Editorial Review:

Amazon.com:
Here's one of the great, lost Haggard albums, originally released in 1983 and telling his side of the story of his then-recent divorce from Leona Williams. The tone is bleak, funereal, without a single uptempo stomp to break up the succession of one beautiful, heartbreaking ballad after another. Highlights are "What Am I Gonna Do (With the Rest of My Life)," which suggests that only time can heal these wounds and time can't move quickly enough; the deeply ambivalent "Love Will Find You"; and the title track, one of Lefty Frizzell's most agonizing and resigned deathbed compositions. Haggard ends his remake with a weary, defeated moan that sums up the whole album and all his contradictory feelings of pain, pride, defiance, pessimism, futility, and disgust. The crack band is more Western than country, effortlessly supporting the mood of the songs. But there's no drawing attention away from the star, whose rich, stunning performances make the case for him as the stylist of his era. --John Morthland

Album Description:
Available for the first time on compact disc, this classic 1983 album from country music legend. Contains 3 Billboard Country charting Top 5 smash hits 'What Am I Gonna Do With The Rest Of My Life', 'That's The Way Love Goes' and 'Someday When Things Are Good'. Standard jewel case.

Rating: - Haggard 's Best
First Heard This Album In 1984, Loved It Then And Still Do,
Best Down To Earth Album Merle Haggard Has Recorded In My Opinion

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Rating: - under-rated masterpiece
one of my favorite haggard albums...his voice is great...the band is great....the songs are real...i was amazed it was out of print for so long......listen to this one....

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Rating: - Best album ever for the Hag
I bought this when it came out, and just recently fired up the old turntable and gave it a listen. It doesn't have an era, it's timeless, just as magic as the first time I heard it. I'm talking the whole album here... there is not a weak point on it. The instrumentation reflects off that great throat of Merle's and it really " Must have been Magic " . This album has more feelings overall than any other of Merle's... now I know there are singles, and some albums have numerous songs that come close, ... Read More

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Rating: - My Personal Haggard Favorite
It's a mystery why more cuts from this 1983 album don't make it onto the many "Greatest Hits" collections that proliferate like kudzu. I think it's the most personal and introspective of Haggard's many recordings, and his rendition of the title track is a country classic. I remember going back and forth to my old turntable playing it over and over on vinyl. "Someday When things Are Good" is another classic. Come to think of it, there's no weak material on this one and, to my mind, it's better than some ... Read More

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Rating: - Great Reissue
It's good to see this CD finally reissued. I hope they will do the same with others from Hag's catalog.

The two hit songs from this CD are "Someday when things are good" and the title track, "That's the way love goes". The latter won Hag his only Grammy, ironically, for a song he didn't write--it's an old Lefty Frizzell tune.

The other tracks are good as well. "Carryin' Fire" is the closest thing to an erotic song you'll hear from Hag. "Last boat of the day" is a sweet ... Read More