10 Great Songs

Capitol's budget-line 2012 compilation 10 Great Songs does indeed contain ten great songs Merle Haggard recorded for Capitol Records in the '60s and '70s. Highlights here include the immortal "Okie from Muskogee," "Mama Tried," "The Fightin' Side of Me," "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive," "If We Make It Through December," and "Carolyn." Sure, Hag had more than ten great songs for Capitol -- "Swinging Doors" and "The Bottle Let Me Down" are absent, for instance -- but it's hard to argue with what's here and it's hard to argue with the price. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi