Will Oldham’s covers of the Everly Brothers, Bill Withers and even R Kelly are some of the most satisfying curios in his massive catalogue, and he continues here with an album of songs by the late Merle Haggard. Oldham’s reaffirmation of country as a spartan, romantic, existentially troubled music is a trick he perhaps learned from Haggard himself, but he strays further still from country’s core sound, replacing the pedal steel and banjo with flutes, saxophones and acoustic guitar. By doing this, and choosing deep cuts rather than hits like Okie From Muskegee, he universalises a music that is still overlooked by many listeners, and in some cases arguably improves it – Haggard (Like I’ve Never Been Before) gives some swing to the stodgy honky-tonk of the original. But Haggard’s songwriting still shines throughout. With one eyebrow audibly raised, he sang of life’s trials in rueful yet stoic ballads, characterised by lines like “for most of my life I’ve almost been a winner”; Oldham beautifully recasts them in his leaf-rustle baritone.
