Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price
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Reviewed by Doug Freeman, Fri., Dec. 21, 2007
Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price
Last of the Breed: Live in Concert (A&E)Documenting the final performance of the Last of the Breed Tour at the Rosemont Theatre in Rosemont, Ill., March 2007, this 35-song show from these Country Music Hall of Famers is a throwback in more ways than one. Though the trio is in as fine a form as can be expected, and the 5.1 digital surround sound is superb, the drab setting and poor camerawork give the occasion the feel of a 1980s PBS telethon. Price appears more haggard than Hag, but his voice is still impressively smooth on "Crazy Arms." With Asleep at the Wheel backing, Haggard proves nimble on guitar and fiddle, with "Are the Good Times Still Over (I Wish a Buck Was Still Silver)" rousing the Midwest crowd. Willie, for his part, remains timelessly indomitable. The threesome offers spectacular takes of "I Gotta Have My Baby Back" and "Crazy," but Ray Benson's interview with the patriarchs in the extras may provide the most exciting moment.
