Merle Haggard, “I Am What I Am” (Vanguard)
“Bad Actor,” the most intriguing new song on Merle Haggard’s new album, “I Am What I Am,” veers furthest in its melody and lyrics from what is expected from this country music legend. The song’s message, that he is lousy at faking emotion, stays right on point.
The rest of the 12-song collection hangs its hat on the lived-in style Haggard has been distilling for decades: self-defining songs filled with unvarnished sentiments about love, society and personal struggles set to lightly swinging West Coast country arrangements.
On his first album for Vanguard Records, Haggard sounds at ease on every level. His mature love songs are about finding comfort (“The Road to My Heart”) as well as joy (“How Did You Find Me Here”). As usual, Haggard reflects on his past (“Oil Tanker Train”) and on what America has lost in modern times (“I’ve Seen it Go Away”). But this album dwells on life’s simple pleasures, as in the sprightly duet with his wife, Theresa, on “Live and Love Always,” best known as a song Hank Williams recorded.
At 73, country music’s most prolific and powerful poet may not like everything he sees in the world, but he sounds content with where he resides in it
Check out this track: On “Mexican Bands,” Haggard pays tribute to mariachi music by describing his attempt to improve his Spanish while indulging himself in Mexico, all set to a horn-spiced, south-of-the-border arrangement.

Willie Nelson, “Country Music” (Rounder)
Willie Nelson has been all over the map the last decade, from reggae to jazz to pop standards. He makes his return to his personal roots with the aptly titled, “Country Music,” and we enthusiastically welcome him back.
The T Bone Burnett-produced “Country Music” showcases Nelson at his best, working through a series of standards that have been name-checked over the years but largely forgotten in the popular consciousness.
With Burnett assembling a top-notch roster of players, most of whom played on the Robert Plant-Alison Krauss collaboration “Raising Sand” in Nashville, Tenn., Nelson hits several high points over the album’s 15 tracks.
There is his energetic take on “Pistol Packin’ Mama,” a haunting version of “Nobody’s Fault but Mine,” a caboose-shaking romp on “Freight Train Boogie” and an earnest version of “Dark as a Dungeon,” which feels raw and immediate, thanks to current events.
The Grammy- and Oscar-winning Burnett has been on quite a run lately (he won his most recent Oscar with his work on the movie “Crazy Heart”), and he has the highly anticipated pairing of Elton John and Leon Russell due soon. This is the first time he has worked with Nelson, though, and “Country Music” makes you wonder why it took so long.
Check this track out: For all his rollicking good humor, Nelson is often at his best when tackling religious material. That’s true here on the spare “Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down,” a song with a true sense of gravitas.

Cypress Hill, “Rise Up” (Priority)
Early 1990s rap kings Cypress Hill are back after a six-year album gap with “Rise Up,” a passable effort that should be well-received by their original fan base but is likely to be overlooked by today’s hip-hop consuming youth.
Is there anything new for Cypress Hill under the southern California sun? Not really. Much of the energetic, marijuana-lauding songs sound as if they are pre-existing discography. A few horns here, some hard-edge guitar there and the occasional turntable scratch for old-school effect.
But rap — the good stuff and not the gone-in-the-wink-of-an-eye fodder — has transcended this. Eminem, Jay-Z and Kanye West all reach further into pop culture and the human condition, extracting more for their listener than a few tough-guy bars about pulling “gats” and moving “weight.” Cypress Hill filled those innovative shoes when they came out with “The Phuncky Feel One” and “Insane in the Membrane” at the height of their popularity. But time moves on. Even for rap.
Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello joins in the fun on the album’s title track, “Rise Up,” which ends up sounding more like Rage song than a signature Cypress Hill track with the nasal-staccato vocal approach. Morello is sharp, but the song meanders in plot. The rock-rap hybrid has certainly been done better.
The problem with Cypress Hill (B-Real, Sen Dog, Eric Bobo and DJ Muggs stand-in DJ Julio G) is that they have not grown their sound. The group leans too heavily on the same approach from 15 years ago. Thus, they will have a tough time spawning new listeners.
Check this track out: “Bang Bang” has a faster beat that the traditional Cypress Hill sound, clocking in at nearly dance-track pace. More departures like this from their usual comfortable cadence would have helped “Rise Up” do so.

Shelby Lynne, “Tears, Lies, and Alibis” (Everso)
The title of Shelby Lynne’s “Tears, Lies, and Alibis” signals the theme of her latest album: freshly lost love, the betrayal and confusion that precedes it, and the anger and loneliness that follows. Her musical choices are just as clearly stated: Ignoring contemporary formulas, “Tears, Lies, and Alibis” is as bare-boned as Willie Nelson’s 1975 classic, “Red Headed Stranger,” yet as relevant and heartrending as a divorce decree.
Built largely around an acoustic guitar, which is sometimes brushed delicately and other times bashed fiercely, Lynne explores relationship showdowns (“Like a Fool”) and character assessments (“Loser Dreamer,” “Old Dog”) in language that potently combines bold directness with poetic imagery. (AP)
Keeping her remarkable voice tempered to a conversational tone, she chooses to let inflections and shifts in phrasing convey talent and meaning rather than opening up and displaying her power. Her intimate tone turns songs into confessionals instead of show-biz statements. But Lynne isn’t looking to become anyone’s entertainment idol. She prefers to move others by effectively sharing what’s in her heart.
Check this track out: The album’s angriest song, “Family Tree,” isn’t directed at a lover; it’s a bitter blast aimed at a close relative. Despite its acoustic setting, it clear-cuts the landscape like a raging bulldozer. (AP)