For all the '90s, Merle Haggard was stuck in a kind of exile, recording albums that were strangely perched between familiar Haggard material and futile compromises to a modern country radio that would never play material from veterans. Hag knew that he hadn't lost it, so when he finally ran out his contract for Curb, he smartly signed to Anti-, a subsidiary of the indie punk label Epitaph. Finally at a label that would let him record a traditional Haggard album, he seized the opportunity with If I Could Only Fly, a gentle, understated, largely acoustic album that's easily his best in over a decade. It's easy to draw comparisons to Johnny Cash's Rick Rubin-produced American Music, but this is actually a better fit, since nothing here is forced. There's no mention of his wild ways or outlaw posturing; instead he, dwells on being old, not wanting to leave home, and writes frequently about his family. This is not sad and melancholy, it's a sweet, soothing record, filled with intimately autobiographical songs, delivered with ease and subtle shading through Haggard's always superb vocalizing. If I Could Fly benefits considerably from its sheer, warm musicality, and it's easy to be charmed by its stripped-back, organic sound. It sounds so good that it's also easy to overlook that the album is shy a couple of great songs it needed to be an unqualified triumph. Only the sublime "Wishing All These Old Things Were New," "If I Could Only Fly," and "Listening (To the Wind)" are truly significant additions to Haggard's canon. Ultimately, that may be a bit of nitpicking — If I Could Only Fly is the first album in years that deserves to be compared to Haggard's classic work.

MERLE HAGGARD
IF I COULD ONLY FLY
(Epitaph 86593) '00
Produced by Lou Bradley

Abe Manuel - fiddle/guitar/mandolin/percussion/piano/accordion/harp/vocals
Joe Manuel, Redd Volkaert, Randy Mason - guitar
Norman Hamlet - steel
Eddie Curtis - bass
Biff Adam - drums
Floyd Domino, Oleg Schramm - piano
Don Markham - sax/vocals

01. WISHING ALL THESE OLD THINGS WERE NEW - (M.Haggard) 3:20
02. HONKY TONKY MAMA - (Trad.) 3:07
03. TURN TO ME - (M.Haggard) 3:10
04. IF I COULD ONLY FLY - (Foley) 4:59
05. CRAZY MOON - (M.Haggard-M.D.Barnes) 2:07
06. BAREBACK - (M.Haggard) 2:12
07. (THINK ABOUT A) LULLABY - (M.Haggard) 2:24
08. I'M STILL YOUR DADDY - (M.Haggard) 2:54
09. PROUD TO BE YOUR OLD MAN - (M.Haggard-A.Manuel) 2:26
10. LEAVIN'S GETTING HARDER - (M.Haggard) 2:10
11. THANKS TO UNCLE JOHN - (M.Haggard) 2:43
12. LISTENING (TO THE WIND) - (M.Haggard) 4:10