Hag went into the studio in October 1994 to rerecord his Capitol classics of the 1960s and early 1970s. Thirteen of these 16 cuts come from that session--perfectly fine versions, but not the original versions--while three early-1980s Epic recordings round out the collection. Still, fans who want to hear the Capitol chestnuts in their original form should strongly consider the outstanding two-CD Lonesome Fugitive: The Merle Haggard Anthology. --Marc Greilsamer