I’m a Lonesome Fugitive

Oh, it's country. Fuck off then

Some good, ol' fashioned country music. If there's one thing that I've learned from this album generator, it's that I don't hate country music, I hate modern country music. The songs go down smooth and don't overstay their welcome. Hadn't heard of Merle Haggard before, but I'll definitely be listening to him more from here on out.

Dang, this is some good ass country music. Makes me want to take a shot of whiskey and punch someone in the face cause I can't give up my rough and rowdy ways.

Of course it's great, it's Merle Haggard. Great music for road trips, especially sections of highway that are less congested so you can just sit back and relax a tad.

Couldn't even finish this garbage. Hate this style of Country music.

A country classic and liked it more than I expected to :)

Thoughts before listening: I love Merle Haggard, but this album does not appear to have any of what I would consider to be his top songs. This likely isn't a top 5 Merle album, but I'll end up give this 5 stars to offset the asinine low scores and reviews saying something like "I hate country music". Merle Haggard is a legend that deserves better than that. Review: While this album does not contain Merle's big hits, its still a very enjoyable album of old school style country songs. I love Merle's voice and it sounds perfect with this album's barroom style honky tonk songs and their lyrics focused on prison, drinking, and lost love. 5-stars for being a great genre representation from one of country's true legends.

Left me broken inside. Damn, Merle, why’d you have to be so loud. Country music really is the music of pain.

I’ve always felt like the term “Outlaw Country” was nothing more than creative marketing. Like…this is just country music except with the occasional reference to being on the run. …and before you get all “uh, ackshually…”, yes I know Merle Haggard served time and had a criminal past. The phrase “Outlaw Country” gives the impression that it’s gonna be the kind of music that’ll make you want to break a beer bottle across someone’s face and then go rob the Circle K down the road. This ain’t that. This is just regular old country music.

Cowboy prison sadness

I cannot fucking believe me they gave me my dad's favorite artist on my birthday. There is a reason I gave Purple Rain five stars and this one a single star, so please stop complaining about how everyone "cared more about Prince dying than Merle Haggard dying", dad.

Toe-tapping music at it's finest. I just wanna two-step around the room. :) Love me some, Merle!

Good old country music album. Takes me back to my grandmother’s kitchen and a radio playing from the top of the fridge. They don’t make ’em like this anymore.

I prefer Merle a million times more than Buck Owens. Some will draw the line from Buck to Merle to Dwight Yoakam and they wouldn't be wrong. Merle gets major points for "Mama Tried" and "Okie From Muskogee" two all time bangers (both are obvious 5's). Neither song appears on this album, so seek those out if you've never heard them. If you're looking to do a deep dive on the wonders of Merle, fair warning: Spotify separates Merle Haggard from Merle Haggard & The Strangers, which is just annoying. This album just scratches the surface of the Merle legend, but it'll help you understand why Merle Haggard merits consideration for the Mount Rushmore of country music.

Excellent - a true classic of the genre. Good ol' honky tonk Country songs of heartbreak, loneliness, cheatin' women, and running away from responsibilities ;) Haggard's voice sounds great and is well supported by the traditional country sounds of pedal steel et cetera.

Commendable tunes, partner.

When I listened to the Rolling Stone 500 there was a 100 song anthology of his work on it. I think I was depressed for a week afterwards. This one was a much more manageable chunk of songs.

A few artists truly pioneered the outlaw country movement in the late 60s into the 70s, and Merle Haggard was certainly among those; this is true outlaw country representation! While a bit of an oxymoron, Merle Haggard is in the outlaw country elite. Even when compared to country outlaw "founders" Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, Merle often came across rougher, grittier, grungier, and overall as a stronger example of the outlaw vibe. While I would say that Waylon and Willie have had some success outside of the outlaw country sphere, Merle didn't see his first major success until this album, arguably his first outlaw country album. Essentially, every song on this album is dripping in that folky, bad boy "outlaw" vibe. The impact here can not be overstated, as outlaw country artists like Merle have inspired countless other country artists that have emerged since to sing about grittier, more rebellious, less "polite society" topics. Listen to just about any country song that emerged after this major outlaw period and you can hear Merle's and other outlaw country artists' influence. Hearing this album leaves no doubt as to why Haggard has had a long-lasting, now immortalized place in outlaw country fame. A great inclusion showing a very specific and very popular movement in country music.

Grâce à cet album, j'ai enfin pu comprendre où voulait en venir mon camarade d'écoute robnouricière lorsqu'il évoquait le genre musical "Bob l'éponge". Je vais vous révéler ici le secret de ce genre musical. Lancez l'album de Merde, et concentrez-vous sur l'instrument à cordes utilisé. Maintenant, pensez fort à Bob l'éponge, dégustant un Krusty Crab dans l'enceinte de Monsieur Crabe, en compagnie de son camarade Carlos. L'immersion devrait être des plus totales, et des bulles ne devraient pas tarder à sortir de votre bouche. Un grand merci à rob et à l'album de merde du jour pour ce petit secret révélé.

smooth soothing and beautiful , its a fun listen that is enjoyable but doesnt stand out in any unique way

Un mauvais album de plus dans cette période sombre que certains qualifieraient volontiers de "Crise du Générateur". On réalise très vite que Merle Haggard est un proche de Buck Owens et qu'il va nous servir la même soupe à base de générique de Bob l'éponge. Merde Haggarl.

This is the exact kind of country that I hated before listening to this playlist. Nothing's changed so far. "I feel so saaaaaaaaaaddddd that <pause> you left meeeeeee, <pause> I'll drive a waaaaaaaaaaayy, in <pause> my truck" /s

incredible

This album brings an interesting perspective in the life of an outlaw.

cool 5/5

Real good country music. Could be shorter perhaps but I enjoyed every song so perhaps not. 5/5

I never listen to C&W willingly. But if I do it's gonna be some old school shit like this. Merle is a legend of the genre for a reason. The vocals, musicianship and production is all top notch.

Love the old C&W music. This is classic!

Good shit.

9/10

Very Texan Western Frontierland vibe Americana

Popular country was good before it sucked.

Music from when country was country, not this pop bro country garbage.

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.

Yes

I knew I’d really enjoy it. The classic folk albums on here always have to be excellent.

excellent

What a terrific album! Classic country at its finest. I’m not positive but I think this was recorded live in studio, there are little mistakes at times that I think add to the humanity on these recordings. Not a bad word to say about this one!

Outlaw music. Makes me wanna shoot a gun and chew some baccy.

I was hesitant on the country music at first. But it really grew on me mostly because of the stellar keys and lead guitar. Country music just hits great sometimes

What a voice. What classic country righting.

One of the better put together country albums out there. Merle has a voice and it’s also one of the best in country music.

The Hag never fails to impress

Not surprised by some of the low ratings here, there's no accounting for taste. If you can't appreciate this I feel sorry for you because Merle's the real deal.

This album is a country gem and was much appreciated today.

A gift from beyond...and a wonderful classic country sound.

The perfect album for the day.

Today would have been my dad’s 80th birthday and this was an excellent choice for the 1001 site to offer. Classic with a capitol C, this album is a wonderful gift. I got to spend a bit of this day with my headphones playing great country music, just like my dad.

I'd like every current country artist to listen to this album and get back to their roots. From the opening guitar picking, this album is pure country.eir roots. From the opening guitar picking, this album is pure country.

Honestly, I loved it. I've grown to appreciate some of these old-guard country artists as I get a little older. The music may be a little simple, the lyrical themes are direct, but I love these artists, albums, and songs for their clarity (sonic as well as thematic). Merle Haggard has a great voice, particularly in his younger years, and he delivers sincerely throughout this album. The final song, "Mixed Up Mess of A Heart" sounds like it was lifted right off a Buck Owens record. (This should be only a small surprise, as Buck Owens' wife Bonnie--later Haggard's wife--sings harmony on this record.) If you have any appreciation for that old-school AM Country sound, this album will satisfy.

Country <3

Not a fan of country music but I enjoyed this. I would listen to this again.

Wow, what a record. This really took me off guard. This is such a typical classic Country sound but just GUSHING with sincerity. Merle is such an astounding lyricist. I was on board from the beginning and really got taken on a journey through this album. Genuinely a huge pleasure to listen to, and I’m ashamed of all the so-called music fans on this site so quick to dismiss an artist speaking so bluntly and earnestly just because of the genre they happen to excel in. Top tracks: All Of Me Belongs To You, House Of Memories, Whatever Happened To Me, Someone Told My Story, If You Want To Be My Woman, Mary’s Mine, Skid Row

I loved it!

It’s just good folky country. Very consistent and accessible

This is good old real country.

Fun honkey tonk blues. Love this vibe

"I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" is the third studio album by country music singer, songwriter, guitarist and fiddler Merle Haggard and his band the Strangers. The song "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" brought Haggard country music stardom. The Strangers included Ray Nichols (guitar), Ralph Mooney (steel guitar), George French (piano), Jerry Ward (bass) and Eddie Burns (drums). The album hit #3 in the US Country Charts and #165 in the US Pop Charts. The lead single "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" was written by Liz and Casey Anderson and is based on the TV show "The Fugitive." Acoustic, electric and steel guitars playing. Great strong vocals by Haggard and backing vocals by his wife Bonnie Owens. He's runnin' from the law. It's hard to find a country album without a waltz and we get that right away with "House of Memories." Piano more in the forefront. Great steel guitar. Outstanding lyrics as his house is a prison. Speaking of prisons, Haggard was in prison and attended one of the Johnny Cash 1960 shows that would become the "At San Quentin" album. It's no wonder when Haggard sings "Life in Prison," it sounds authentic. More great harmony vocals by Owens and steel guitar by Strangler Ralph Mooney. Not all country has to be slow and "If You Want Be My Woman" gets the country dance beat going. A pouncing piano. Layered guitars and a guitar fade at the outro. Haggard does a cover of Jimmie Rodgers' "My Rough and Rowdy Ways." The steel guitar is more bluesy. The bass is loud and prominent. He wants to settle change and settle down but can't. This is a superb album. Great lyrics. Tremendous vocals by Haggard and harmony vocals by Owens. Top notch musicianship. He's checks all country song boxes: songs of love, about being down and out and being an outlaw. An album everyone needs to listen to no matter what your musical preference may be.

Man, what a fun, honky tonk time! This is another album that makes me glad I'm embarking on this adventure. Such neat, succinct, story-driven songs that just kept me boppin' the whole entire time. Even the slow ballads have their place here. I really, really enjoyed this, and I think the influence of several different genres really elevates this past their peers. Fav tracks: If You Want To Be My Woman, Mixed Up Mess Of A Heart, All Of Me Belongs To You, Somebody Told My Story

yay!

Good stuff

Makes me want to listen to more real country, some good rhythms

Terrific

Gem

No country music is more pure than The Hag. One of my favorite artists, always brings me back to memories of being a kid and my dad having this on. I normally just hear the greatest hits albums, so this was great to hear some tracks I'd never heard.

It's 30 minutes of Merle doing his thing. He gets in and gets out, leaving you wanting more. Legend. Best track: Someone Told My Story

I have spoken before, during my review of Buck Evans' I've Got a Tiger by the Tail, about the kaleidoscope of reasons why an individual wouldn't like country. But why would an individual like country? Well, country is often simple, unpretentious fun. It fits both a rowdy honky-tonk Saturday night and a contemplative moment with a glass of bourbon. Its best singers have qualities rare in other genres: grit, directness and authority. Someone once told me that country is the only genre focused of expressing the listener's travails: when a country singer wails about being unable to make that month's rent, it is sung for the members of the audience who can't make that month's rent. And perhaps the greatest strength of country is the same as the greatest strength of soul: both genres are unsurpassed in making the listener feel a deeper sense of emotion. With soul, the emotion it conveys most profoundly is love; the emotion that country expresses with similar insight is, of course, heartache. Every cowboy sings a sad, sad song. Merle Haggard is my favourite country singer. I am in no way an expert on country, but I know enough to have a favourite singer, and that's Merle Haggard. Merle Haggard was one of the figures representing the most credible stance of country artists: the troubled, wandering bad boy constantly evading the law, not always successfully, and whose unsettled past provided their songs with authenticity and toughness. This is the tradition of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and the outlaw country movement. Merle Haggard's drifter jailbird country was damn more authentic than most. An Okie from California, Haggard's teenage years can be summarised by the extensive rap sheet he managed. After a few periods of reform school, Haggard got inspired to pursue music, but poverty led him to attempt a robbery, which led him to attend San Quentin. He then changed direction and concentrated on becoming the most adept country songwriter there ever was. Oddly, his most famous song is the rather unrepresentative, conservative protest song Okie from Muskogee, which opens with the line "We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee"; in later years, Haggard would love himself some blazing up of a fatso JJ (I understand that's what the kids call it nowadays). I'm a Lonesome Fugitive is Merle Haggard's third album, and exemplifies the Bakersfield sound, which was a California-based anti-Nashville style of country that readily took lessons and rhythms from rock 'n' roll. So, I'm a Lonesome Fugitive has real pep, and If You Want to Be My Woman is a straight-up blues number. But it should be noted that, since it's a 1967 country album, the record serves more as a showcase of Merle Haggard's songs from early 1967 than as a coherent album interlaced with themes and leitmotifs. But like Are You Experienced and Wild is the Wind, I'm a Lonesome Fugitive is a really good showcase. We experience most of the standard rounds in Haggard's revolver: convict troubadour numbers, (I'm a Lonesome Fugitive), murder ballads (Life in Prison), paradigmatic love songs (All of Me Belongs to You), juke joint blues rockers (If You Want to Be My Woman), odes to drinking away one's problems (Drink Up and Be Somebody), odes to just drinking (My Rough and Rowdy Ways). Every song here is mighty fine, and every listen so far has just made them mighty finer. But one property of this album worth noting is that this is not an album for teenagers. The audience this album aims for is adult, even middle-aged. The album's humour is wry and drenched in rye. The sorrows of this album are adult concerns of penury and the losses of serious love, not adolescent infatuations. Even resorting to booze to ease a broken heart, while not necessarily a mature response, is by definition an adult one. So, this has set me to thinking if the snottiness against country stems from age. I can understand perfectly if a teenager has no inclination to seek out some Willie Nelson. How would that teenager feel once they hit 35? Does the predilection to country music depend on how close you are to your first prostate exam? NoRadio, signing off.

Fugitive country. The original OG. Brilliant storytelling, influential, charismatic.

One of the greats.

Hell yeah. This is just good old fashioned country music. Loved it.

Classic

Perfection

Je n'écoutais quasi jamais de Country, et c'est une révélation

Excellent album - very evocative.

Sorpresota. Otro disco perfecto.

Good road trip vibes

What a silky smooth voice and backing strings

Talk about old school cool. There's something special about how much these old country guys are just fill each note. Nothing trails off. At the end of the day, they all sound a bit the same as a result, but it's still interesting. More than a half hour of this would get old, but the length was about perfect. Nice little album.

Cowboy

Another album that I enjoyed that’s not on Apple Music 😠 I do find it funny describing all these woes when he seems like the jerk every time.

K-ROSE staples to fly your Sanchez around the map at warpspeed with 5 stars to. I imagine this album was fucking enormous when it came out, but alas it's been consumed by time and by the amount of other shit that came out that sounds exactly the same as this. I found this particularly generic, but in the best way. This album captured all the best elements of country/honky tonk and channelled it into one album. I really enjoyed this, but once you get through the first couple of songs, you pretty much get the point. That doesn't make it a bad album (I quite enjoyed my listen), it just makes it unworthy of being considered "perfect". It's fairly cookie cutter. Still, I could see myself coming back to this when my girlfriend decides to break up with me in the future. Highlights: All of Me Belongs to You

Criminally low global score (not supposed to be a Fugitive joke). Just pleasant and inoffensive classic Country. Haggard has an incredible voice that is an incredible match for the more somber tunes on this Album

Music that makes you want to kill yourself but in a good way.

It isn't Marty Robbins, but it's certainly great. Something about these country western artists is occasionally they'll write a song that's so bang on relateable it leaves you sitting there like : O 8/10

Before he became an outlaw country legend (both in the music world and the real world), Merle Haggard was still able to deliver down-to-Earth and real lyrics during the period of flashy country music. This is the sort of album that paved the way for his peers in the 70s to express themselves and after listening to this, you can see his and Hank William's lasting legacy on country music. To say this is a pleasant listen means you didn't hear what old Merle was saying. This is a very tight half an hour of introspection and regret. Without Merle, I wouldn't have my dear Waylon and Willie as they came to be. David Allen Coe said the perfect country and western song mentions trucks, trains, mama, prison and getting drunk. He doesn't mention mama, but four out of five ain't bad and that's what this album gets. Highlights: Life In Prison, Drink Up And Be Somebody, Someone Told My Story, My Rough And Rowdy Ways

This is exactly what you picture when you think of country music. And I didn’t hate it.

Merle Haggard is an American Icon for a reason. This album is a great look into his songwriting. Oddly enough the opening track and the biggest hit on the album is not written by Merle. It is however a great track that defines his previous life as a convict. My only issue with this album is that the first half has the typical 1960s polished Countrypolitan sound which after watching the PBS Ken Burns documentary “Country Music” I hear all the time on these late 50s to early 70s albums. thankfully, we break away in the middle to hear a glimpse of the Bakersfield sound and the outlaw Merle of the 70s starting with “Drink Up and Be Somebody” but that polished sound returns with “Mary’s Mine”. Thankfully it doesn’t carry the whole album. My other issue is the short songs that seem to fade out as they just start getting good. The album did end with a great upbeat tune “Mixed Up Mess of A Heart” that left me wanting more. I love Merle Haggard and this is young Merle at the start of an amazing career so I understand the significance but I feel like there are better albums in his catalog. I like all the songs on this album but favorites are “Drink Up and Be Somebody”, “If You Want To Be My Woman”, “Skid Row”, and “Mixed Up Mess of a Heart”.

Man, a good chunk of this album is such a downer, but that classic country honky tonk is such an upper. Makes me think of a road trip, or some movie, a rustic bar, with swinging doors and a jukebox. Also one of the best album covers we'veon the list so far. I'm A Lonesome Fugitive, House of Memories, Mixed Up Mess of A Heart are favorites!

Fantastic album. Each track makes you feel as if you’re an old man from the Deep South reminiscing of what you once had. I was waiting for an album to hit as hard as Loretta Lyn’s “don’t come home a drinkin with lovin on your mind” this almost feels as if it could be a sequel to that album but from the perspective of the man she sings about. I can imagine putting this record on over an old spaghetti western like Django 1966. This album screams whiskey and Marlboro reds. Love it.

Country used to be, like, really good.

Unexpected big like

first listen solid stuff

This was interesting. Not quite my cup of tea, but it's a competent album with some dark undertones. Good instrumentals and vocal work. 'If You Want To Be My Woman' was my fave.

Let’s be real: Country music is more of a curiosity than a cultural cornerstone where I live (i.e. not in North America). It’s never been the dominant sound, and honestly, I’ve rarely gone out of my way to explore it. So pressing play on I’m a Lonesome Fugitive felt less like chasing a new favourite and more like ticking off a box: one of those "important" albums you’re supposed to hear at least once. I knew Merle Haggard for the headlines than the hits. San Quentin. Five marriages. The IRS. He’s a legend with a past, and you can hear it in his voice—it’s dusty, no-frills, and full of lived-in grit. Tracks like the title cut and Life in Prison have a slow-burn weight to them, carried by twangy guitars, brushed drums, and that classic Bakersfield sound that splits the difference between Nashville polish and barroom blues. It’s raw but tidy. Confessional without ever getting messy. And yet… I didn’t exactly walk away changed. The stories are solid, and the themes (freedom, regret, restlessness) are universal, but the melodies didn’t stick, and I wasn’t humming any refrains later. It felt more like watching a well-made film from another era. Interesting and important, but not something I’ll return to often. Still, I get why this record matters. It helped cement Haggard’s place in the outlaw country movement and gave working-class America a voice that wasn’t sugar-coated. And maybe that’s enough. I didn’t love it, but I’m glad I heard it. Albums like this offer a window into a different time and place, and for me, that’s the real value of going through these 1001 albums.

Pleasantly surprised by this.

Solid 60s songwriter country, in the vein of Waylon and Willie and Kris. Maybe not at the level of those guys, in my opinion, but good stuff nonetheless.

b tier country, nothing crazy but at least it’s better than morgan wallen

This is a really great album. I mean, the subject matter is entirely generic and predictable, but the songs and musicianship are top notch.

Just a good country album with good vibes, nothing much more I can say

Man all the hate in these comments remind me of my youth. When the days were long and free time was abundant. Merle is a legend in is and these are deep, dark yet simple songs about real pain of the mundane life. I love doing yard work to this era of country music, field songs, work songs, easy listening. Great for a booze session with the fellas or on your own. Roadtrips too, its Americana and in our blood. Merle fucking Haggard rules.