CINXE.COM
Robert Christgau: George Jones and Merle Haggard: Jones Sings Haggard, Haggard Sings Jones
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> <link rel=stylesheet href="/rxgau.css" type="text/css"> <meta name="robots" content="INDEX,FOLLOW"> <title>Robert Christgau: George Jones and Merle Haggard: Jones Sings Haggard, Haggard Sings Jones</title> </head> <body bgcolor="#e0ffff"> <table width="100%" border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=10> <tr><td colspan=2 bgcolor="#1010e0"> <p><a class=xlnk href="/"><img class=xlnk src="/rxgau.gif" width=287 height=47 alt="Robert Christgau: Dean of American Rock Critics"></a></p> </td></tr> <tr><td bgcolor="#1010e0" valign=top> <table cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 border=1> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><a class=xlnk href="/cg.php">Consumer Guide:</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/web/cgusers.php">User's Guide</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/bk-cg90/grades-90s.php">Grades 1990-</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/bk-cg70/grades.php">Grades 1969-89</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="https://robertchristgau.substack.com/">And It Don't Stop</a><br> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><a class=xlnk href="/books.php">Books:</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-bkreps.php">Book Reports</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-isitya.php">Is It Still Good to Ya?</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-goitc.php">Going Into the City</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-cg90s.php">Consumer Guide: 90s</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-guaw.php">Grown Up All Wrong</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-cg80s.php">Consumer Guide: 80s</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-cg70s.php">Consumer Guide: 70s</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-aow.php">Any Old Way You Choose It</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/bk-fest.php">Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough</a><br> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><a class=xlnk href="/xgausez.php">Xgau Sez</a></td></tr> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><em class=lnk>Writings:</em><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/dontstop/index.php">And It Don't Stop</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/cg/index.php">CG Columns</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/bn/index.php">Rock&Roll& [new]</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/rock/index.php">Rock&Roll& [old]</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/music/index.php">Music Essays</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/cdrev/index.php">Music Reviews</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/bkrev/index.php">Book Reviews</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/najp/index.php">NAJP Blog</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/play/index.php">Playboy</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/bl/index.php">Blender</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/rs/index.php">Rolling Stone</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/bb/index.php">Billboard</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/vr/index.php">Video Reviews</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/pnj/index.php">Pazz & Jop</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/recyc/index.php">Recyclables</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/news/index.php">Newsprint</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/list/index.php">Lists</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/xg/misc/index.php">Miscellany</a><br> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><a class=xlnk href="/biblio.php">Bibliography</a></td></tr> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><a class=xlnk href="/xg/npr/index.php">NPR</a></td></tr> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><em class=lnk>Web Site:</em><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/index.php">Home</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/map.php">Site Map</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/contact.php">Contact</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/newest.php">What's New?</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/rss.php"><img src="/images/rss-button-12.jpg"> RSS</a><br> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><em class=lnk>Social Media:</em><br> <a class="xlnk" href="https://substack.com/@robertchristgau?">Substack</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:jw6pxdbvxz2jkjkk5w6bofx5">Bluesky</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="https://x.com/rxgau">[Twitter]</a><br> <tr><td class=xlnk nowrap><em class=lnk>Carola Dibbell:</em><br> <a class="xlnk" href="http://caroladibbell.com/">Carola's Website</a><br> <a class="xlnk" href="/u/cd/">Archive</a><br> <tr><td class=xlnk><a class=xlnk href="/get_artist.php">CG Search:</a> <form method=get action="/get_artist.php"> <input type=text name=name size=15> </form></tr> <tr><td class=xlnk><a class="xlnk" href="https://google.com/search">Google Search:</a> <form method="get" action="https://google.com/search" target="_blank"> <input type="hidden" name="sitesearch" value="robertchristgau.com"> <input type="text" name="q" size="15" maxlength="255"> </form></tr> </table> </td><td valign=top width="100%"> <!-- end standard header --> <img src="/icon/rs.gif" width=14 height=14 alt="*"><img src="/icon/rs.gif" width=14 height=14 alt="*"><img src="/icon/rs.gif" width=14 height=14 alt="*"><p class="cdrev"> <b>GEORGE JONES AND MERLE HAGGARD<br><i>Jones Sings Haggard, Haggard Sings Jones: Kickin' Out the Footlights . . . Again</i><br> Bandit</b></p> <p class="rstag">Hag and Jones cover each other's songs--what's not to like?</p> <p>Because George Jones and Merle Haggard are our premier living country artists -- male, anyway (hello, Dolly) -- their album of four duets and five solos apiece can't be ignored. Sometimes some synergy is just what an old dog needs, and having them sing each other's hits is a neat idea. But though the seventy-five-year-old Jones will stand as one of the greatest singers in any genre, his vocal edge has blurred so noticeably in recent years that the wistful "All My Friends Are Strangers" isn't just his finest performance on this likable-enough album, but in this millennium. So Haggard, who at sixty-nine has been picking up his game of late, carries the team. On solo shots such as "Things Have Gone to Press" and "I Always Get Lucky With You," the words have clearly passed through his brain before reaching his larynx -- a larynx that if we're lucky will continue to resonate for another decade.</p> <p style="text-align: right; clear: both"><i>Rolling Stone</i>, Dec. 14, 2006</p> <!-- begin standard footer --> </td> </table> </body> </html>