CD REVIEWS
By Michael Swanger scenescribe@mchsi.com
Merle Haggard
“I Am What I Am”
Vanguard Records
If you think 73-year-old country music legend Merle Haggard has outlasted his abilities to write, pick and sing, then you haven’t heard “I Am What I Am,” his best album since his Capitol Records heyday. Like Hag himself, a fugitive, a troubadour and a crusader, “I Am What I Am” fulfills multiple roles with the help of a sparse sound (traditional country and western swing) and universal topics (family, country, love). What’s more, Hag seems to be comfortable in his older skin, embracing his role as a grizzled sage on songs like “Bad Actor” and the title track. “I’ve Seen It Go Away” is as wise a commentary on our country as “Pretty When It’s New” is as timeless as love itself. Two songs that are likely to be overlooked, but shouldn’t be, are “Mexican Bands,” which reveals Hag’s taste for Mexican culture and the nostalgic “Oil Tanker Train.”CV
History on Repeat
“So Long, Future Boy”
Broken English Records
Historically speaking, bands build a local following and make a full-length album or two before hitting the road in search of fame and a record deal. But times they-are-a-changin’. Just ask History on Repeat, a young Iowa alt-rock, pop-punk quartet that has inked a deal with a record label owned by New York producer John Naclerio (My Chemical Romance, Brand New, Just Surrender) and launched a national tour while being virtually unknown in their hometown. Whether that’s a knock or a compliment depends on your point of view. History on Repeat, formerly known as Here’s My Chance, proves on its four-track EP, “So Long, Future Boy” that they have a knack for pounding out pop-punk with the kind of polished spunk required to play the music. The problem, however, is they sound like numerous other pop-punk bands that are feeding from the same post-Green Day musical trough. CV
