99. Merle Haggard and the Strangers — I’m A Lonesome Fugitive (1967)

1. Been awhile since we heard a country record in this list! This one’s totally pleasant, solid in a non-distracting way. Album opener “I’m A Lonesome Fugitive” (not written by Haggard and in fact based on the Fugitive TV show) is an excellent piece, a great example of how an artist can take ownership of a tune even if they haven’t written it themselves; it’s quintessentially country and remarkably accidentally autobiographical.
2. The rest of the album suffers from a bit of same-same sound; it’s not a bad sound, but it’s not so much my thing. I’d gladly have this on in the background in any number of situations, but I don’t know that I’d lay down the vinyl and focus on it for a half hour.
3. That said: I’m interested to hear more from Merle, and from the sound of things this — his third album — was the start of bigger things to come.

One Essential Song:

Listen on Spotify: