Lonesome, On'ry and Mean

If *Lonesome, On\'ry & Mean* cast Waylon Jennings as the father of \"outlaw country,\" he used his newfound freedom to craft a profoundly personal, powerful statement that injected rock rhythms and attitude into old-school C&W. An anthem of the outlaw movement if there ever was one, the galloping title track is the weary artist lashing out at the producer-controlled confines of Music Row. Welcome to Waylon\'s world, a place of pealed-back honky-tonk blues (\"Good Time Charlie\'s Got The Blues), where the underlying ache of \"Me And Bobby McGee\" becomes palpable when wrapped in that larger-than-life baritone, a tender letter to an ex is enough to make you want to curl up and cry (\"Sandy Sends Her Best\"), and a country-rock cover of Johnny Cash\'s \"Gone To Denver\" and sadder-bastard take on Willie Nelson\'s \"Pretend I Never Happened\" sound more vital than the originals. With one album, Waylon might have robbed Nashville of its formula, but he returned to it some soul.

That the rest of the recording is just as consistent, just as seamless in its execution, production, and delivery, makes Lonesome, On'ry and Mean the first seriously pitched battle in the 1970s country music wars.