The Lonesome Fugitive: The Merle Haggard Anthology (1963-1977)
The Lonesome Fugitive: The Merle Haggard Anthology (1963-1977)
ASIN: B000002Z8U
Track Listings
| Disc: 1 |
| 1. Sing a Sad Song |
| 2. Sam Hill |
| 3. Just Between the Two of Us - Merle Haggard, Bonnie Owens |
| 4. (My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers |
| 5. I'm Gonna Break Every Heart I Can |
| 6. Swinging Doors |
| 7. Bottle Let Me Down |
| 8. Fugitive |
| 9. Someone Told My Story |
| 10. I Threw Away the Rose |
| Disc: 2 |
| 1. Street Singer |
| 2. Jesus, Take a Hold |
| 3. I Can't Be Myself |
| 4. Sidewalks of Chicago |
| 5. Soldier's Last Letter |
| 6. Someday We'll Look Back |
| 7. Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man) |
| 8. Carolyn |
| 9. Grandma Harp |
| 10. It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) |
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
Of the 40 songs included in this two-CD overview, 39 made the country charts and a remarkable 22 peaked at No. 1. The collection opens with four early Tally hits, but Haggard truly hits his stride when he begins penning his own songs for Capitol in 1965. Songs of family and faith accompany honky-tonk drinking anthems, incendiary (if not sarcastic) anti-hippie rants, and poignant stories of rebellion, prison life, and loneliness. Backed by the talented Strangers, Haggard created an emotionally honest and directly delivered style of country that, along with Buck Owens's work, came to define the Bakersfield sound. The drawback of focusing on Hag's original hits, however, is the omission of his inspired tributes to legends such as Jimmie Rodgers. --Marc Greilsamer
The Lonesome Fugitive: The Merle Haggard Anthology (1963-1977),Merle Haggard,Razor & Tie,Bakersfield Sound,Country,Honky Tonk,Pop,Progressive Country,Traditional Country,United States of America,Western Swing Revival
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The Lonesome Fugitive: The Merle Haggard Anthology
Merle Haggard Manufacturer: Razor & Tie ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  General
| Country
| Styles
| Music
Honky-Tonk
| Country
| Styles
| Music
Outlaw & Progressive Country
| Country
| Styles
| Music
Western Swing
| Country
| Styles
| Music
General
| Traditional Country
| Country
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
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ASIN: B000002Z8T Release Date: 1995-03-21 |
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Amazon.com essential recording
Of the 40 songs included in this two-CD overview, 39 made the country charts and a remarkable 22 peaked at No. 1. The collection opens with four early Tally hits, but Haggard truly hits his stride when he begins penning his own songs for Capitol in 1965. Songs of family and faith accompany honky-tonk drinking anthems, incendiary (if not sarcastic) anti-hippie rants, and poignant stories of rebellion, prison life, and loneliness. Backed by the talented Strangers, Haggard created an emotionally honest and directly delivered style of country that, along with Buck Owens's work, came to define the Bakersfield sound. The drawback of focusing on Hag's original hits, however, is the omission of his inspired tributes to legends such as Jimmie Rodgers. --Marc GreilsamerCustomer Reviews:
The Best Country Singer Ever! (and a GREAT CD).......2004-11-18
Authentic, enjoyable, and classic Country-Western music.......2004-02-03
Today's country music strikes me as rootless, as emanating from nowhere in particular. Most of my relatives come from Arkansas hill country, as rural as they come. If they had decided to leave for California in the 1930s, they could easily have passed for the Arkies in THE GRAPES OF WRATH. But there was a genuine, visceral connection between the music they listened to and their lives. Not so today. What real connection do Brooks and Dunn have with country folk? I admire the Dixie Chicks for their political stand, and I don't dislike their music, but they seem more urban than country.
Merle Haggard is the real deal. You listen to him and you are convinced that he knows about picking cotton and driving a tractor. He sounds like one familiar with outhouses and tin roofs and gravel roads an army of flies on a front porch in the middle of July. The experiences are real, and the emotions are real. Perhaps he has never been himself a hunted fugitive, but his background and life helps him sell it.
This isn't polished country, not by today's all-too-slick standards. But it is tremendously real. I won't defend every song on the album. Some of the songs border on corn; "Okie from Muskogee" represents the worst form of patriotism (though he has largely redeemed himself in this regard with his recent song about the injustices done by the current government in sending the troops to Iraq for unjustified reasons). But the songs are consistently good, and several are great, and Merle's singing always strong and deeply emotional.
Not all of the current generation of country singers have forsaken the country tradition. Iris Dement would have been marvelous in whatever decade she was in (a fellow Arkie, I might add). But I think by and large most young performers would produce better country music if they took Merle Haggard as their inspiration rather than the pabulum performers infesting the airwaves today.
probably the 2nd best Merle Haggard collection.......2002-11-04
Good Overview.......2001-09-29
At Tally, Haggard was merely an interpreter (especially the work of Liz Anderson). Upon joining Capitol, Haggard the writer immediately began to emerge. His early writing was firmly rooted in the standard country themes of cheating ("Swinging Doors") and drinking ("The Bottle Let Me Down"). From here he moved on to more autobiographical fare. "A Branded Man" and "Sing Me Back Home" brought attention to Haggard's stay in San Quentin while "Mama Tried" and "Hungry Eyes" captured his turbulent youth. With "Okie From Muskogee" and "Fightin' Side Of Me," Haggard spouted some right-wing anthems (the former which may or may not have been written in jest).
As the second disc reveals, Haggard really came into his own in the '70s as a highly observant writer. He covered religion ("Jesus, Take A Hold"), lost love ("Someday We'll Look Back," "It's All In The Movies") and surrogate love ("It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad")), and even working class struggles ("Working Man Blues," "A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today"). He also created some colorful country characters with "Daddy Frank (the Guitar Man)," "Grandma Harp," and "The Old Man From The Mountain." Including the inane "Cherokee Maiden" (not a Haggard original) lowers the quality of this collection quite a bit, but overall ANTHOLOGY is a very satisfying overview of Haggard's early and peak musical years.
The best Merle Haggard collection from his best period.......2001-09-22
First of all, it collects all the major singles from his years with Capitol Records. I should warn you that his tenure at Capitol is considered to be one of the greatest, most consistent bodies of work in country music, and real die-hard fans of Merle often end up buying most if not all his albums from this period. But, if you want a "best of" that skims the cream of the crop, this is the place to go.
The title track, "Okie From Muskogee," "Working Man Blues"...almost all these tracks are country music classics of the traditional sort. No countrypolitan, no orchestral arrangements...this is rootsy music with a hard kick to it (some critics like Dave Marsh and the compiler, Jimmy Guterman, even qualify this stuff as rock music). Lyrically, Haggard proves himself to be on the best in country. He sings about the working class, politics ( "Okie From Muskogee" can either be seen as satire or a right-wing anthem, depending on your view), and even criminals. In all of his songs, he uses eloquent words and sings a hard truth without embellishing too much or getting too sentimental. On top of all that, this collection has great sound, thanks to that amazing audiophile, mastering engineer, Steve Hoffman.
One may wish to get the three CD box set that covers the same time period, or even pick up the albums themselves (Merle made great tribute albums, and you'll definitely want to check out the ones he made to Jimmie Rodgers and Bob Wills). But, if you just want a good overview or a good entry point, you can't possibly go wrong with "The Lonesome Fugitive" collection.
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