Merle Haggard - Big City

When Merle Haggard & The Strangers, along with producer Lewis Talley, entered a recording studio in July of 1981 to make his debut album for Epic -- after leaving his long association with MCA -- he had no idea that just 48 hours later he and the band would leave, having recorded enough material for two albums, Big City and its follow-up, Going Where The Lonely Go. Big City is a collection of songs focused on the themes of freedom from urban life. Haggard wrote or co-wrote almost every song on the record -- except "Texas Fiddle Song," written by his then-wife, Leona William -- and the free abandon the band plays with here stands in sharp contrast to the material featured on the latter album. Read More