Personnel includes: Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson.

Recorded between 1962 and 1994. Includes liner notes by Daniel Cooper.

Recording information: Anaheim, CA (1962-1993); Bakersfield, CA (1962-1993); Hollywood, CA (1962-1993); Las Vegas, NV (1962-1993); Los Angeles, CA (1962-1993); Muskogee, OK (1962-1993); Nashville, TN (1962-1993); New Orleans, LA (1962-1993); Palo Cedro, CA (1962-1993).

Director: John Johnson.

Photographers: Robert Wortham; Howard Risk; Norman Seeff; Roy Robinson; Brad Benedict.

Country music has had a long and proud tradition of outlaws and hard men, but Merle Haggard is in a class by himself. A singer-songwriter regularly capable of heartbreaking emotional honesty, Haggard has also maintained an aura of danger, as if he'd be just as happy to punch your face in as to buy you a beer. The essential four-disc box set, DOWN EVERY ROAD 1962-1994, is a perfect overview of both sides of Hag's personality. Its 100 songs are spread over four solid discs, without an ounce of fat. Signature tunes like "Mama Tried" and the perpetually misunderstood "Okie From Muskogee" (a much more sardonic song than its reputation suggests) sit next to equally fine but lesser-known material from Haggard's later career, when the urban cowboy scene and the rock-oriented dilution of modern country music had unfairly turned him into a niche artist. EMI wisely licensed material from all of Haggard's various labels, making this the only truly comprehensive box set of the Bakersfield legend's work.