Merles Just Want to Have Fun

It was probably inevitable. New York's most decorated avant jazz Merle Haggard cover band really had to get together with Eugene Chadbourne, who has been entertaining the masses with his avant-garde country jazz stylings for decades now. Oh sure, the sax players and drummer may take a few liberties here and there and the "Bob Wills Medley" might have a chicken interlude and scatted bass solo, but this album was definitely made by folks who love Hag's music. You can't be a casual fan and create a mashup like "If Someday We Look Back Through December"! It might read like a joke, and they most certainly have some fun on the album, but "Listening to the Wind" is just a great (if unconventional) reading of a great song, without an ounce of irony or parody. The same could be said for "That's the News" and "The Way I Am" (a lovely banjo duet by Jon Lundbom and the good doctor). Merles Just Want to Have Fun is a fun and loving tribute...that should probably be avoided by country music purists. ~ Sean Westergaard