Still in ORIGINAL SHRINK-WRAP (opened). Vinyl plays nicely (play-graded). Cover looks great; a couple creases near edges; no scuffing (front/back). Inner-sleeve is original (generic white); bottom seam partially split. Spine is easy-to-read with very mild-wear. Little shelf-wear along top/bottom-edge; minor wear to corners. Opening is crisp with signs of light use and a few divots. (Not a cut-out.)
5:01 Blues, by Merle Haggard with backing by The Strangers, was his last studio album on the Epic label. It peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard country albums chart. It was co-produced by Mark Yeary, keyboardist of The Strangers. Although Haggard's tenure with Epic had been a success in its first three years, producing twelve top-ten hits (with nine of them going to No. 1), his relationship with the label deteriorated in the latter part of the 1980s. 5:01 Blues was to be his last studio album with Epic. The single, A Better Love Next Time, became Haggard's last top 5 solo single, while two other singles, If You Want to Be My Woman and the title track, failed to crack the top 20 on the country charts. A final single, the opener Broken Friend did not chart. Someday We'll Know was co-written by Haggard and Teresa Lane, who later become Haggard's fifth wife.