends" and "Cabin in the Hills" by David Pilot
	Two miles down a gravel road I can see the proud old home, A tribute to a way of life That's almost come and gone. .. The roots of my raising run deep I've come back for the strength that I need And hope comes no matter how far down I sink- The roots of my raising run deep. Two schools of thought exist on gospel music. Three, actually, but for this review we'll leave out the group that thinks it has no value whatsoever. The first of the remaining two groups believes wholeheartedly and fervently that gospel music should come only from those who are born again/baptized/whole in the Spirit etc. The second group finds gospel to be much like a coat from the cold when needed, no matter who is playing or singing. That group gets chills listening to Elvis sing "Amazing Grace." Merle Haggard just released two CDs for that second group. We will skip over the things you know about Merle-prison, whiskey, and roadhouse nights in places that have nothing to do with anything in the Gospels except the ought nottas. Over the years and countless miles Haggard and his inimitable voice have carved timeless masterpieces of country music. His songs have sprung to weathered life on a voice of polished sandpaper-a voice that sings from the depths of a soul that has traveled unbowed across those miles. Find a song from the Hag that doesn't resonate with I've-been-there-and-I'm-proud-of-it truth, and you've found a bona fide collector's item. Quit reading right now and get to Sotheby's auction house, because you're rich. Stupid, too, but that's another review. Country music has been the perfect outlet for Merle through the years, but as many of his peers have found before him, country folks like their gospels every bit as much as their barnburners. There's a lesson in there for city folk, but that's also another review and this one needs to get published sometime in 2001. In keeping with Tommy Collins' lyric at the top of this page that Merle took to #1 back in '76, Haggard came home to his roots with old friend Albert E. Brumley, Jr. and proved those roots do run deep. Brumley's daddy Al Sr. wrote a bunch of those hymns you remember singing in un-air-conditioned backwoods churches--- wishing all the while that you could get to that cold watermelon in the tub of ice on Pappy's back porch. From "I'll Fly Away" to "Love Lifted Me," these two discs are lazy Sunday mornings filled with cotton dresses and Daddy's starched white shirts. Well-worn pews and Bibles, hymnbooks with threadbare covers. The musty smell in the sanctuary of a clean white country church, and the cicadas outside singing in their own angel chorus. A safer time, a cleaner time, when money was far less available and people somehow were happier without it. Two Old Friends Eleven tracks deep, this album showcases fine duets between Merle and Albert Brumley Jr. Merle's smooth tenor is balanced readily by Brumley's strong and passionate baritone as they play each other like instruments on a compilation of songs written by both Brumleys and by Merle himself. Instrumentation, as is the norm with Haggard, is often muted and not readily obvious on the first listen. But as any fan knows by now, the fiddles and steel guitars on any Haggard work are an integral component of the overall painting ­and Bonnie Owens' backing and harmony vocals are always welcome. Haggard and Brumley met shortly after the infamous sojourn in San Quentin, where Merle's mama had told him on a visit of a new singer she'd heard on Cousin Herb's Trading Post Show. Merle was hooked when she explained that Albert's daddy had written so many of the songs the family had sung together in Merle's childhood, and he auditioned for Al on the Trading Post Show not long after his release. It was during his time on that show that Haggard met Fuzzy Owen, a driving force in his career, and also forged a lifetime friendship with Brumley. The years and familiarity wear well on this disc, and the quotes below sum up well what you can expect to hear: There is no one that can sing a country song like Merle Haggard. The feeling and the curls-of-expression in his voice are unequaled. The highlight of my music career is doing this duet gospel album with the "Great Hag." We truly are TWO OLD FRIENDS. Albert E. Brumley, Jr. Dec. 13, 1999 . the name Albert E. Brumley still brings a feeling of respect when spoken in my family today. The making of this album will make at least two people in heaven very happy. Both my mother and Albert E. Brumley, Sr. would be thrilled to hear Merle Haggard and Albert E. Brumley, Jr. marching together in the name of Jesus. Over the years we worked together many times, becoming closer friends as time went by. What a pleasure to sing with such a great voice such as Albert E. Brumley, Jr. I might addit's a challenge also. Merle Haggard Dec.13, 1999 Cabin In The Hills Merle and several friends on this disc. The arrangements are a bit more lush than on "Two Old Friends," but the songs themselves are every bit as pure and timeless. Old standards, Haggard originals, another Brumley song and one from Iris Dement make up this album. They flow as seamlessly as any other Haggard record, and serve to turn the soul to introspection and quiet solitude. Faith is a strange thing, a fluid thing that grows and draws from untold hidden streams. It can come from joy and adversity with equal fervor. But its common factor, regardless of your "religious" perspective, is its undying foundational strength. Faith is the root that the trees of our lives draw sustenance from, and it truly does run deep. With "Cabin In the Hills" Merle takes us on a journey through the faith of our fathers and the simple lives they used that faith to triumph in. His delivery is so straightforward and unpretentious that the listener becomes lost in hazy memories of family and home. Where "Two Old Friends" is a lazy Sunday in the South (apologies to Shenandoah), "Cabin In the Hills" is Daddy Frank playing guitar and Mama on the ringing tambourine. It is hearth and home, the family Bible that Mama tried to make us read. It is making believe that the world is still simple and safe, that a buck is still silver, and that you can jump on your Western Flyer and head out for adventures on the other side of town. It is a Wednesday night prayer service, hushed in appreciation for the abundance of life and love and a roof that sometimes doesn't leak. It is essential. "Two Old Friends" and "Cabin In the Hills" were recorded and produced in Merle's home studio on Lake Shasta, a fitting environment for the memories and ghosts and angels and stories that have so long permeated Haggard's music. With these two discs, and the assistance of friends from Albert Brumley through Porter Wagoner and ex-wife but still friend Bonnie Owens, Merle Haggard has proven so many of his timeless lyrics to be true. Tearing into the new millennium with "If I Could Only Fly" and baring his soul with that album's stellar "Wishing All These Old Things Were New," Merle has taken time to slow down and remind us that the roots of his raising do run deep -- and ours should do so as well.   You can contact David Pilot at: tailgunner-at-rockzilla.net

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