Roger in Context

"Classic Country" is kind of my thing. Once I personally decided that modern music was lacking, it was 50s and early-60s country that I turned to. To this day it dominates my record collection, and even though my listening habits have moved past, it is still my touchstone.

As someone who knows a lot of old country, I've pretty much ignored Roger Miller, and I'm here to say that I'm a fool.

I posted Roger's "One Dyin' and a Buryin'" a while back as possibly (probably) (definitely) the saddest song ever. But to give you a better idea just how startling it was, I'm posting the song as ripped from the original album, with the preceding and succeeding cuts. My point is, when listened to in context, this already shocking song is even moreso. I mean, it's devastating.

I plan to write and post more about Roger Miller's amazing work and vision later. But for now, here's the tracklist from "Roger Miller - The 3rd Time Around."



Side 1
Engine, Engine #9
This Town
The Last Word in Lonesome is Me
Water Dog
I'll Pick up My Heart and go Home
Swiss Maid

Side 2
It Happened That Way
The Good old Days
One Dyin' and a Buryin'
Kansas City Star
Big Harlan Taylor
Swing Low Sweet Chariot

(Note: I've compressed these in an inferior (112Kbps) bitrate in order to get the file down to manageable size.)