Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium
Rainbow Stew | ||||
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Live album by Merle Haggard | ||||
Released | July 1981 | |||
Recorded | October 1980 | |||
Venue | Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 34:12 | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Producer | Merle Haggard | |||
Merle Haggard chronology | ||||
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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.
Background
Haggard moved from MCA to Epic Records in 1981. However, he still owed MCA two albums, and this collection, along with the gospel album Songs for the Mama That Tried, fulfilled his contractual obligations. This LP is notable for showcasing the talents of Haggard's backing band the Strangers, in particular the jazzy solos of guitarist and long-time band member Roy Nichols. The band is augmented by former Texas Playboys Eldon Shamblin, Tiny Moore and Gordon Terry and a horn section to fill out the sound.
In The Running Kind, Haggard biographer David Cantwell observes, "In the studio, these recent drinking numbers had broken a sweat trying to maintain control, but live they didn't even try to keep their cool, especially on fiddle breakdowns that run hot, then burst into flame."[1]
The track "Dealin' with the Devil" was previously recorded by Eddy Raven on his 1980 album Eyes.
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [2] |
Allmusic critic Steven Thomas Erlewine calls the album "a wonderful, swinging album that brings a new spin not only to classics like 'I'm a Lonesome Fugitive' and 'Sing Me Back Home' but also to Hag's newer songs 'Misery and Gin,' 'I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink,' and the title track."[2]
Track listing
- "Misery and Gin" (Johnny Durrill, Tommy Garrett) – 3:25
- "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" (Merle Haggard) – 3:24
- "Back to the Barrooms" (Haggard, Dave Kirby) – 2:24
- "Our Paths May Never Cross" (Haggard) – 4:01
- "Running Kind" (Haggard)/"I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" (Liz Anderson, Casey Anderson) – 3:35
- "Rainbow Stew" (Haggard) – 2:43
- "Blue Yodel No. 9 (Standin' on the Corner)" (Jimmie Rodgers) – 2:53
- "Dealing with the Devil" (Eddy Raven, Sanger D. Shafer) – 3:45
- "Fiddle Breakdown" – 3:48
- "Sing Me Back Home" (Haggard) – 4:04
Personnel
- Merle Haggard – vocals, guitar
The Strangers:
- Roy Nichols – lead guitar
- Norman Hamlet – steel guitar, dobro
- Tiny Moore – mandolin, fiddle
- Gordon Terry - fiddle
- Ronnie Reno – guitar
- Mark Yeary – piano
- Dennis Hromek– bass
- Biff Adam – drums
- Don Markham – saxophone
with
- Bonnie Owens– backing vocals
and
- Willie Nelson – guitar, vocals
- Johnny Paycheck - vocals
References
- v
- t
- e
- The Strangers
- Biff Adam
- Jimmy Belken
- Eddie Burris
- Gary Church
- Wayne Durham
- George French
- Dennis Hromek
- Don Markham
- Johnny Meeks
- Marcia Nichols
- Ronnie Reno
- Clint Strong
- Jim Tittle
- Jerry Ward
- Bobby Wayne
- Mark Yeary
- Strangers
- Swinging Doors ‡
- I'm a Lonesome Fugitive ‡
- Branded Man ‡
- Sing Me Back Home ‡
- The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde ‡
- Mama Tried ‡
- Pride in What I Am ‡
- Same Train, a Different Time ‡
- A Portrait of Merle Haggard ‡
- A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills) ‡
- Hag ‡
- Someday We'll Look Back ‡
- Let Me Tell You About a Song ‡
- It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) ‡
- If We Make It Through December ‡
- Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album ‡
- Keep Movin' On ‡
- It's All in the Movies ‡
- My Love Affair with Trains ‡
- The Roots of My Raising ‡
- Ramblin' Fever
- A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today ‡
- My Farewell to Elvis
- I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall
- Serving 190 Proof
- The Way I Am
- Back to the Barrooms
- Big City
- Going Where the Lonely Go
- That's the Way Love Goes
- It's All in the Game
- Kern River
- Out Among the Stars
- A Friend in California
- Chill Factor
- 5:01 Blues
- Blue Jungle
- 1994
- 1996
- If I Could Only Fly
- Roots, Volume 1
- The Peer Sessions
- Haggard Like Never Before
- Unforgettable
- Chicago Wind
- The Bluegrass Sessions
- I Am What I Am
- Working in Tennessee
- Songs I'll Always Sing
- Merle Haggard's Greatest Hits
- His Epic Hits: The First 11 (To Be Continued...)
- Down Every Road 1962–1994
- 16 Biggest Hits
- Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard
- Okie from Muskogee ‡
- The Fightin' Side of Me ‡
- I Love Dixie Blues ‡
- Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium
- The Epic Collection (Recorded Live)
- Amber Waves of Grain
- The Land of Many Churches ‡
- Songs for the Mama That Tried
- Cabin in the Hills
- Two Old Friends (with Albert E. Brumley, Jr.)
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