''Hag'' is the twelfth studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

and The Strangers released on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

in 1971. It became his fifth album to top the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' country album charts. It also reached number 66 on the pop albums chart.

History

''Hag'' was Haggard's first album with a majority of original songs in two years, following two tribute albums (to

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers ( – ) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Country Music", he is best known for his di ...

and

Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...

) and two live albums in 1969 and 1970. While ''Hag'' spawned no #1 hits, it did include three singles that went to number 3. In his 2013 book ''The Running Kind'', Haggard biographer David Cantwell contends that ''Hag'' was "the most sustained and closest-to-coherent political statement of his career...The world Hag portrays on ''Hag'' is one teetering on the brink. From atop some middle-American watchtower, Merle delivers a nearly despairing state of the union." The album opens with the Ernest Tubb

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

era-hit "Soldier's Last Letter," a song that took on a new relevance in 1971 with America's continued involvement in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Haggard addresses social issues plaguing the country at home, such as street violence ("Jesus Take Hold") and homelessness ("Sidewalks of Chicago"). The LP also contains some of Haggard's most delicately sung love songs, such as the melancholy "Shelly's Winter Love" and "The Farmer's Daughter." Haggard would rerecord "No Reason to Quit" for his 1983 duet album ''

Pancho and Lefty "Pancho and Lefty", originally "Poncho and Lefty", is a song written by American country singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Perhaps his most well-known song, Van Zandt recorded his original version of this song for his 1972 album ''The Late Great ...

'' with

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

. ''Hag'' was reissued along with ''

Let Me Tell You About a Song ''Let Me Tell You About a Song'' is the fourteenth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1972. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard Country album chart and #166 on the Pop album chart. The lead-off sing ...

'' on CD by Beat Goes On Records in 2002. Allmusic entry for ''Hag/Let Me Tell You About a Song''.Retrieved December 2009.

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

calls it "one of his absolute best albums—which means a lot, because he recorded no shortage of great records. In contrast to the rowdy live albums and the raucous Western swing that preceded it, Hag is quite quiet and reflective, sometimes referencing the turmoil within America at the end of the '60s, but more often finding Haggard turning inward." Music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

wrote "Four country hits on Haggard's first straight studio album in a year and a half, but only the simple goodbye song "I Can't Be Myself" escapes bathos."

Track listing

All songs by

unless otherwise noted:

Personnel

– vocals, guitar The Strangers: *

Roy Nichols Roy Ernest Nichols (October 21, 1932 – July 3, 2001) was an American country music guitarist best known as the lead guitarist for Merle Haggard's band The Strangers for more than two decades. He was known for his guitar technique, a mix ...

– lead guitar * Norman Hamlet – steel guitar, dobro *Bobby Wayne - rhythm guitar, harmony vocals *Dennis Hromek – bass, background vocals *Biff Adam – drums with *

Red Lane Red Lane (born Hollis Rudolph DeLaughter; surname pronounced ''Dee-LAW-ter''; February 9, 1939 – July 1, 2015) was an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist who was a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1993). A s ...

– guitar *George French – piano *

Johnny Gimble John Paul Gimble (May 30, 1926 – May 9, 2015) was an American country musician associated with Western swing. Gimble was considered one of the most important fiddlers in the genre. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 i ...

– fiddle and *Earl Ball – piano *

Glen D. Hardin Glen Dee Hardin (born April 18, 1939) is an American piano player and arranger. He has performed and recorded with such artists as Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, John Denver, and Ricky Nelson. Career Hardin was born in Wellington, ...

– piano

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control 1971 albums Merle Haggard albums Capitol Records albums Albums produced by Ken Nelson (United States record producer) Albums recorded at Capitol Studios