That's The Way Love Goes - Merle Haggard (1983)
There were plenty of country artists who tried to blend into the pop market in the 80s (whether or not that produced good results is something you can argue on its merits). But while there were still a few traditionalist country artists making old-school-sounding records, most everyone who wanted to grow their audience had to reckon with the changes in the recording industry.
Merle Haggard had made a name for himself as a rebel. He championed the Bakersfield style in the 60s, with its quick tempos and guitar-bass-drums arrangements that presaged the outlaw country sound. But as always, the rebel becomes a functionary, and Haggard had to adapt to the “Nashville Sound” and the studio system that he’d started out rebelling against.
In the 80s he worked with producer Ray Baker to do just that, bringing his excellent songs and one-of-a-kind voice to the modern studio.
Look, I’m not an engineer, so I’m talking out the side of my neck here. But compare a tune from this album to one of his recordings from even a few years ealier and I think you’ll hear what I’m talking about: you get a separation between the instruments that make each distinctive.
Someday Soon When Things Are Good features tiny details like quiet rim shots mixed with a comparatively booming kick drum, electric guitar parts buried in the mix, and the occasional horn that sounds like it’s being recorded from the next building over.
Even in a genre as traditionalist and as conservative as country music, and an artist like Haggard who never really changed what he was, the 80s had an impact.
