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Merle & Iris

For reasons that I cannot identify I decided yesterday to pull out some discs I had not played in too long; one is a Merle Haggard recording titled 1996 (on Curb, at a time when he was having (unbelievable but true) difficulty getting a recording contract), and there is a magnificent cover of a magnificent Iris DeMent song titled No Time To Cry.  The liner noted by Theresa Haggard describe it  as "an indescribable masterpiece".  

I agree.

Richard
rpeluso

Showing 2 responses by bdp24

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bdp24
10,096 posts
 
I've seen Iris live twice. At her show at The Troubadour in West L.A. in the mid-90's, the audience was so quiet and respectful you could have heard a pin drop. In addition to her great songwriting and singing, she has a wicked sense of humor. The musician's on her albums are all A-team Nashville masters, the best in the world---Jerry Douglas, etc. She is by far my favorite living artist.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,096 posts
 

I have been promoting Iris for years now, including here on Audiogon. "No Time To Cry" is indeed a masterpiece, perhaps the finest song written in the past half-century, and I’m not exaggerating. It was Merle singing her praises (a pun I’m happy with ;-) that hipped me to Iris. Thank you Merle!

I took the CD containing NTTC to CES in the late 90’s, using it as demo material. When Jerry Crosby played NTTC on his modified Quad 63’s, I broke down in tears (if you’ve heard the song you understand why), making a fool of myself, I felt. Rather unprofessional!

I’m very happy for you Richard, that you appreciate what Iris is and does, and truly pity those who don’t.

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