''Out Among the Stars'' is the forty-second studio album by American recording artist Merle Haggard released on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in 1986. It reached number 15 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' country albums chart. It contains the song "My Life's Been Grand," which Merle wrote with Gordon Terry of

The Strangers Strangers are people who are unknown to another person or group. Strangers or The Strangers may also refer to: History * Elizabethan Strangers or Strangers, a name applied to French and Belgian immigrants to Norwich, East Anglia, England, during ...

Background

''Out Among the Stars'' features a plethora of producers and more of Haggard's increasingly sentimental and mellow sound. Aside from the Dixie blues of "Pennies from Heaven," the album is dominated by romantic and tearful ballads adorned with the smooth keyboards and processed guitars that were typical of

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

recording at the time. The album was the result of songs consisting of left-over tracks from his days with MCA Records which were bought out by Epic and the reason many of the songs have a dated sound. The only newly recorded tracks appearing here are "Out Among The Stars", "The Show's Almost Over", and "Almost Persuaded". The single "Out Among the Stars" failed to crack the Top 20 and a second single, " Almost Persuaded" (produced by Billy Sherrill, who also co-wrote the tune) peaked at number 58.

Critical reception

Eugene Chadbourne of AllMusic derides the album, writing that what Haggard does emotionally with his lyrics "is so ripe with sentimentality that with the wrong kind of production it can quickly evolve into just plain rotten," and calls the album's title track "just overblown, a potboiler on the level of the worst

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

material." In his book ''The Running Kind'', biographer David Cantwell classifies the LP as one of Haggard's "never great, but always solid" eighties albums.

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 1986 albums Merle Haggard albums Epic Records albums Albums produced by Billy Sherrill Albums produced by Ray Baker (music producer)