The Lonesome Fugitive: The Merle Haggard Anthology (1963-1977)

Merle Haggard is one of the true giants of country music; if they built a Mount Rushmore of male country legends, he'd certainly be one of the heads, along with Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and George Jones. Of all the anthologies out there, the best and most concise choice has to be this collection, "The Lonesome Fugitive."

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...Read more

I GREW UP ON MERLE HAGGARD MUSIC ALL MY LIFE. I'M 55 YEARS OLD AND I STILL GO TO HIS CONCERTS. THIS 2 CD COLLECTION HAS ALL THE SONGS OF THE WORKING MAN,THE SOLDIER,AND ANY OTHER CLASS OF PEOPLE THERE IS.

WHEN MERLE RECORDED "OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE" LIVE IN MUSKOGEE,OKLA.IN 1969 CARLTON HANEY,THE GREATEST COUNTRY MUSIC PROMOTER THERE IS, TOLD IT LIKE IT IS,MERLE PUTS HIS LIFE INTO THE SONGS HE SINGS.

THE SONGS IN THIS 2CD COLLECTION TELLS OF "HAGS" LIFE. WHEN YOU LISTEN TO HIS SONGS YOU KNOW HE HAS BEEN DOWN THAT ROAD.

SO YOU SEE IT'S VERY PLAIN "THE HAG" IS #1 WITH ME. IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE ONE COLLECTION FROM MERLE HAGGARD, THIS WOULD BE IT.

I'M FROM HENRYETTA,OKLA. A SHORT WAYS FROM MUSKOGEE. IKNOW THE AREA WHERE MERLE'S FAMILY LIVED BACK THEN. I WOULD HATE TO HAVE TO CHOOSE A FAVORITE BUT IF I DID MERLE HAGGARD WOULD BE AT THE VERY TOP. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Merle Haggard is experiencing a major revival in the music world. It began with the release of two tribute albums recorded by many of the new generation of country artists. Now a slew of reissues have been released - one of the most comprehensive of which is this two-disc ANTHOLOGY. Its forty tracks covers his formative years on the small Tally label from 1963-1964 and his subsequent move in 1965 to the Capitol label where Haggard became one of the greatest artists in country music history. Nearly every single from this period was included, along with a few well-chosen B-sides, such as his oft-covered "Today I Started Loving You Again."

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...Read more