I’m a Lonesome Fugitive

The title track is an all time great outlaw country anthem, the rest is rock solid mid tempo twang about women and liquor and the problems they get you into and the ever tempting promise of escape to the rails.

Klassisk country. Deilig laidback skive.

It’s old school classic country music. Not particularly my jam but definitely deserves to be on the list as representative of the genre.

I must admit, my knowledge of Merle Haggard is rather limited to a few singles, namely "Mama Tried" and "Okie from Muskogee". I understand that he was one of the more prolific outlaw country singer-songwriters, and thus, his pedigree would justify an inclusion from his time with backing band The Strangers. Not to mention, this album's title track was Merle's first number-one single, which means it has historical significance. I wish the rest of the record made for a complete experience.

Let me put it this way - I did enjoy half of the songs off I'm a Lonesome Fugitive. Merle did rather well delving into the darker, lonesome nature of the outlaw lifestyle, supported by the intricate guitar play and necessary pickup from the backing personnel. The opening title track sets the stage for the rambling life on the road, the desire for death after taking away his darling's life on "Life in Prison", the rampant alcoholism to pretend to be someone he's not on "Drink Up and Be Somebody", the unfortunate lifestyle of being homeless on "Skid Row", the torn emotions on display as his lover leaves town on the midnight train in "Mixed Up Mess of a Heart", these songs help give depth into the multiple facets of going down such a path. It was a rather smart choice for him to cover Jimmie Rodgers's "My Rough and Rowdy Ways", as even those lyrics of drinking and gambling add to the tumultuous characterization.

As for the other half of this album, they tend to fall into slow, plodding relationship songs. Aside from the aforementioned "Mixed Up Mess of a Heart" and "If You Want to Be My Woman", the rest sounded rote. Not terrible, but not very distinct, and they don't add much to the outlaw character vibe with other songs on this record.

All of this to say that I'm a Lonesome Fugitive left me with mixed feelings. It's a fine enough country record to put on. It does feel like this record was chosen out of historical significance. I'm cherry-picking my favorites and going from there.

This isn't my usual style of music, but I did enjoy parts of it - mainly the title track and the last two. A lot of the in between was a bit too repetitive for me lyrics-wise. Too many of the same clichés about being screwed over by some woman or another. Also a bit too much talk of women like they were property, but I guess it was the 60s after all. Bumping this from a 2 star to a 3 to help counter the Neanderthals who just give an automatic 1 to all country albums.

One thing I did to amuse myself while listening was to re-imagine the lyrics as gangsta rap songs. It's funny how similar a lot of the themes are - worked particularly well for the title track and Skid Row!

I’ll have a rack of ribs and a root beer please. Oh and a side of grits.

Didn’t enjoy it.

After listening to a few country albums in the project, which I surprisingly didn't find bad, I wondered whether I might like this genre after all. With this album it became clear, no, I don't like it. This is exactly the style I associate with country music and it really annoys me. 1/5

Not really my thing; I find the vocal style pretty cheesy. Still, I don't hate it, so it's not a one.

I didn't like this as much as some of the other albums of the same type (which isn't my favorite to begin with.) It's just not really for me.

3.33

Classic country... again

I never could get into Merle. He’s OK, but probably not even in my top 10 country musicians. I don’t know what it is. Anywho. This was fine.

Did NOT need this the day after Waylon Jennings

Good classic country. From the time when musicians like this told stories. It's not my favorite genre, but certainly wouldn't turn it off if it came on.

Varsin hyvä kantrilevy. 3/5

I'm a Lonesome Fugitive is a very middle of the road album, even in it's own genre. It's an album that's not bad but also not great. The music, lyrics, and vocals are serviceable but not very interesting and are pretty much what you would expect from an album like this. There were a few tracks that were better than others but i don't think they were better enough to make a really huge difference. The album is pretty short and does not feel like it is making jarring transitions which are both points in it's favor. This album isn't a bad one but i still think you can do better.
Best Song: If You Want To Be My Woman
Worst Song: Skid Row

Popular country was good before it sucked.

Nice enough country. Unfortunately, I generally don't like country. There are exceptions - I really like Johnny Cash (and found it interesting that Haggard was an inmate at San Quentin and saw J.C. play there). But even though this is also in that "outlaw country" genre, I just find this repetitive and a little boring. It's also sometimes jarring. Take Life in Prison - pleasant country, with lyrics sung from the point of view of someone serving a life sentence after killing his "darling" and he just wants to die - but it makes you want to just bop along, which is just bizarre. One notable positive to the album: Roy Nichols' twang country guitar solos are really good. I went back and forth between a 2 and 3. There's nothing specifically bad about it, and it was fine in the background, but on close listen my mind wandered and I was waiting for it to be over, even though it's just 31 minutes long. Sounds like a 2. Tracks I liked most: usually the most upbeat ones with great guitar playing - If You Want to Be My Woman, Mixed Up Mess of a Heart.

Really enjoyed this one! I love the quality of the sound too, all crackly and just old sounding

Catchy songs and I really like his voice

4 ⭐️

Well, that’s a rather strong 5, ain’t it?

I’m a sucker for this style of country music, what can I say? These are the sorts of soundscapes and storytelling I so desperately want to make a comeback – they’re intellectual, they’re honest, and they provide a storytelling bend that fulfills a different sort of thing other than the “drink beer and make love all day” that modern country tries to hit on.

I’m simply realizing over the course of the several good to great country albums we’ve gotten is that it’s all rooted in Americana and folk music, just with its own style of instrumentation and a rather distinct vocal twang. I’m sure there are modern country singers out there that hit on this exact style, but I’m just too afraid to try to jump back in.

Anyway, I’ve never heard a Merle Haggard album in full before now. I know the name. I probably know a hit or two in my subconscious. I figured this would at least be good, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this damn great. His vocals are fabulous throughout, and the steel guitar has never sounded better to me. There’s not a miss here – maybe a track or two that’s a little too quaint and instrumentally simplistic for my tastes, but everything here is rather good. It’s not perfect, but if it makes you feel something, it’s doing something right. House of Memories in particular got me pretty damn good.

So, yeah, I’m at a 5. Super enjoyable album, from top to bottom, and a very brisk 30 minutes. I really wish people would bring this style back – I know I’m a broken record with each country album we get, but it just fucking kills me.