Review Of Merle Haggard's "Unforgettable"
Merle Haggard: Unforgettable Album Review – 5 StarsOriginally ran in the Redding Redord Searchlight in February 2005
What Love Can Do
Merle Haggard’s new album, Unforgettable, is true to its name. As a collection of some of the world’s best pop songs as recorded by one of the world’s most individualistic performers, it should be memorable at the very least. However, it is Haggard’s dedication to the songs and the pristine quality of his voice, his phrasing, and the songs’ instrumentation that make this collection truly unforgettable and one that is a must have for any music fan.
There has been a great deal of attention paid to jazz and pop standards as of late. In a way, this can be seen as an extension of the propensity to deify successful formulae that is prevalent in both popular culture and the business world. If a restaurant is good in one city, shouldn’t there be one everywhere? If a mediocre movie made a bunch of money once, shouldn’t there be two or three sequels? Successful ingredients are the stuff of franchises and jazz and pop standards are always respectable and successful ingredients.
The fact that conventional wisdom calls such songs standards leads one to believe that there is little that can be done to make them different. However, this belittles the fact that standards are made special by the singers who sing them. Rod Stewart’s hugely successful three album “American Songbook” series has proven what a good singer can do with great songs. Unforgettable proves what an amazing singer can do with great songs and in interpreting several of the greatest songs ever in his own inimitable way, Merle Haggard makes these canonical songs his own.
Pennies From Heaven is a great example of Haggard’s dexterity at reinterpreting well-worn songs. Before hearing Haggard’s version, anytime I saw the phrase “Pennies From Heaven,” I would instantly hear Louis Prima’s version of the song with Keely Smith’s road-wise, angelic voice, and Sam Butera’s boisterous sax solo. One listen of Haggard’s version changed this, now I hear Merle’s smoothly phrased delivery, preceded by an amazingly simple but remarkably memorable drum fill, and followed by Clint Strong’s wonderful guitar solo.
The album’s title track is another example of Haggard’s ability to take ownership of songs that are virtually untouchable. I can’t think of the song Unforgettable without hearing the Nat King Cole’s version of the song. In fact, I have always thought of the song as Nat’s signature tune. It is a testament to both Haggard’s power as a performer and Freddy Power’s excellent production skills that this song has now become a Merle Haggard tune.
As an album, Unforgettable can be seen as an extension of Haggard’s Roots Vol. 1 (released 2002 Anti Records) in that it is a collection of songs that represent concepts and musical constructs that are fundamental to Merle Haggard’s music. Where as Roots Vol. 1 represents the more obvious country and western roots of Haggard’s music, Unforgettable represents its more subtle classic pop and jazz roots. In the case of both albums, Haggard’s reinterpretations of the classics are stellar but his original contributions steal the show. With Roots Vol. 1. it was Runaway Mama, the best Lefty Frizzell song never written, that crowned the collection. With Unforgettable, it is What Love Can Do that steals the show. Simply put, this song is an instant classic, just ask my two year old daughter Aislinn who sang along with it the first time she heard it and who loves to dance to it with her Daddy more than any other song on the album. Merle succinctly stated that two year olds are the true music critic and Aislinn’s sweet little voice crooning the line “What Love Can Do” is the most articulate praise that I can give this excellent album.
The true power of a great artist is in their ability to confound expectations at every turn. Unfortunately, this attribute often makes great artists inaccessible to the majority of the audience that wants its entertainment like its junk food; full of flavor, devoid of nutritive properties, easy to consume, and relatively easy to digest. This segment of the audience will probably not get Unforgettable. However, the segment of the audience that is looking for something with more substance and nuance to it should invest some money and some time in Unforgettable, as this investment will pay dividends of enjoyment for a good deal of time to come. Keep up the good work, Merle.
Brian J. Kenny
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posted by Brian J. Kenny @ 11:50 PM
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