Merle Haggard – Best of the Best (CD)

Merle Haggard spent decades proving that country music could carry the full weight of working-class American life, from Bakersfield to the prison yard at San Quentin where he once served time. A compilation like this one serves as a useful entry point, but longtime fans know his catalog rewards deep listening, where the nuance in his phrasing and the steel guitar arrangements tell as much of the story as the lyrics themselves.