Reviewers have been quick to mention the apparent contradiction of the “Okie From Muskogee” scribe including two undisguised Bush bashes on his latest release. Never mind that Merle Haggard has often characterized “Okie” as a “joke” and only released “Where’s All The Freedom” and “America First” at producer Jimmy Bowen’s behest. Truth is, his politics have always been conflicted — as well as populist and ruggedly individual. It certainly helps that “Freedom” and “First” are quality compositions, the former complicated by economic realities and the Ten Commandments, the latter enlivened by a tough, forthright delivery.
A less often noted observation: Starting with 2000′s lovely If I Could Only Fly, Haggard has strung together a series of albums almost as satisfying as his celebrated late-’60s/early-’70s run. This autumnal renaissance is in part, a function of quality control; there’s plenty of dross amongst the genius on his seminal Capitol releases. But it’s also a function of an aesthetic rooted in tradition and the long haul, an aesthetic ideally tailored for a canny music-lifer with a voice that has only mellowed and deepened with age. Having conquered his weakness for saccharine arrangements, Haggard has crafted a winningly spare sound, long on roll and flow.
With Bowen back (with Mike Post) after an extended sabbatical, Chicago Wind is more polished than its predecessors, but it nonetheless proves the singer’s most compelling effort since If I Could Only Fly. Luxuriating in his crack band’s deep, responsive groove, Haggard avers “I don’t know much about Chicago” on the haunted title track, cherry-picks from his back catalogue as well as his friends’ (Willie Nelson’s recent “It Will Always Be” is a standout), and indulges his penchant for mournful love songs. Even the collection’s weaker moments (“What I’ve Been Meaning to Say”, for one) seem well-intentioned and of a piece. And the country patriarch is good-natured enough to save the not-bad Toby Keith ringer for the close.
