Like Never Before (Merle Haggard album)

Like Never Before
Studio album by Merle Haggard
Released	September 23, 2003
Genre	Country
Length	31:38
Label	Hag
Producer	Merle Haggard, Lou Bradley
Merle Haggard chronology
The Peer Sessions (2002) Like Never Before (2003) I Wish I Was Santa Claus (2004)

Like Never Before is the fifty-fifth studio album by American recording artist Merle Haggard. It was released in 2004 on his own label, Hag Records.

After several gospel and roots music albums, this collection boasts a more diverse musical landscape than his critically acclaimed comeback album If I Could Only Fly, ranging from the western swing of "Garbage Man" and "Lonesome Day" to the jazz-inflected "Because of Your Eyes" and the mariachi-infused "Return to San Francisco". Haggard duets with friend Willie Nelson on "Reno Blues". The album is perhaps best remembered for the song "That's the News", a scathing indictment of media culture and the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq in the early 2000s. In a 2006 interview the notoriously patriotic Haggard defended the Dixie Chicks, after they were lambasted for their criticism of President George W. Bush.^[1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	** [3]

Thom Jurek of Allmusic praises the album, calling it "meticulously crafted and arranged, full of beautiful charts and striking vocal and instrumental performances."^[2] In his review, music critic Robert Christgau only wrote "Rebel, patriot, musician, legend, populist, sentimentalist, small businessman."^[3]

1. "Haggard (Like I've Never Been Before)" (Merle Haggard, Doug Colosio) – 3:22
2. "That's the News" (Haggard) – 2:33
3. "Garbage Man" – 2:56
4. "Reno Blues (Philadelphia Lawyer)" (with Willie Nelson) – 3:33
5. "The Downside" (Haggard) – 1:59
6. "Because of Your Eyes" (Haggard) – 3:48
7. "Lonesome Day" (Haggard, Colosio) – 2:06
8. "I Dreamed You Didn't Love Me" (Haggard) – 3:04
9. "Yellow Ribbons" (Haggard) – 2:59
10. "I Hated to See You Go" (Haggard) – 2:53
11. "Return to San Francisco" (Haggard) – 2:25

• Merle Haggard – vocals, guitar
• Norm Hamlet – pedal steel guitar
• Don Markham – saxophone, trumpet
• Clint Strong – guitar
• Red Lane – guitar
• Doug Colosio – keyboards
• Andy Kaulkin – piano
• Mike Martin – harmonica
• Willie Nelson – vocals, guitar
• Norman Stevens – guitar
• Kevin Williams – bass
• Jeff Ingraham – drums
• Kenny Malone – drums
• Scott Joss – fiddle, guitar, background vocals
• Theresa Lane Haggard – background vocals