The national primary season keeps building and building for the presidential election, but I’m declaring one vote closed. Finished. The end.

As a result, my copy of “The Bluegrass Sessions” by Merle Haggard will be filed with my bluegrass CDs and not my extensive collection of the Hag’s traditional country CDs. By a 19-15 vote count, you gave me some direction to do so, but frankly, my mind had been made up.

If you’ll recall, some anonymous committee, without giving any reasons, made a ruling shortly after the CD was released that it could not be considered under the bluegrass division of this year’s Grammy awards. The ruling created an uproar in some circles, including the good folks at McCoury Music Inc. and Hag Records, who jointly released the CD.

Call it what you want, but, please, call it good music, well-made music, as one might expect from Haggard himself, not to mention his not-too-wimpy cast of session pickers. They include Marty Stuart, Rob Ickes, Charlie Cushman, Aubrey Haynie, Ben Isaacs and Carl Jackson doing a bulk of the harmony vocal work. Did I mention Alison Krauss? Or producer Ronnie Reno? How can you read that list of names and not think bluegrass?

OK, I’m really going to turn to near blasphemy here, but you know the one thing I really missed on “The Bluegrass Sessions?” A bit, just a tiny bit perhaps, of Haggard’s fine electric guitar work. (Yeah, that’s right, I said ELECTRIC GUITAR.)

Had Haggard been brave enough to try a little chicken pickin’ on this CD, it would have definitely robbed it of any chance of anyone ever considering it “bluegrass,” regardless of the title. Never mind that bluegrass and banjo icon J.D. Crowe seems to favor a bit of electric steel guitar on his CDs. And you know what? For Crowe, it works, usually pretty darn well. As would a bit of the Hag’s Fender benders on his CD.

I’m still sticking to my original review of this CD and calling it a darn fine piece of work — for both fans of Haggard and fans of bluegrass. Don’t get the jitters, there’s room for both — and definitely room to be both.

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Not a lot of you have cast your vote on where I should file my Merle Haggard CD, “The Bluegrass Sessions,” as I try tidying up my computer/music room that my wife refers to as something far south of a rat’s nest.

In case you’re wondering, 14 BluegrassJournal.com readers think it belongs in my collection of country music, while eight others are telling me to file it with my bluegrass CDs.

One reader (you can view his comments by going back to the Haggard story that appeared here a couple of days ago) said my simple little poll amounted to “a loaded question as it calls for the definition of ‘bluegrass.’ The staunch bluegrass conservatives will say ‘no,’ but they’re still waivering on whether the Osborn Bros. are bluegrass or not (all that drums/pedal steel nonsense).”

Right now, I’m promising the writer of that comment to give him a personal response, but in the meantime, take a look at the Haggard story, the comment that was submitted and join the dialogue. Just what is — and isn’t — bluegrass?

And please, vote. My wife’s waiting for me to clean up my room, stacks of CDs included.

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Merle Haggard - The Bluegrass Sessions

Okay, I have a confession. I’m a CD slob. I listen to ‘em, pull ‘em out of the player and let them pile up. They land n top of the handmade oak CD holder that I fashioned myself. Or on top of my desk. Under my desk. On the bench beside the desk.

And, it goes on like that throughout the year, with just an occasional grumbling from my understanding wife. But each year, usually as the old year rolls over into the new one, I can’t take the CD mess any longer and decide to clean house. I go back through my collection, resorting and re-alphabetizing the ones that just got stuck in the wrong place.

I listen to more than just bluegrass, although as the years go by, bluegrass pretty much dominates my listening time. And, I’ve amassed a big enough bluegrass CD collection that the genre has gotten an entire special section in my large CD holder. Everything that isn’t bluegrass is alphabetized and filed in its separate section.

But, I’m not about to let some anonymous committee make up my mind, especially without giving me any reasons for its decision.

This year, as I ponder my annual CD cleanup, I have a real quandary. I couldn’t wait until Merle Haggard’s “The Bluegrass Sessions” came out this fall. I live in a small town with a new Wal-Mart Supercenter, and I wasn’t too optimistic they would even stock it. But surprise, surprise, I found it there on its release date.

I brought it home, hooked up my boom box outside on the driveway because a friend had shown up with a bit of a car problem we dealt with, and punched play. I gotta tell you, I’ve never heard a bad Merle Haggard album, and this was no exception. I thought it was down-right good. But was it straight-ahead bluegrass? Before I could chew much on that question, some anonymous committee from the Grammy awards had given me the answer. No, said this committee without offering any explanation, Merle Haggard’s bluegrass CD could not be considered for any bluegrass award.

That decision brought howls from many corners, including the folks who were involved in the CD’s production.

But, I’m not about to let some anonymous committee make up my mind, especially without giving me any reasons for its decision. Instead, I’m going to hand that chore over to you, the faithful readers of BluegrassJournal. com. Tell me please, should I file this CD with the many other Haggard CDs I have, or should I move it to my special section devoted to bluegrass? Hurry, let me know. My wife, I know, is waiting for me to get this CD mess cleaned up for one more year.

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Merle Haggard racked up his highest first-week sales for a new release since 2000 following the Oct. 2 release of “The Bluegrass Sessions,” which is number one on the bluegrass charts. The disc sold 2,865 units.The Hag entered Billboard’s Independent Albums chart at 34th and its Country Albums chart at 43rd.

Released on the McCoury Music label, Merle Haggard’s first-ever foray into the bluegrass genre features a duet with Alison Krauss on his own “Mama’s Hungry Eyes.” The Country Music Hall of Famer recorded “The Bluegrass Sessions” in two days of intimate “living room style” sessions with an all-star cast of musicians including Marty Stuart, Charlie Cushman and Rob Ickes among the bunch.

“Each take became a performance. Merle’s singing was totally inspired. In fact, he got to the point where he didn’t even go into the control room to listen to playbacks. There was no need. All of us knew what we were doing was right.”Marty Stuart

“The Bluegrass Sessions” features some reworked Haggard classics, several new songs and a few nods to bluegrass tradition, including a medley of Jimmie Rodgers songs and the Delmore Brothers’ “Blues Stay Away From Me”).

See BluegrassJournal.com’s Review of “The Bluegrass Sessions” here.

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The Bluegrass Sessions

The conversation might have gone something like this:

Merle Haggard’s pal: “Hag, I was over at this bluegrass festival the other day, and I heard several bands doin’ your songs. The crowd was going crazy at the mention of your name.”

Hag: “Really? Never heard of such a thing. Ol’ Haggard songs done by a bluegrass band? You’re crazy.”

The Pal: “Honest, Hag. Remember Marty Raybon who used to front that country band Shenandoah? He paid a big tribute to you and did what he thought was your best written song.”

Hag: “Ain’t no way, man. What the heck did he consider my cream of the crop?”

The Pal: “Kern River, Merle. Remember that one? Ol’ Marty just flat out accompanied himself on guitar and sang the fire out that thing. Gave me chills, it did. And, hey, that’s not all. That J.D. Crowe Band, gosh they did a killer version of ‘In My Next Life.’ I swear, Hag, since you weren’t singin’ that song, it was probably the second best I’ve heard it. Got them doggone chills all over again.”

Well, imaginary, indeed. But Merle Haggard, the country music singer’s singer and songwriter, has had, at some point, to have caught wind of his popularity among today’s bluegrass crowd. All kinds of bands are doing covers of his tunes at the festivals these days, and they’re getting great response with Haggard’s signature and obscure tunes. I suspect a percentage of the boomer-age crowd that once loved country music is migrating away from the pure, unlikeable sides of today’s so-called country, to something that indeed is much more pure — and that would be bluegrass.

Whatever the case, up steps this music icon with his brand new CD, “Merle Haggard; The Bluegrass Sessions,” a collection of 12 tunes that lean more heavily on country blues than true bluegrass with some Hag classics and new tunes tossed in the mix.

Pardon me, but I’ve been a die-hard Haggard fan for decades. Bluegrass, blues or whatever, I’m not about to knock this CD. It’s strong with a strong cast of characters, including producer Ronnie Reno, himself from the bloodlines of the legendary annals of bluegrass who once did a stint in Haggard’s band.

Then, try these pickers on for size: Marty Stuart, Rob Ickes, Charlie Cushman, Aubrey Haynie, Ben Isaacs, Scott Joss and JD Wilkes. Throw in some chilling harmony vocals by Alison Krauss on the Haggard classic, “Mama’s Hungry Eyes,” and other harmonies and all vocal arrangements by another icon of today’s bluegrass scene, Carl Jackson. What a recipe for an incredible CD that could only have been marketed in today’s quirky music marketplace, where the oddball offerings are often more enticing to buyers than the Billboard staples.

Haggard’s age shows here — but to great benefit. His vocals have lost the sharp edge of his early days, but they still contain such a broad range, from deep bass to high tenor, and whatever the note, crammed with such strong emotion.

I enjoyed hearing once again “Mama’s Hungry Eyes,” “Momma’s Prayers” and “Jimmy Rodgers’ Blues,” all of which brought flashbacks to my beloved collection of vinyl from another era. “Learning to Live With Myself” is a beautiful ballad I’d never heard before and it truly shows Haggard reflecting on the autumn of his own life.

Autumn, indeed, but only in real years. Haggard’s voice, his lyrics, his treatment of the songs all conjure up fresh, spring-like energy that very evidentally went into making this CD.

It hit the shelves Tuesday. The label copyright is McCoury Music Inc./Hag Records, Inc.

It’s a real pleaser, both for bluegrass and true-blue country crowds.

By Dan Tackett

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