Merle Haggard - Trubadour [2012] (4 x CDs)

MERLE HAGGARD

Merle Haggard - Trubadour [2012] (4 x CDs)

Released in 2012 by Bear Family Records, The Troubadour is a monumental 4×CD box set chronicling Merle Haggard’s prolific output from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Produced with Haggard’s full support, this German-issued compilation spans 111 tracks, including studio cuts, live performances, outtakes, and tributes, many of which had never been issued on CD prior to this release.

The set opens with “The Troubadour,” a fitting title track that sets the tone for a journey through Haggard’s introspective and genre-blending years. 

CD1 features his heartfelt Elvis tribute suite, including renditions of “Blue Christmas,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “Love Me Tender,” culminating in “Merle’s Farewell to Elvis.” These tracks showcase Haggard’s reverence for musical lineage while maintaining his own interpretive grit.

CD2 leans into barroom ballads and honky-tonk reflections, with standout tracks like “Footlights,” “Misery and Gin,” and “Barroom Buddies.” 

CD3 deepens the emotional terrain, offering rarities like “Dealing With the Devil,” “Lay Your Hands on My Heart,” and the outtake “I Don’t Want to Sober Up Tonight.” 

CD4 closes with gospel-infused selections and a generous suite of live recordings, including “Sing Me Back Home” and “Rainbow Stew,” capturing Haggard’s stage charisma and spiritual leanings.

Packaged with Bear Family’s signature archival rigor, the box includes a richly annotated booklet with essays, photos, and session details. For collectors, this release is essential, not just for its breadth, but for its sequencing, which honors Haggard’s evolution as a songwriter, interpreter, and cultural voice. 

This wasn’t the outlaw firebrand of the Capitol years, nor the polished veteran of later Epic releases, it was Haggard in transition, blending Bakersfield grit with Nashville polish. The Troubadour isn’t a greatest hits package, it’s a deep dive into a fertile but often overlooked chapter in Haggard’s career. A definitive document of Merle’s troubadour years, this set invites deep listening and archival appreciation. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Merle Haggard - Troubadour 2:28

02 Merle Haggard - I Think It's Gone Forever 2:55

03 Merle Haggard - If We're Not Back in Love by Monday 3:14

04 Merle Haggard - Ramblin' Fever 3:09

05 Merle Haggard - When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again 3:17

06 Merle Haggard - Ghost Story 2:42

07 Merle Haggard - Set Me Free 2:46

08 Merle Haggard - Love Somebody to Death 3:13

09 Merle Haggard - Ain't Your Memory Got No Pride at All 2:33

10 Merle Haggard - My Love for You 2:25

11 Merle Haggard - The Last Letter 3:34

12 Merle Haggard - From Graceland to the Promised Land 2:31

13 Merle Haggard - Blue Christmas 2:26

14 Merle Haggard - Are You Lonesome Tonight 2:51

15 Merle Haggard - In the Ghetto 2:56

16 Merle Haggard - Don't Be Cruel 2:01

17 Merle Haggard - Jailhouse Rock 2:52

18 Merle Haggard - Love Me Tender 2:43

19 Merle Haggard - That's All Right 2:29

20 Merle Haggard - Heartbreak Hotel 2:19

21 Merle Haggard - Blue Suede Shoes 2:03

22 Merle Haggard - Merle's Farewell to Elvis 0:19

23 Merle Haggard - I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall 2:51

24 Merle Haggard - Life of a Rodeo Cowboy 2:59

25 Merle Haggard - It's Been a Great Afternoon 2:47

26 Merle Haggard - Love Me When You Can 3:25

27 Merle Haggard - There Won't Be Another Now 4:02

28 Merle Haggard - Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me 3:29

29 Merle Haggard - There Ain't No Good Chain Gang 3:04

30 Merle Haggard - The Dream 3:02

31 Merle Haggard - The Immigrant 3:07

32 Merle Haggard - Mama I've Got to Go to Memphis 3:01

CD2

01 Merle Haggard - The Bull and The Beaver 2:42

02 Merle Haggard - I'm Getting' High 2:50

03 Merle Haggard - Red Bandana 2:34

04 Merle Haggard - Driftwood 3:02

05 Merle Haggard - Sing A Family Song 3:16

06 Merle Haggard - Footlights 4:02

07 Merle Haggard - Got Lonely Too Early This Morning 3:05

08 Merle Haggard - Heaven Was A Drink of Wine 2:50

09 Merle Haggard - I Can't Get Away 3:11

10 Merle Haggard - My Own Kind of Hat 2:55

11 Merle Haggard - I Didn't Mean to Love You 2:32

12 Merle Haggard - Roses in The Winter 3:56

13 Merle Haggard - I Must Done Something Bad 3:28

14 Merle Haggard - The Way I Am 2:53

15 Merle Haggard - Wake Up 4:06

16 Merle Haggard - Sky-Bo 3:33

17 Merle Haggard - No One to Sing for (But The Band) 3:34

18 Merle Haggard - Remember Me (I'm The One Who Loves You) 3:01

19 Merle Haggard - Life's Just Not The Way it Used to Be 2:53

20 Merle Haggard - Where Have You Been 2:49

21 Merle Haggard - Take Me Back and Try Me One More Time 2:51

22 Merle Haggard - I'll Always Be Glad to Take You Back 3:19

23 Merle Haggard - It Makes No Difference Now 3:08

24 Merle Haggard - It's Been So Long Darlin' 3:02

25 Merle Haggard - Misery and Gin 2:49

26 Merle Haggard - Barroom Buddies 2:17

27 Merle Haggard - You Babe 3:45

CD3

01 Merle Haggard - My Life's Been Grand 2:34

02 Merle Haggard - Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa 3:15

03 Merle Haggard - Love Keeps Hanging On 3:59

04 Merle Haggard - All in The Game 3:48

05 Merle Haggard - Why Can't I Cry 4:59

06 Merle Haggard - Bleachers 3:24

07 Merle Haggard - Love Don't Hurt Everything 2:33

08 Merle Haggard - Susie 2:28

09 Merle Haggard - Pennies From Heaven 4:14

10 Merle Haggard - Make-Up and Faded Blue Jeans 4:05

11 Merle Haggard - Ever Changing Woman 2:28

12 Merle Haggard - Help Save The Wild Life 2:19

13 Merle Haggard - Leonard 3:37

14 Merle Haggard - I Don't Want to Sober Up Tonight 3:29

15 Merle Haggard - Dealing With The Devil 3:28

16 Merle Haggard - Can't Break The Habit 3:05

17 Merle Haggard - Lay Your Hands on My Heart 3:19

18 Merle Haggard - Back to The Barrooms Again 2:35

19 Merle Haggard - Our Paths May Never Cross 2:45

20 Merle Haggard - (I Don't Have) Any More Love Songs 3:03

21 Merle Haggard - I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink 4:32

22 Merle Haggard - I Don't Want to Sober Up Tonight (Outtake) 3:29

23 Merle Haggard - New Cocaine Blues 3:39

24 Merle Haggard - Easy Come, Easy Go 3:32

25 Merle Haggard - Easy Come, Easy Go (Alt) 3:10

CD4

01 Merle Haggard - When God Comes and Gathers His Jewels 2:58

02 Merle Haggard - Supper Time 2:44

03 Merle Haggard - He Walks With Me 2:21

04 Merle Haggard - Softly and Tenderly 3:01

05 Merle Haggard - Why Me 3:10

06 Merle Haggard - Where No One Stands Alone 3:00

07 Merle Haggard - One Day at a Time 3:17

08 Merle Haggard - What a Friend We Have in Jesus 2:34

09 Merle Haggard - Swing Low Sweet Chariot 3:36

10 Merle Haggard - The Old Rugged Cross 3:45

11 Merle Haggard - Keep on the Sunny Side 2:54

12 Merle Haggard - The Fightin' Side of Me 3:25

13 Merle Haggard - If We Make it Through December 2:55

14 Merle Haggard - Misery and Gin 3:22

15 Merle Haggard - I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink 3:24

16 Merle Haggard - Back to the Barrooms Again 2:24

17 Merle Haggard - Our Paths May Never Cross 4:01

18 Merle Haggard - The Running Kind / I'm a Lonesome Fugitive 3:44

19 Merle Haggard - Rainbow Stew 2:43

20 Merle Haggard - Blue Yodel #9 2:53

21 Merle Haggard - Dealing With the Devil 3:41

22 Merle Haggard - Fiddle Breakdown 3:48

23 Merle Haggard - Sing Me Back Home 4:06

24 Merle Haggard - Pearl Beer 1:04

25 Merle Haggard - The Man in the Mask 1:33

26 Merle Haggard - The Legend Begins 1:37

27 Merle Haggard - The Breaking of Silver 1:37

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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