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Oct 6, 2011The mood is what's irresistible. Sashaying through a bunch of tunes that showcase his craft, Haggard sounds laidback and happy. And the bounce spreads right through the band.
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Oct 5, 2011The album won't rope in new listeners, but those who've loved him all these years will find plenty to sink their teeth into.
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Oct 4, 2011Now 74 and short half a lung, he's not making the best music of his life, just the best albums.
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Oct 4, 2011Merle Haggard may be 74 but he sounds utterly playful in the title track of his new album, one of his strongest collections in a couple of decades.
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Oct 4, 2011The album--recorded at Haggard's California ranch--benefits from a relaxed, among-friends vibe, and Haggard's more upbeat singing about his past.
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Oct 3, 2011At 74, one of American music's patriarchs sounds as sprite as ever, kicking off with a great honky-tonk anthem, the joyous title song.
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Oct 3, 2011He's proceeding at the pace of a 74-year-old legend with nothing to prove, yet he's not resting on his laurels, he's just doing what he's always done: singing songs so expertly his virtuosity almost goes unnoticed.
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MojoDec 22, 2011A release that impresses throughout. [Nov 2011, p.99]
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Nov 11, 2011While it lacks the emotional heft of Merle's acclaimed 2010 album, I Am What I Am, the cancer survivor's latest album boasts plenty of flinty independence.
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UncutOct 18, 2011Working In Tennessee resonates with much of the cool, complicated clarity of his very best work. [Nov 2011, p.85]
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Entertainment WeeklyOct 6, 2011Here he rails against government and the state of music in a voice that radiates so-what intransigence. [7 Oct 2011, p.75]