Haggard, Merle
Back To The Barrooms
Rare & Collectible Vinyl Records

1980 Repress/Reissue, Still In Shrink With Updated Cat. Number Gold Stamped On Front Cover. Corner Ding & Cut Corner. "Memories And Drinks Don't Mix Too Well/Jukebox Records Don't Play Those Wedding Bells." So Begins "Misery And Gin," The Opening Track On Merle Haggard's Strongest — And Second From Last — Outing For MCA. While This Album Is Deservedly Known For Its Four Classic Drinking Songs — The Aforementioned Cut, "Back To The Barrooms," "I Don't Want To Sober Up Tonight," And "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink" — What Back To The Barrooms Is Really About Is The Wreckage Caused By Broken Amorous Relationships And Boozy Escape As The Only Way To Cope. Produced By Jimmy Bowen With His Progressive Country Style, He Understood Haggard's Wish To Utilize Horns And Strings In Ways Not Necessarily In Concert With Traditional Country Music — À La Bob Wills — Yet To Write And Perform In Grand Honky Tonk Fashion. Other Than Haggard's Relationship With Lewis Talley At Columbia, The Bowen-Hag Collaboration Was His Most Successful Of The 1970s. Haggard Wrote Or Co-Wrote The Majority Of The Album, And, Whether Intentionally Or Not, It Coincides With The Beginnings Of His Troubles With His Then-Wife, Songwriter Leona Williams (Whose Co-Write With Haggard, "Can't Break The Habit," Appears Here) As Chronicled In His Autobiography, Sing Me Back Home. This Album Features Haggard's Most Consistent, Inspiring Performance Since He Left Capitol, And Was The Beginning Of A Creative Renaissance, Though The Personal Toll It Took On Him Would Prove Considerable.” – Thom Jurek, All Music Guide