Merle Haggard: Same Train Different Time

[Sasquatchian]

So I've been listening to a lot of Merle's Same Train, Different Time, mostly to hear his take on all those Jimmie Rodgers songs and comparing them back to the originals. As I kept listening to the Merle recordings from 1968, all of a sudden it dawned on me that parts of that record were sounding familiar, and by parts, I mean, the reverb on his voice. The favorite reverb that I use is the Universal Audio Capital Chambers recreation of the real deal under the parking lot in Hollywood and that's what I thought I was hearing. Looked it up and while Merle recorded at dozens of different studios over the years, that particular record was indeed recorded at Capital from late '68 into early '69. That's the first time I've listened to a record and said to myself that it was recorded in a particular place, and was right about it. So, it's a great record in and of itself, but it's also good for paying close attention to the reverb and knowing that it was one of those chambers, and even further, knowing just how good a job UAD did on that plug-in. For a lot of the engineers I know, that plug-in alone is reason enough to invest in a UAD system.

[jim1960]

I shed my UA interface a while back but kept my UA satellite. The only reason for keeping it is the Capital Chambers plugin. The only UA plugins I ever use anymore are Capital Chambers and the Curve Bender. The latter is available natively so should I shed UA completely that one is easily replaceable, Capital Chambers is not.

[Al Acuff]

One of my favorite Merle Haggard LPs! What a singer! What a band!

It's the album that inspired me to buy the original Jimmy Rodgers recordings which are wonderful too.

[dnf777]

Ok, I was just looking for an excuse to sit all afternoon listening to vintage vinyl! That album figured prominently in my pre-teen formative years, and apparently still is!

Thanks for sharing that little gem!
(Still coming to grips with Merle not being here…)

Edit: was just reading about that album-another tid-bit is that in addition to the legendary Roy Nichols (at least to Hag fans) was none other than James Burton listed under musicians! Somehow I doubt he played his pink paisley on those tracks…

[Sasquatchian]

Originally Posted by dnf777

Ok, I was just looking for an excuse to sit all afternoon listening to vintage vinyl! That album figured prominently in my pre-teen formative years, and apparently still is!

Thanks for sharing that little gem!
(Still coming to grips with Merle not being here…)

Edit: was just reading about that album-another tid-bit is that in addition to the legendary Roy Nichols (at least to Hag fans) was none other than James Burton listed under musicians! Somehow I doubt he played his pink paisley on those tracks…

You can hear Hag calling for a Burton solo - on ACOUSTIC guitar. Makes it even more appropriate for this forum.

[AcousticDreams]

Very embarrassingly there seems to be a lot of music I missed in my youth.

I have been pretty much a melodic rock, new wave kind of guy my entire life. You know, Late sixties, seventies and eighties music. I have also always enjoyed music from groups of the 40's & 50's often featured in those classic films. But somehow I was never much of a country appreciator.

...I wanted to heard the reverb you guys were talking about. So I looked up Merle Haggard from the album mentioned, and found "California Blues".

Oh my, I could not help but tap my feet and smile the whole way through.
Guess you really can teach an old dog new tricks. I like it!

[Sasquatchian]

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

Very embarrassingly there seems to be a lot of music I missed in my youth.

I have been pretty much a melodic rock, new wave kind of guy my entire life. You know, Late sixties, seventies and eighties music. I have also always enjoyed music from groups of the 40's & 50's often featured in those classic films. But somehow I was never much of a country appreciator.

...I wanted to heard the reverb you guys were talking about. So I looked up Merle Haggard from the album mentioned, and found "California Blues".

Oh my, I could not help but tap my feet and smile the whole way through.
Guess you really can teach an old dog new tricks. I like it!

If you liked that then I cannot recommend highly enough the first few episodes of the Ken Burns County Music documentary, which focuses heavily on Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, really putting their contributions in perspective. And there's the clip from The Johnny Cash Show where he had Satch on and recreated the recording that Armstrong did with Jimmie in 1930. I mean, Louis Armstrong played trumpet on a Jimmie Rodgers date in 1930. Let that sink in. It might have been Waiting For A Train, I think, but it's easy enough to find on YouTube.