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.