Audio CD review:
Merle Haggard - Goin Home for Christmas

Merle Haggard - Goin Home for Christmas

Band: Merle Haggard Title: Goin Home for Christmas Rating: Release Date: 2003-09-16 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Goin' Home for Christmas 2: Grandma's Homemade Christmas Card 3: Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - Merle Haggard, Coots, J. Fred 4: Santa Claus and Popcorn 5: Daddy Won't Be Home Again for Christmas 6: If We Make It Through December 7: Bobby Wants a Puppy Dog for Christmas 8: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Merle Haggard, Marks, Johnny 9: Blue Christmas - Merle Haggard, Hayes, Bill 10: Lonely Night - Merle Haggard, Powers, M. L. 11: White Christmas - Merle Haggard, Berlin, Irving

Have a holly, jolly, Haggard holiday! An outstanding holiday album, with Merle crooning over a tasteful bed of strings'n'pedal steel; he was admirably suited to the cornball spirit of the holidays, and really put his heart into each of these tracks. . Most of the songs are Haggard originals, ranging from tearjerkers like "Grandma's Homemade Christmas Card" and "Daddy Won't Be Home Again For Christmas" (he's in prison. . . ) to a sleighbell-bedecked remake of "If We Can Make It Through December" and the cheery "Santa Claus And Popcorn. " Plus, his spins at older tunes like "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" and "Blue Christmas" are pretty rich and resonant -- Merle's version of "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a welcome addition to the hillbilly holiday repertoire.   (The CD reissue also includes a bonus track from 1986, a jazzy acoustic version of "White Christmas. . . " It doesn't match the tone of the other tracks, but it's also kinda cool. ) This is a really nice album. You can see a complete list of all Merle Haggard discography, or go back to the Merle Haggard tabs