Strangers/Swinging Doors [Import]

Product Description:
Two of the country legend's complete albums for Capitol together on one disc: 1965's 'Strangers' and the following year's 'Swinging Doors'. A combined total of 24 tracks, all digitally remastered. Also features the original cover art of each. 1998 EMI release.

Strangers/Swinging Doors,Merle Haggard,EMI Int'l,Bakersfield Sound,Country,Country & Western,Country/Bluegrass,Honky Tonk,Pop,Songwriter,Traditional Country,Western Swing Revival

Average customer rating: Congratulations Capitol country All hail MERLE! Powerful one-two punch of Haggard's debut and follow-up

Strangers/Swinging Doors & The Bottle Let Me Down Merle Haggard Manufacturer: Capitol ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Honky-Tonk | Country | Styles | Music Western Swing | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music Similar Items: I'm a Lonesome Fugitive/Branded Man Mama Tried/Pride In What I Am Sing Me Back Home/Legend Of Bonnie & Clyde Hag/Someday We'll Look Back Going Where the Lonely Go/That's the Way Love Goes ASIN: B000E5LFGE Release Date: 2006-02-21

Tracks:

1. Strangers
2. Falling For You
3. Please Mr. D.J.
4. You Don't Have Far To Go
5. Sing A Sad Song
6. Sam Hill
7. I'm Gonna Break Every Heart I Can
8. You Dont Even Try
9. If I Had Left It Up To You
10. I'd Trade All Of My Tomorrows
11. The Worst Is yet To Come
12. Walkin' The Floor Over You
13. The Fugitive (Alternate Take - bonus track)
14. Jimmie The Kid (Previously Unreleased - bonus track)
15. Swinging Doors
16. If I Could Be Him
17. The Longer You Wait
18. I'll Look You Over
19. I Can't Stand Me
20. The Girl Turned Ripe
21. The Bottle Let Me Down
22. No More You And Me
23. Somebody Else You've Known
24. High On A Hilltop
25. This Town's Not Big Enough
26. Shade Tree (Fix It Man)
27. Skid Row (Alternate Take- bonus track)
28. When No Flowers Grow (Previously Unreleased - bonus track)
29. I Threw Away The Rose (Alternate Take - bonus track)

Customer Reviews:

Congratulations Capitol country.......2007-03-15

Capitol country has done a fantastic job with these five 2 CD sets of Haggard's early Capitol LP's. Mastering is pristine and the extra cuts are all well worth including, especially Jimmie the Kid. Booklet including liner notes is thorough as well. GREAT job by Capitol, only wish they were continuing this set of releases beyond Haggard's first 10 Capitol LP's.

All hail MERLE!.......2006-11-16

How great it is that 10 classic Haggard albums have been remastered and re-released on 5 CDs. For the price of one album, you get Merle's first and second albums--over an hour of music--and it's all top-choice. "Strangers" understandably find Merle a bit undeveloped (as he became classically known). His voice isn't quite up to its signature snuff and the arrangements/production still sounds a bit old-guard and not quite 60's Bakersfield. This said, it's still Merle, and it's still great. The title track, the early version of "You don't have very far to go," and the attitude in "I'm gonna break every heart I can" are all worth the price of admission. "Sam Hill," the novelty song, adds a little humor to the mix, and you've got Merle's first album.

What really gets this review the 5 stars is the second album. All the songs are at least co-written by Merle, and what great writing it is! At least 2 huge hits, for a reason (the two title tracks) still sound fresh today. Uptempo numbers like "The Girl Turned Ripe" "Shade Tree Fix it Man" and "I Can't Stand Me" are probably my favorites, but the ballads are among some of Merle's best. From drinking to heartache, Merle serves up a platter like only he can. Of all the reissues, I think this album has the best, most riveting pedal steel--every single song on this album is filled with lively, interesting slide work. As usual, the bonus tracks don't add too much, but they don't hurt the album either. If you're just getting into Merle, these reissues are a great place to start, and this first combo is probably the best choice as a first. You'll be hooked from the beginning, trust me.

Powerful one-two punch of Haggard's debut and follow-up.......2006-04-05

Capitol's deluxe series of Haggard 2-fer reissues kicks off with his first two solo albums, 1965's "Strangers," and 1966's "Swinging Doors and The Bottle Let Me Down." From the get-go Haggard was a force; wedding the directness of Johnny Cash (who Haggard had famously seen perform at San Quentin in 1959) with the danceable Bakersfield beats of Buck Owens and Wynn Stewart (in whose bands Haggard played in the early '60s). He adopted the core of the Bakersfield Sound (including the crowd-piercing Telecaster guitar and driving rhythms), but tuned it with sorrow several shades deeper than the Saturday-night honky-tonk of Bakersfield's initial stars.

Haggard's debut was constructed from six pre-Capitol sides recoded for the Tally label, and a half-dozen more produced by Fuzzy Owen specifically for the album. Liz Anderson's lead-off title cut, "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers," sets the album's tone, with Haggard flattened by romantic fallout, but warily soldiering on. The album is rife with withered relationships and broken hearts, from Haggard's plaintive phone call, "Please Mr. D.J.," to a tearful cover of Wynn Stewart's "Sing a Sad Song." Even the revenge of "I'm Gonna Break Every Heart I Can" feels more like frustrated imaginings than a realistic call to action.

Bonus tracks for the debut include an alternate take of the Anderson-penned "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" that differs significantly from the version Haggard's subsequent 1967 LP. This early take substitutes harmonica for the later version's delicate guitar filigree, and employs a chorus in place of the latter's more polished harmony vocals. Also included is a previously unreleased cover of Jimmie Rodgers' train song, "Jimmie the Kid," a sweet, old-timey country-blues whose acoustic picking and dobro break fit Haggard wonderfully.

Haggard's second solo album (his third for Capitol, with the duet LP "Just Between the Two of Us" having dropped earlier in '66) is his first full masterpiece. Where his debut staked out the romantic desolation that also fuels this follow-up, his handpicked band, featuring the pedal steel of Ralph Mooney and signature guitar licks of Roy Nichols, kick things up a notch. Liz Anderson's haunted "This Town's Not Big Enough" and Tommy Collins' gospel-tinged "High on a Hilltop" complement ten Haggard-penned tunes, settling his romantic pain into the local watering hole ("Swinging Doors"), and finding that even drink may not provide escape ("The Bottle Let Me Down").

The sense of loss is nearly unrelenting throughout the LP, with Haggard singing of romantic triangles, self-loathing, and love that was never true. His desperation is at turns delicate, tearful, lonely and lost, creating a perpetual cloud of self-pity. The few rays of sunshine include the Buck Owens-styled "The Girl Turned Ripe" and the playful "Shade Tree (Fix-It Man)." A trio of bonus tracks includes a previously unreleased cover of Tommy Collins' "When No Flowers Grow," and earlier alternates of "Skid Row" (which turns up in final form on 1967's "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive") and "I Threw Away the Rose" (which turns up in final form on 1967's "Branded Man"). All three make worthy additions to an already-rich collection.

Capitol's terrific two-fer reissues include the original album covers (one on each side of the booklet), color photo reproductions, and newly struck liner notes. Fans are likely to have much of this material on previous single-CD reissues or larger box sets, but the album pairings and remastered 24-bit sound make these sets especially attractive. The lack of session credits, master numbering and chart positioning is regrettable (as is the lack of detail on the bonus tracks), but this can't detract from the magnificence of what Haggard laid down in the first place. [©2006 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com]

Average customer rating: A Good Start Two great early Merle albums on one CD

Strangers/Swinging Doors Merle Haggard Manufacturer: EMI Int'l ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Honky-Tonk | Country | Styles | Music Western Swing | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Country | Imports | Stores | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: I'm A Lonesome Fugitive/Branded Man It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)/If We Make It Through December Portrait of Merle Haggard/Keep Movin' On Legend of Bonnie & Clyde / Pride in What I Am Mama Tried/Pride In What I Am ASIN: B00000FCLP Release Date: 1999-06-29

Tracks:

1. (My Friends Are Gonna Be)Strangers
2. Falling For You
3. Please Mr. D.J.
4. You Don't Have Far To Go
5. Sing A Sad Song
6. Sam Hill
7. I'm Gonna Break Every Heart I Can
8. You Don't Even Try
9. If I Had Left It Up To You
10. I'd Trade All Of My Tomorrow's
11. The Worst Is Yet To Come
12. Walking The Floor Over You
13. Swinging Doors
14. If I Could Be Him
15. The Longer You Wait
16. I'll Look Over You
17. I Can't Stand Me
18. The Girl Turned Ripe
19. The Bottle Let Me Down
20. No More You And Me
21. Somebody Else You've Known
22. High On A Hilltop
23. This Town's Not Big Enough
24. Shade Tree(Fix It Man)

Album Description

Two of the country legend's complete albums for Capitol together on one disc: 1965's 'Strangers' and the following year's 'Swinging Doors'. A combined total of 24 tracks, all digitally remastered. Also features the original cover art of each. 1998 EMI release.

Album Details

Available for the First Time on CD, the Original 'Outlaw: Merle Haggard's Debut Album 'Strangers' with his First Ever Number One Album 'Swinging Doctors' Part of EMI'S 'Two on One Series'.

Customer Reviews:

A Good Start.......2006-01-11

This is how albums should be re-released. The combining of two classic, yet original, albums on one CD just makes sense; let's hope it's a trend that will continue. Here are two "older" Haggard albums that epitomize his classic Jimmie Rodgers/Lefty Frizzel style. Not a lot of Chart Hits here, but this should not in any way keep you from buying this album. There are 24 songs here that will provide the listener with the true sound and style of Merle Haggard. Personally, I find the finest to be "The Bottle Let Me Down" and the tongue-in-cheek "The Girl Turned Ripe" to be the finest tracks, but you decide.

Two great early Merle albums on one CD.......2003-04-15

After being a fan of Merle Haggard just from listening to one of his Greatest Hits albums, and with 'The bottle let me down' being possibly my favourite of his songs, I was expecting to like this CD. But it blew me away.

The quality of the songs was as good as I hoped - '(My friends are going to be) Strangers', 'Longer you wait', 'Swinging Doors', an excellent cover of Ernest Tubb's 'Walking the floor over you' and many more - but what really got me was the SOUND of the record. The band are really on the money, particularly on the 'Swinging Doors' half of the CD which features the great James Burton on guitar. Irresistible guitar licks, and there's a definite swing to the sound. I'd have loved to have seen Merle and the band down my local honky tonk around this time (if they had honky tonks in Stockport, which they didn't).

I was expecting these albums to have a few good tracks and a lot of filler, but I was very pleasantly surprised - it's pretty much all good. Now I'm off to get the other four dozen or so albums he's put out.

Average customer rating: Merle High on the Stool FANTASTIC! I have never enjoyed Haggard until this evening.

Swinging Doors and The Bottle Let Me Down Merle Haggard & the Strangers Manufacturer: Koch Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Honky-Tonk | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B000001SLG Release Date: 1995-10-17

Tracks:

1. Swinging Doors
2. If I Could Be Him
3. The Longer You Wait
4. I'll Look You Over
5. I Can't Stand Me
6. The Girl Turned Ripe
7. The Bottle Let Me Down
8. No More You And Me
9. Somebody Else You've Known
10. High On A Hilltop
11. This Town's Not Big Enough
12. Shade Tree (Fix-It-Man)

Amazon.com

Exemplary early Hag, Swinging Doors and the Bottle Let Me Down is the album that solidified the then-newcomer's standing as a budding force in country music. Indeed, Haggard's third album set a high bar that Merle quickly proved he could clear with remarkable consistency. This 1966 collection features a dozen tracks cut between the winter of '65 and the following summer, including a couple of Haggard-penned classics--the two title tracks. A cover of Bakersfield crony Tommy Collins's stately "High on a Hilltop" is yet another highlight in this uniformly strong set. A key building block in any Haggard collection. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews:

Merle High on the Stool.......2001-07-22

This album from the sixties finds Merle hitting his stride. The arrangements are straight ahead country, pure Bakersfield, without all the frills, fakery, and stomach churning pop veneer that keeps gushing out of today's Nashville. The title tracks don't sound any better anywhere, and the overlooked "The Longer You Wait" just further proves Merle's songwriting supremacy. Populism has few finer proponents than the Hag. Put this disc on and let your own inner hayseed grin in validation.

FANTASTIC! I have never enjoyed Haggard until this evening........1999-06-21

mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Merl is wonderful. You can't imagine the thrill I had to be the first to review such a fine piece of art. He deserves an award for this. Every song was like a piece of melting butter running through my ears. WOW! I just wish I had time to listen to them all over and over. Even if you don't like country, Merl is the man for you. You would be a fool not to get this cd.

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1. Susan Raye - 16 Greatest Hits
2. Swingin' Stampede: The Hot Club Of Cowtown Playing Hot Jazz & Western Swing
3. Talkin' to Your Heart/Touch of Velvet [Import] [Original recording remastered]
4. The Ahern Sessions: 1976-1977
5. The Earth Rolls On
6. The Hits
7. The Ultimate Collection
8. This Is...Brenda/Emotions
9. This Time [Extra tracks]
10. Turn the Tide

Music Album