STEVE HAGGARD : REVIEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
CDs & Merchandise Haggard Homepage
"Make Your Move, Steve Haggard's
fourth project for Wild Oats Records,
is one
of the year's best country albums. Besides being a fine singer, Haggard
wrote all
but two of the 11 songs on the collection. His writing is intelligent without
being
annoyingly clever,
and he has a classic country feel for strong images and
clear
narratives. The production is first-rate, and the pickers
convey the kind of back-
porch enthusiasm that lifts a song out
of the grooves and into
the memory."
- Edward Morris / Nashville Scene (USA)
"This guy
is a major talent... Quite simply, Make Your Move is wonderful.
Filled with fine songs, superb musicianship and Steve's
best
singing yet, the
CD marks a giant step forward for "the other
Haggard"...
the album takes
the listener on a fascinating journey
down
the highways and the byways of
American music... so readers, make
your move: Get out & buy this CD !"
- William Henry / American Music Journal (USA)
"The combination of his expressive voice,
well-crafted lyrics, and melodies
written in a jambalaya of country, blues, folk,
spiritual
and rockabilly genres
creates a memorable style."
- Michelle B. Honick / American Songwriter (USA)
"Steve
Haggard's sound (a potent blend of rockin' country,
blues,
rockabilly,
folk and an occasional touch of bluegrass)
is
best described as American Roots
Music... He's received consistently
good reviews. Well, he should... It's easy to
see how Haggard has arrived at his high degree of crediblity..
Steve
Haggard is
certainly not one of the cosmetic phonies
who
dominate today's music world...
Check him out. You'll be
glad that you did."
- Jess Marich / Rock 'n' Read (USA)
"The rockabilly/blues/country/honky-tonk ambience of Steve
Haggard's
fifth CD, Mysterious Ways, demonstrates all of his
talents...
One notes
particularly his great hymn to the honky-tonks, "Home Is Any Honky-
Tonk"... rockabilly ("El Camino"),
a
superb half-folk and half-country
ballad with the flavor of the Stones
at the dawn of the '70s ("Somewhere
Down The Line") and a raw, fluid, remarkable blues ("French Quarter
Blues")... a balanced, very successful CD."
- Jacques Bremond / Le Cri Du Coyote (France)
"Country music with an edge, physically and emotionally...
Steve
Haggard's
music evokes feeling and reality, something
sorely
missing on radio today."
- Kyle Christen / Cosmic American Music News (USA)
"The whole concert was a 'feast for the ears' and thrill for me...
the
crowd
loved Steve's virtuoso harmonica playing."
- Toni Metzler / CMC Switzerland News (Switzerland)
"In this depressing Frankie Avalon/Fabian
era of country music, artists
with
guts and feeling and originality have gotten all too
rare.
The music of Steve
Haggard has all three qualities... Steve
is
a damn good singer, writes first-
class songs, and sounds like nobody
but himself."
- Timothy Young / Country & Blues (USA)
"What an artist, what a singer, what a talent !... Make Your Move
will make you move".
- Pascal Paulin / Country Gazette (France)
"Steve Haggard / Mysterious Ways... Another excellent CD by a very
talented artist... Haunting production, tremendous vocals and powerful
lyrics... Overall rating: A."
- Nina Nash / Rootsound (USA)
"Nashville is flooding the market with new talents, who often
sound
like
they've been produced on an assembly-line... There
is
rarely a genuine
artist among them. Steve Haggard is one of
those
exceptions who has
preserved his individuality."
- Gunzburger Zeitung (Germany)
"More to it than just a straightforward country
sound. It mixes a
little
grass-cutting, maybe a little rockabilly, and a little blues
to
boot. I was
really impressed with (Steve's) harmonica playing
that
seeped through
my speakers like moonshine through a still
coil...
high marks for excellent
musicianship and songwriting."
- Bill Schlitz / Enigma (USA)
"Thanks for the cut on 'Memphis.' You did
me proud !"
- Tom T. Hall (USA)
"Rockin' bluesy country with plenty of punch
and grit... It's hard to
describe Haggard's sound. There's a little Gary Stewart influence in
Steve's singing, traces of Gram Parsons and Bob Dylan
and
Townes
Van Zandt, and a lot of Sonny Terry and Sonny Boy Williamson in his
superb blues
harp style... a real talent and excellent live performer."
- Vince Montgomery / The Sword (USA)
"An invigorating mixture of clever ideas, foot-stompin' rhythms
and
solid performances make Steve's latest CD a sure-fire crowd-pleaser.
Just the right blend of proven and adventurous technique
to
give the
album a fresh familiarity.
- Allen Foster / Songwriter's Monthly (USA)
"Since 1992, I have enjoyed the music, singing
and instrumental work
of Steve Haggard. I was informed months ago that he was
recording
Make Your Move, now my anticipated wait for some
more
good music
has been rewarded... get a copy of this album,
and
hear the excellent
work of a fully-experienced international music man... 'Genius does
what it must, talent does what it can.'
Until
noticed."
- Ian McQueen / Country Music News & Routes (UK)
"We know Steve as a great performer with a splendid voice...
Rough Edge lets us hear him as an excellent songwriter and
a great singer."
- Andre Vanoppen / Radio Maasvallei (The Netherlands)
"Steve Haggard boasts a voice that is cool
and impassioned,
well-suited to ruminate on the pangs of regret... Rough Edge
spotlights both his vocal and songwriting talents."
- Walt Trott / Entertainment Express (USA)
"Push Comes To Shove is an impressive collection of emotionally-
charged honky-tonk country guaranteed to please even the most
discriminating tastes... Don't pass this one up. It's terrific !"
- Geri R. Fitchett / California Country News (USA)