“The first country record I ever bought was Merle Haggard's *16 Biggest Hits*. Splattered into a harrowing dustbowl of depravity, deprivation, and deliverance, I quickly found myself placing it on that hallowed shelf of "My Ten Favorite Records." The following year, I played it for some country aficionados who proudly informed me that these were miserably smooth 1994 re-recordings of Haggard's work”
