photo by Mike Carroll
Randy Travis‘ “Influence Volume 1: The Man I Am” is a collection of songs and artists that were instrumental in crafting his musical career, with a heavy dose of Merle Haggard. Since this is an album full of cover songs instead of originals, this review will include some history behind each song and some thoughts sprinkled in as well.
- The album starts off with a simple acoustic version of Haggard’s “Someday We’ll Look Back,” a song Haggard took to #2 on the charts in 1971.
- “Big Butter and Egg Man,” is a 1926 Jazz song penned by Percy Venable and made famous by Louis Armstrong. Haggard covered it in 1985, which is what influenced Travis to cover it. Randy’s version has a catchy swing influence to it.
- “What Have You Got Planned Tonight Diana” was a B side song off of a 1976 album of Haggard’s…it starts off with a spoken verse, then proceeds to be a lullaby-sounding song with simple instrumentation and gently-sung lyrics. This is a beautiful song.
- “Ever-Changing Woman” was a non-single from Merle’s 1980 album Back to the Barrooms and is a well-written, soft ballad that fits Travis’ voice and singing style perfectly.
- “Pennies From Heaven” is a 1936 song first made popular by Bing Crosby in a film by the same name, and later recorded by Merle Haggard in 1996. This song has a lounge-singer feel to it, and continues the theme of simple instrumentation that has been sampled on most of the songs on this album.
- “Thanks a Lot” was a #3 hit for Country Music Hall of Famer Ernest Tubb in 1963. Tubb was known as the Texas Troubadour and was integral in introducing the Honky Tonk style of music. This song is full of twang and steel guitar…I love this one!
- “Trouble In Mind” was a blues song that originated in 1924, and was recorded by dozens of artists across multiple genres. Country versions include recordings by Bob Wills, Eddy Arnold, Hank Williams Jr, Johnny Cash, and Merle Haggard. It was Haggard’s version in 1996 that influenced Travis to record this.
- “My Mary” – Was originally a Bob Wills song that was later recorded by Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson in 1983 on their Pancho and Lefty album.
- “Saginaw, Michigan” was a 1964 #1 song for Lefty Frizzell. This is another song that I love off this album!
- “I’m Always On a Mountain When I Fall” was a #2 hit for Merle Haggard in 1978. This was another great ballad.
- “You Asked Me To” was a Waylon Jennings song that hit #8 on the charts in 1973. It is one of the more upbeat songs on the album that has a classic Waylon Jennings feel to it.
- “Why Baby Why” was George Jones‘ first ever single! It peaked at #4 in 1955 and is the most uptempo song on the album. Another great song!
- The album closes with the only new song, “Tonight I’m Playin’ Possum.” It is an amazing duet w/ Joe Nichols written by Keith Gattis in memory of George Jones.
Overall, this was a solid album. It could have used a couple more uptempo songs, as it was a collection of mostly slow ballad-type songs, but it was still a good listen. Heck, Randy Travis could sing the phone book and it’d be worth listening to with that voice of his! There is no doubt that the highlight of the album was “Tonight I’m Playin’ Possum.” It is a really well-written song honoring George Jones, and it was quite a coup to get two of the best voices out there together on this recording.
I had the honor of being part of the first crowd that ever got to hear this song in public at the 2013 CMA Fest. They had a panel of George Jones‘ friends and family, including Randy Travis, telling stories about Jones. It was here that they introduced the song publicly for the first time. I had chills hearing it there, and I wasn’t the only one that had tears in my eyes. I still get chills hearing it again on the album.
If you’re a Randy Travis fan, a Merle Haggard fan, a George Jones fan, or a fan of classic country in general, then this album is something you’ll want to add to your collection!