I’m a Lonesome Fugitive

Oh, it's country. Fuck off then

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

Commendable tunes, partner.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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

Yes

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

What a voice. What classic country righting.

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.

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.

excellent

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

Excellent album - very evocative.

Good road trip vibes

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.

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

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!

I loved it!

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

The perfect album for the day.

Sorpresota. Otro disco perfecto.

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

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

The Hag never fails to impress

Country <3

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

yay!

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

"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.

Fun honkey tonk blues. Love this vibe

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

Good stuff

Terrific

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.

What a silky smooth voice and backing strings

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.

This is good old real country.

Gem

Classic

Perfection

Whenever I think of country, Haggard’s voice is one of the first to pop up. Iconic, warm and with an emotional depth to it. He’s really all you want in a country singer. This quintessential American sound brings back memories of cruising down the lonesome highway, heading West towards the sunset, an arm around my girl, evergreen upon evergreen bursting from the stereo. Memories that aren’t mine, to be honest. But memories that live well within the music of Merle Haggard.

Hi: All of Me Belongs To You, Skid Row, Mixed Up Mess of a Heart If you're tired of Johnny Cash outlaw country, get into so MERLE, you won't be disappointed. I don't think country gets better than this.

Good ol country n western. Sad songs that make you want to drink a few cold ones and hop in a pickup.

Genuine article. Real feeling, even if a fair amount of winking accompanies several songs (see "Whatever Happened to Me" and "Drink Up and Be Somebody'" and "Mixed Up Mess of a Heart"). The playing is assured and smooth, almost to a fault. And one finds it odd and a bit funny to see how clean-cut some of the outlaws could look?

really good

Pretty good

A lot more fun than I expected! I started listening to some of his other stuff, Love Affair With Trains is such a vibe

Merle Haggard is a classic. I’m generally not a fan of modern country music but I’ll listen to him any day. 3.5/5, rounded up to 4/5.

gott stuff

Way better than I’d anticipated. Some beautiful tracks.

Awesome 💙

Country is certainly not my preferred genre, but some music is just undeniably charming. Merle Haggard has a great voice and writes excellent songs. The backing music features his voice well while keeping your toes tapping 4/5

I'm so thankful to get a shorter album that I don't even care that it's country. Life In Prison is way sadder than I thought this album would get honestly. It wasn't until the last couple lines until I realized what he was saying.

rather enjoyable listen. i feel like a cowboy now

Original country. Merle haggard was kinda cute when he was young

Pretty good country. I like the voice.

Mon péché cute

Great album - what country used to be.

Aquele episódio do Bob Esponja q a Sandy fica cantando que quer voltar pro Texas 3,5

This is a shining example of the Bakersfield Sound with its use of electric instruments and a steady backbeat as an answer to the overproduced Nashville Sound (Haggard was a consistent critic of Nashville). The Honky Tonk and Rock n Roll influences can be heard on songs like 'If You Want to be My Woman' but for the most part, the album is a slower, more contemplative record that features Haggard taking about his time in prison and his younger more reckless days. Haggard's voice is fantastic here and Ralph Mooney's steel guitar is perfect.

One of the most influential albums Merle ever made, practically creating the Outlaw Country sub-genre. Not a very popular or lasting genre, but it was original for the time. It sure is fun and I enjoyed the album. 4/5

I just like Merle Haggard. Enjoy the Bakersfield sound, and I slightly prefer this album to Buck Owens's I've Got a Tiger By the Tail, but both are great classic country records. Bonnie Owens's harmony vocals are the secret weapon on this album, adding some extra depth to Someone Told My Story and the title track. Drink Up and Be Somebody and If You Want to Be My Woman are both fun uptempo stomps, and Life in Prison is a just a banger of a classic country track.

It only felt very good, not essential.

Wasn’t too familiar with these tunes exactly, but I’m bery familiar with the combination of Merle’s stories and Roy Ernest Nichols‘ guitar playing. There could be 5000 Merle Haggard albums that sound just like this, I’m really not sure, but it hits like this classic form at its peak, and it brings me joy.

Liked it more than I thought I would. You can tell these are from the heart.

I really like old school country and this a great album.

So I was quite prepared to say "similar to Johnny Cash" (which I love), give it a 3 star rating and move on, possibly skipping a track or two. But the more I listened the more it wormed its way into my head. Glad to add this to my 4Star+ playlist

7/10 fun country music but nothing special makes me wanna go fishing from the back of a pickup truck or some shit haha

Legacy country music here. Sad, sweet, strong, and poignant, sometimes all at the same time. There is something (genuine?) about this one that made me feel connected to the music. Good stuff.

4.5 I’ll always be the first to admit that my distaste for country music is mostly due to my own ignorance about the genre. I have really only ever found one country artist that I truly enjoy (Johnny Cash). Otherwise there are a few singles here and there that I like, mostly from Fallout: New Vegas, but I never bothered to discover more country. That’s where this list comes in handy because in the case of “I’m a Lonely Fugitive” I think it’s fair to say I had a great time listening. The subject matter is quite melancholy and I think I only heard one John Deere reference. Surprisingly, I liked Merle’s voice and the guitar work was really intricate and well done. There were times I felt like this is the emo of country with lyrics like “My life will be a burden every day, if I could die my pain might go away” sounding like they were ripped straight out of Devil and God or The Black Parade. I liked just about everything about this album. Favorites: I’m a Lonesome Fugitive, House of Memories, Life in Prison, Someone Told My Story, Mary’s Mine, Skid Row, Mixed Up Mess of a Heart

I'm not a huge fan of old country but this has some quality tracks.

I quite enjoyed this. Hadn’t heard it before, but was what I expected from a Merle Haggard album, in a good way. Am not averse to a bit of country, but I tend to err on the Johnny Cash / rockabilly side, generally. Some great country titles and lyrics here though, and I particularly enjoyed Drink Up and Be Somebody.

Yes! Love this!

Great songs. Four chords and the truth!

Classic Merle

This country man sure has some good yarns about going to prison and such. I'm a sucker for this exact country sound (and very few other country sounds)

Gloriously simple old country.