A Merle Haggard tribute recorded by an avant-jazz group with legendary outer realm guitarist EUGENE CHADBOURNE sitting out front for the entire session? Yeah, you’ve got that right. In fact this is BRYAN AND THE HAGGARDS 3rd (!?!) record of Merle Haggard songs. It is however their first collaboration with CHADBOURNE, a man who has (square) danced around country & western sounds for a very long time (see his explorations: self-dubbed, LSD C&W)

Now, I would be remiss to speak of this band and not bring up Boston’s own late, lamented, and like minded COWBOY BAND. But those cowboys are gone, and BRYAN AND THE HAGGARDS live on. As far I’m concerned there is room enough in the world for multiple bands to be doing this variety of God’s work anyway. Whatever.

NORTHERN SPY, and FEEDING TUBE RECORDS, two of the most wonderfully eclectic labels you could ever do yourself the favor of perusing the rosters of, just put out this batch of a dozen curiosities. CHADBOURNE is on banjo or dobro depending on the track, as BRYAN MURRAY leads the rest of these well meaning weirdos on this Merle-y excursion. And man, that title. Just awesome. I could not be happier with this whole situation; as a longtime Merle Haggard fan I already love many of these songs, and it is nothing but a joy to hear them deconstructed with such loving vigor and ability. “If We Make It Through December” is massive and joyous from start to finish. The song’s melody, hangs on (in places by the thinnest of threads) through squeaks, squawks, stutters, and false dead ends. The saxophones come together and tear away from one another with a knowing and accomplished zeal. And there’s the Dr.’s banjo winding up and unwinding, like some mad and reluctant jack-in-the-box that just can’t make that final leap into the world. The percussion is a clatter, and the guitar and bass are on some mission to the moon, occasionally checking back into home base down in Bakersfield. “Okie From Muskogee,” maybe Haggard’s most well known song (?), is another ripping, near perfect combo of a great song, and this out jazz approach. The saxes are flippant and menacing just as I hoped they would be. Not every track of these 12 works as well as the two mentioned, but when this bunch is on, they are on, and you and I? We may just feel compelled to get drunk, AND trip right on out of our minds. It’s a Free Country, man.