|
Merle Haggard Album: “I'm a Lonesome Fugitive/Branded Man”
| Album Information : |
|---|
| Title: |
I'm a Lonesome Fugitive/Branded Man |
|
|
|
Release Date:2006-02-21
|
|
Type:Unknown
|
|
Genre:Country
|
|
Label:LCT
|
|
Explicit Lyrics:No
|
|
UPC:094634479424
|
Review - :
In early 2006, roughly in time for the 40th anniversary of {$Merle Haggard}'s debut album, {@Capitol Nashville} launched an ambitious {$Haggard} catalog project, reissuing ten albums as a series of five two-fers, each adorned with bonus tracks. All these albums had been reissued before, either stateside by {@Capitol} or {@Koch} or in the U.K. by {@EMI} or {@BGO}, but they've never have been given such an excellent treatment as they are here. The albums are paired together in logical, chronological order, the 24-bit digital remastering gives these recordings the best sound they've ever had, the front cover artwork is reproduced for each album on a two-fer, and the liner notes are candid and detailed. Dedicated {$Hag} fans certainly have nearly all this material in their collection -- not only have the albums been on CD, but the bonus tracks have by and large appeared on {@Bear Family}'s box {^Untamed Hawk}, which chronicled his early work for {@Capitol}, or showed up on {@Capitol}'s own box, {^Down Every Road} -- but they still may be tempted by this series, since these discs not only sound and look terrific, but they're also more listenable than any previous CD incarnation of these classic albums.And make no mistake, all ten albums featured in {@Capitol Nashville}'s first wave of {$Haggard} reissues in February 2006 are classic albums; some may be a little stronger than others, but there's not a weak one in the bunch, and they all stand as some of the finest music of their time. The second two-fer features {$Merle}'s two albums from 1967, {^I'm a Lonesome Fugitive} and {^Branded Man}. Both records expanded the template that {$Haggard & the Strangers} laid down on his second solo album, 1966's {^Swinging Doors and the Bottle Let Me Down}, continuing with the lean, propulsive spin on the {~Bakersfield} sound pioneered by {$Buck Owens} and {$Tommy Collins}, but adding elements of {\folk} and a stronger {\honky tonk} underpinning. {$Haggard} continued to mine the {$Tommy Collins} songbook, and also started working {$Jimmie Rodgers} tunes into his recorded repertoire ({&"My Rough and Rowdy Ways"} on {^I'm a Lonesome Fugitive}), but the biggest development on these two records belonged to {$Haggard} as a songwriter. On both records, he grew by leaps and bounds as a writer, penning such classics as the ghostly {&"House of Memories,"} {&"All of Me Belongs to You,"} {&"Someone Told My Story,"} {&"Skid Row,"} {&"I Threw Away the Rose,"} and {&"Branded Man,"} along with other notable tunes like {&"Life in Prison,"} which consciously recalls his own life story. Since there's not much that separates these two albums in an aesthetic sense, they make for an excellent two-fer; paired together, they play like one long, excellent album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
|
|
