1994 (Merle Haggard album)

Although Haggard's profile remained high in 1994, having been the subject of two tribute albums (Mama's Hungry Eyes: A Tribute to Merle Haggard and Tulare Dust), 1994 was a commercial disappointment, peaking at number 60 on the Billboard country albums chart. It had been four years since Haggard's previous album Blue Jungle, and in his Haggard biography The Running Kind, David Cantwell writes that Haggard, "took to bitching in interviews that Curb was happy enough to use his name for bait, luring future stars like Tim McGraw to the label, but it wouldn't release his music."^[1] The album includes a remake of his 1977 hit "Ramblin' Fever."

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Allmusic	[2]

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Dan Cooper of AllMusic calls 1994 Haggard's strongest album since Big City.^[2] Biographer David Cantwell observed in 2013, "When it finally showed up, 1994 improved considerably on Blue Jungle."^[1]

1. "I Am an Island" (Max D. Barnes) – 3:34
2. "In My Next Life" (Barnes) – 3:48
3. "Way Back in the Mountains" (Merle Haggard, Barnes) – 3:09
4. "What's New in New York City" (Haggard) – 2:47
5. "Set My Chickens Free" (Haggard, Richard Smith) – 2:18^[a]
6. "Chores" (Haggard, Barnes, Billy Davis, Theresa Lane) – 3:06
7. "Valentine" (Willie Nelson) – 3:09
8. "Solid as a Rock" (Haggard, Barnes) – 3:11
9. "Bye, Bye, Travelin' Blues" (Haggard, Dean Holloway) – 2:56
10. "Troubadour" (Haggard) – 2:28
11. "Ramblin' Fever" (Haggard) – 3:58

• Merle Haggard – vocals, guitar
• Norm Hamlet – steel guitar
• Biff Adams – drums
• Don Markham – trumpet, saxophone
• Larry Byrom – guitar
• Glen Duncan – fiddle
• Sonny Garrish – dobro, steel guitar
• Owen Hale – drums
• Dann Huff – guitar
• Abe Manuel, Jr. – guitar
• Joe Manuel – guitar
• Hilton Reed – guitar
• Leland Sklar – bass
• Gary W. Smith – piano
• Joe Spivey – fiddle
• Curtis Wright – background vocals
• Curtis Young – background vocals

Production notes:

• James Stroud – producer
• Hank Williams – mastering
• Julian King – engineer
• Steve Ledet – assistant engineer
• Rodney Good – assistant engineer
• Mark Hagen – assistant engineer
• Lynn Peterzell – engineer, mixing
• Doug Rich – production assistant