Tulare Dust: A Songwriters’ Tribute to Merle Haggard
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On most tribute records, the varied interpretations of a single artist rarely amount to anything more than a greatest-hits package once removed, and often an uneven one at that. But the sheer volume of tribute albums on the market almost guarantees occasional exceptions to this rule. One recent example is Tulare Dust: A Songwriters’ Tribute to Merle Haggard (Hightone). In his heyday, from the late 60s to the mid-70s, Haggard and his backup band the Strangers were one of the strongest country groups in the business. There are already numerous compilations that amply demonstrate their achievements. (In our CD age the best are probably the 1990 compilations The Capitol Collector’s Series and its worthy companion volume on Rhino, More of the Best.) But on this new tribute album, producers Dave Alvin and Tom Russell are after something else. By focusing on his songwriting, they and the 13 other respected singer-songwriters who contributed to the project have carefully framed the most endearing example of Haggard’s important populist legacy available on a single disc.
Over the next two decades he exploited his background with a stunningly prolific output of singles and albums. In songs about work, prison, family, love, marriage, and politics, his attitude ranged from patriotic pride to class-conscious resentment, from down-home nostalgia to lecherous rambling fever. These contradictory stances always captured millions of white, working-class American males’ gut reactions to the confusing social changes and tumultuous political events of their times. In return, they (and their wives) rewarded him with a string of more than 40 top-ten country hits between the mid-60s and the early 80s.
