Merle Salute? Mission: Accomplished

How daunting was it to encapsulate Country icon Merle Haggard’s entire career into a three-hour experience during last Thursday’s (4/6) “Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard” tribute show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena?

Think of it this way: If you took all five “Mission: Impossible” movies starring Tom Cruise, and combined their degrees of harrowing impossibility into one, massive, unrealizable task, you’d still fall short, compared to the challenge of capturing Haggard’s prolific and diverse body of work spanning more than 50 years.

In those films, Tom Cruise – er, uh, Ethan Hunt – relied on a handful of experts from his Impossible Missions Force (IMF). Organizers of the Haggard tribute required at least 32 heralded artists and a couple dozen of the finest musicians in the business for this assignment. And, add this emotional double-whammy to the evening: Not by accident, the show took place on what would have been Haggard’s 80th birthday and exactly one year to the date of his passing.

Damn, if they didn’t pull it off.

By my count, 32 of the Hag’s songs were featured, stretching back more than half a century. The show could have focused entirely on Haggard’s 38 #1 singles and gone for another hour. Instead – and thankfully – whoever crafted this playlist dug deeper in spots: including a cut from Haggard’s 1970 “The Hag” album called “The Farmers Daughter,” sung by Tanya Tucker and “You Don’t Have Very far To Go,” from 1981’s “Big City” LP, which Rodney Crowell positively nailed. Similarly, Buddy Miller pulled “Lord Don’t Give Up On Me” from 2001’s “Cabin In the Hills,” one of Haggard’s four Gospel albums, while Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss beautifully delivered “If I Could Only Fly,” the title cut from Haggard’s 2000 release.

Any true Haggard aficionado could certainly appreciate a dash of the less obvious or familiar during this show. I consider myself a devotee, although – being completely honest – I’d assess my overall Haggard competency at approximately brown belt level. My personal Haggard playlist for this show would have included three additional songs: 1968’s self-aware “I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am,” 1980’s introspective “The Way I Am,” and 1975’s raunchy “Livin’ With The Shades Pulled Down.”

I also felt organizers accurately paired songs and artists, for the most part. And what better combination to start the evening than with Haggard’s son, Ben, backed by Merle’s longtime, stellar band, The Strangers, singing “What Am I Gonna Do With The Rest Of My Life.” That song was recorded in 1983; Ben, Merle’s youngest offspring, sounded nearly identical to how Merle did back then in terms of voice quality and phrasing. It was pleasantly eerie. And he’s no stranger (pun intended) to his dad’s music; Ben Haggard is an outstanding musician in his own right, who served as The Strangers’ lead guitar player in the years prior to Merle’s passing.

Other seamless pairings included Miranda Lambert singing “Misery And Gin” and Hank Williams Jr. bringing a total swagger to “Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink.” John Anderson was perfect for “Big City.” Ditto Jamey Johnson on the haunting “Kern River;” Alabama with a simple, stripped down “Silver Wings;” and Ronnie Dunn for “It’s All In The Movies,” although nobody was buying his disclaimer, of “forgive me for the bad notes” during his intro. Sure, Ronnie. When did you last hit a bad note? In middle school? During puberty? Stop it, already. Early on, Toby Keith sang “Carolyn” and “Daddy Frank,” both of which demonstrated a total comprehension of Haggard’s storytelling gift. Late in the show, Keith returned, joining Willie Nelson on “Ramblin’ Fever,” one of three duets Nelson performed; Kenny Chesney sat in with Willie on “Pancho And Lefty.”

Remember that time, a couple paragraphs ago, when I said “for the most part” when mentioning how song and artist parings worked out well? Some of you will crucify me for this, but Keith Richards performing “Sing Me Back Home” – a story about an execution, by the way – brutally murdered this classic tune. I’ve seen other write-ups on this show with glowing, awestruck accounts of his interpretation of this Haggard classic. In fact, this was unlistenable; possibly the most excruciating version of this song I’ve ever heard. Yes, I know Richards is a mythical figure in music. And, I know he recorded this song in 1977. Even mythical figures just aren’t suited for certain songs. Whether it was 1977 or 2017, Richards and “Sing Me Back Home” are not a fit. On the other hand, when Richards and Nelson partnered for “Reasons To Quit” – another cut from the 1983 Nelson/Haggard “Pancho And Lefty” album, and which actually preceded “Pancho” as a single – Richards was totally in his wheelhouse singing Haggard’s original part. Seeing Nelson and Richards onstage together felt like I was witnessing a historic moment.

Here’s something else that worked wonderfully: when two other rock icons took a great Hag song and put their own sick spin on it, letting great musical skill and a combined interpretative imagination lead the way. I have heard many covers of “Workin’ Man Blues” over the years, but none like this. ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers Band started this usually up-tempo tune slowly, trading scorching blues riffs. On its own, even that would have been the most unique musical moment of the night. Instead, they eventually ramped up the pace, cranking the energy and tempo to a level that felt almost like a car hurdling downhill, out of control. Except it wasn’t. Gibbons and Haynes were in total command of the song and the audience. It was an absolute thrill ride and easily the night’s strongest performance.

The same could not be said for the evening’s emcee. Yes, this show had an emcee. As if Haggard’s amazing songbook and the array of A-list talent assembled to perform were somehow not sufficient or self-sustaining enough. W. Earl Brown – actor, writer, producer, musician, and best known (I guess) for a role on the HBO series “Deadwood” – was our affable, yet insufferable, host for the evening, who insisted on coming onstage between EVERY performance and inserting himself into the narrative, leading the league in use of “I” and “me” references. Apparently, nobody bothered to tell Brown that it’s really okay to let two acts perform back-to-back, with no introduction, as none of the acts on the show actually needed one. If organizers felt that was required, however, Brown – in the future – needs to understand that it’s perfectly fine to just say, “Ladies and gentlemen, Miranda Lambert.” Spare us your personal anecdote, and step aside. Here’s what I used to tell jocks who were introducing acts at concerts: Nobody ever walked out at the end of a great show saying, “man, that emcee was awesome!” But they will remember someone who got in the way. The section I was in had nothing but eye-rolls and exasperated “not him again” looks on their faces whenever Brown walked out on stage.

That non-musical annoyance aside, the evening was truly incredible and memorable, reminding all who attended how timeless and special the music and words left behind by Merle Haggard will always be, no matter who performs them. There is exceptional music being delivered by Country artists right now, whose influences growing up shaped their version of Country music in 2017. But, there was only one Hag; thank goodness, he blessed us with more than 50 years and hundreds of albums covering numerous facets of American music: Country, Gospel, Western Swing, and more. Three hours certainly wasn’t enough to cover it – a true impossible mission if there even was one. But kudos to Blackbird Presents for orchestrating this tribute. It will eventually be packaged as a television special; as soon as details are revealed on when and on what platform, I’ll be sure and let you know.

Below is a set list from the Thursday, April 6th “Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard” tribute:

Ben Haggard/The Strangers – “What Am I Gonna Do With The Rest Of My Life”

Aaron Lewis – “Heaven Was A Drink Of Wine”

Tanya Tucker – “Farmers Daughter”

Bobby Bare – “Lonesome Fugitive”

Connie Smith – “That's The Way Love Goes”

John Anderson – “Big City”

Toby Keith – “Carolyn” and “Daddy Frank”

Jake Owen/Chris Janson – “Kick The Footlights Out Again”

Buddy Miller – “Don't Give Up On Me”

Miranda Lambert – “Misery And Gin”

Rodney Crowell – “You Don't Have Very Far To Go”

Jamie Johnson – “Kern River”

Alison Krauss/Jamey Johnson – “If I Could Only Fly”

Cox Family/Alison Krauss – “Sing A Sad Song”

Alabama – “Silver Wings”

Hank Jr. – “Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink”

Loretta Lynn – “Today I Started Loving You Again”

Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Honky Tonk Nighttime Man”

The Avett Brothers – “Mama Tried”

John Mellencamp – “White Line Fever”

Kacey Musgraves – “Rainbow Stew”

Ronnie Dunn – “It’s All In the Movies”

Billy Gibbons – “The Bottle Let Me Down”

Warren Haynes/Billy Gibbons – “Workin’ Man Blues”

Dierks Bentley – “If We Make It Through December”

Sheryl Crow – “Natural High”

Lucinda Williams – “Going Where The Lonely Go”

Willie Nelson/Kenny Chesney – “Pancho And Lefty”

Keith Richards – “Sing Me Back Home”

Keith Richards/Willie Nelson – “Reasons To Quit”

Willie Nelson/Toby Keith – “Ramblin Fever”

Full Ensemble – “Okie From Muskogee”