Seashores of Old Mexico

Last updated
Seashores of Old Mexico
SeashoresOfOldMexicoAlbum.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 13, 1987
RecordedPendernales Recording Studio, Spicewood, Texas
Genre Country
Label Epic
Producer Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson chronology
Island in the Sea
(1987)
Seashores of Old Mexico
(1987)
What a Wonderful World
(1988)
Merle Haggard chronology
Out Among the Stars
(1986)
Seashores of Old Mexico
(1987)
Chill Factor
(1987)

Seashores of Old Mexico is a studio album by Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. It is a sequel to their enormously successful 1983 duet album Pancho and Lefty and was released in 1987. They are backed by The Strangers. The only charting single was a cover of a 1979 Blaze Foley song, "If I Could Only Fly", which peaked at number 58 on the 1987 Billboard Hot Country Songs singles chart. [1]

Contents

Background

Haggard and Nelson, who would each be plagued with financial problems in the years ahead, chose to produce the album themselves. However, it did not contain a hit single like their previous duet album had and peaked on the Billboard country albums chart at number 31. The album is dominated with songs composed by Haggard, although Nelson does contribute "Why Do I Have to Choose." Two remakes are included: the title track, which Haggard had written and recorded in 1974, and Haggard's 1969 ballad "Silver Wings." Perhaps the biggest surprise on the album is the inclusion of the Beatles classic ballad "Yesterday", a song that Nelson had performed regularly in concert in the sixties but Haggard had cited as a marker of the end of the good ol' days on his 1982 hit "Are the Good Times Really Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)."

Critical reception

Martin Monkman of AllMusic believes the album pales in comparison to its predecessor, writing, "Alas, little of what made the earlier album so great is in evidence. At times the album sounds like a Merle Haggard record with Willie Nelson on hand as support." [2] In his 2013 book The Running Kind, Haggard biographer David Cantwell is especially critical of Haggard's singing on "Yesterday": "His rich baritone, in especially fine form on Seashores' every other track, feels like it's been unexpectedly pumped with air and left out overnight in the chill and damp. His phrases, which normally snap off crisply or, more often, fade slowly like a sunset, here merely crumple." [3]

Track listing

  1. "Seashores of Old Mexico" (Merle Haggard)
  2. "Without You on My Side" (Haggard)
  3. "When Times Were Good" (David Lynn Jones)
  4. "Jimmy the Broom" (Haggard, Freddy Powers)
  5. "Yesterday" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
  6. "If I Could On'y Fly" (Blaze Foley)
  7. "Shotgun and a Pistol" (Haggard)
  8. "Love Makes a Fool of Us All" (Glenn Martin, Hank Cochran)
  9. "Why Do I Have to Choose" (Willie Nelson)
  10. "Silver Wings" (Haggard)

Personnel

The Strangers:

with:

and:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merle Haggard</span> American country music singer-songwriter and musician (1937–2016)

Merle Ronald Haggard was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.

<i>Pancho & Lefty</i> (album) 1983 studio album by Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson

Pancho & Lefty is a honky tonk album by outlaw country musicians Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson, released in 1983. Original vinyl copies from 1983 give the album's title as "Poncho & Lefty" on the cover, as well as on the inner sleeve and the record label; the album's title track is similarly rendered "Poncho & Lefty" on the cover, inner sleeve, and label. Later editions correct the title to the intended "Pancho & Lefty". They are backed by Don Markham of The Strangers.

<i>One Day at a Time</i> (Joan Baez album) 1970 studio album by Joan Baez

One Day at a Time is the 11th studio album by Joan Baez, released in January 1970. Recorded in Nashville, the album was a continuation of Baez' experimentation with country music, begun with the previous year's David's Album. It is significant in that it was the first to include Baez' own compositions, "Sweet Sir Galahad" and "A Song for David", the former song a ballad for her younger sister Mimi Fariña, and the latter song being for her then-husband, David Harris, at the time in prison as a conscientious objector. One Day at a Time also included work by The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, and Pete Seeger.

<i>Kickin Out the Footlights...Again</i> 2006 studio album by George Jones and Merle Haggard

Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again is a studio album by American country music artists George Jones and Merle Haggard, released in 2006.

<i>A Taste of Yesterdays Wine</i> 1982 studio album by George Jones and Merle Haggard

A Taste of Yesterday's Wine is a duet studio album by American country music artists George Jones and Merle Haggard, released in 1982. They are backed by Don Markham and Jimmy Belken of The Strangers. The album includes the song "Silver Eagle", written by Gary Church, also of The Strangers. This was their first album together; their next album together, Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again, did not come until 24 years later in 2006.

<i>Heroes & Friends</i> 1990 studio album by Randy Travis

Heroes & Friends is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Randy Travis, released in 1990. Except for the title track, every song on this album is a duet with another recording artist. "A Few Ole Country Boys" and the title track were both released as singles from this album, peaking at numbers 8 and 3, respectively, on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts in 1990.

<i>Going Where the Lonely Go</i> 1982 studio album by Merle Haggard

Going Where the Lonely Go is the thirty-fifth studio album by American recording artist Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1982.

<i>A Portrait of Merle Haggard</i> 1969 studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

A Portrait of Merle Haggard is the tenth studio album by American recording artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released September 2, 1969.

<i>Hag</i> (album) 1971 studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

Hag is the twelfth studio album by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers released on Capitol Records in 1971. It became his fifth album to top the Billboard country album charts. It also reached number 66 on the pop albums chart.

<i>Let Me Tell You About a Song</i> 1972 studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

Let Me Tell You About a Song is the fourteenth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1972. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard Country album chart and #166 on the Pop album chart. The lead-off singles were "Grandma Harp" and "Daddy Frank " — both reached No. 1.

<i>If We Make It Through December</i> (album) 1974 studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

If We Make It Through December is the sixteenth studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1974. It reached number 4 on the Billboard country album charts. The title track was previously released on Haggard's Christmas release of 1973, A Christmas Present. The single spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in December 1973 and January 1974, and cracked the Top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100. "If We Make It Through December" was the No. 2 song of the year on Billboard's Hot Country Singles 1974 year-end chart.

<i>Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album</i> 1974 studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album is the seventeenth studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released in 1974. Contrary to the album's title, this was his 17th studio album; however, the number 30 included his six collaborative albums, three live albums, one 'live' gospel album, one Christmas album, and two greatest hits compilations up to that point.

<i>Thats the Way Love Goes</i> (Merle Haggard album) 1983 studio album by Merle Haggard

That's the Way Love Goes is the thirty-eighth studio album by the American country music singer Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1983.

<i>If I Could Only Fly</i> 2000 studio album by Merle Haggard

If I Could Only Fly is the fiftieth studio album by American country singer Merle Haggard, released in 2000. The album reached number 26 on the Billboard Country albums chart. The title song is a cover of a 1979 song written and recorded by Texas songwriter Blaze Foley. Haggard had previously recorded the song as a duet with American country singer Willie Nelson on their 1987 album, Seashores of Old Mexico, peaking at number 58 on the 1987 Billboard Hot Country Songs singles chart.

"A Place to Fall Apart" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard as a duet with Janie Fricke and backed by The Strangers. It was released in October 1984 as the second single from the album It's All in the Game. The song was the first single where both Haggard and Fricke worked together. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of fourteen weeks on the country chart. Haggard wrote the song with Willie Nelson and Freddy Powers.

<i>Its All in the Game</i> (Merle Haggard album) 1984 studio album by Merle Haggard

It's All in the Game is the thirty-ninth studio album by American country music artist Merle Haggard backed by The Strangers, released in 1984 by Epic Records. The album peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

<i>Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium</i> 1981 live album by Merle Haggard

Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium is a live album by American country music artist Merle Haggard with backing by The Strangers. It was recorded in October 1980 and released in July 1981 on MCA Records.

<i>Heart to Heart</i> (Merle Haggard and Leona Williams album) 1983 studio album by Merle Haggard and Leona Williams

Heart to Heart is a duet album by Merle Haggard and Leona Williams with backing by The Strangers, released in June 1983 on Mercury Records. It reached number 44 on the Billboard Country music chart.

<i>Like Never Before</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Merle Haggard

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.

<i>Django and Jimmie</i> 2015 studio album by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard

Django and Jimmie is the sixth and final collaborative studio album by American country music artists Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. It was released on June 2, 2015, by Legacy Recordings. The album was Haggard's final studio album prior to his death in April 2016. Merle Haggard died of Pneumonia 10 months after its release.

References

  1. charts.https://www.musicvf.com/Willie+Nelson+%2526+Merle+Haggard.art
  2. Monkman, Martin. "Seashores of Old Mexico > Review". Allmusic . Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  3. Cantwell, David (2013). Merle Haggard: The Running Kind. University of Texas Press. ISBN   978-0-292-71771-8.