George Jones - The Essential George Jones: The Spirit Of Country

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Music reviews of The Essential George Jones: The Spirit Of Country

Music Review: An impressive two-CD box set of classic Possum tracks
Rating: 5 Stars

One great thing about this collection is the fact that the release date and peak place on the chart are listed for each of these songs, ranging from 1955's Why Baby Why to 1998's The King is Gone (So Are You). A number of these songs should be familiar to a great number of people and hardly even need any sort of description. I have never really listened to country music, yet I knew many of these songs long ago, even before I began purchasing George Jones releases.

When it comes to George Jones, you have to start with one song: He Stopped Loving Her Today. This song never fails to give me goose bumps, and it has never aged one bit. I was fortunate enough to see George Jones in concert once, and the audience all but screamed for him to sing this song - it still has the power to melt your heart. Another touching song found here is Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes, which is basically a tribute to the true pioneers and legends of country music. You'll find plenty of fast-paced fun songs here, as well: e.g., I'm a One Woman Man, The Race Is On, and White Lightning. Unforgettable songs revolving around heartache include A Picture Of Me (Without You), If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will), These Days I Barely Get By, She Thinks I Still Care, The Window Up Above, and the immaculate The Grand Tour. That vintage George Jones twang makes a sad song do things to your heart that no other performer's voice can possibly match. As I said, I could talk about every song included here; every one of them is just terrific.

There are a fair number of duets included here, of course, as that formed a significant part of George's illustrious career. Bartender's Blues features James Taylor, Johnny Paycheck puts in an appearance on Maybelline, both Ray Charles and Chet Atkins team up with George on We Didn't See a Thing, Yesterday's Wine features Merle Haggard, and Melba Montgomery lends her voice to We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds. Then there is Tammy Wynette, an integral part of both George's music and personal life. This collection gives us only a small sampling of four songs from the greatest duo in country music, but each of these four is amazing: Near You, The Ceremony (in which George and Tammy basically renewed their marriage vows), We're Gonna Hold On (which was inspired by the strains that developed in their marriage), and Two Story House.

Essentially, this two-CD box set is a great buy for anyone nursing a newfound love for George Jones' music or just experiencing some curiosity about the man whose music and personal life did much to define country music for so long. Established Possum fans will already own most of these songs, yet the excellent booklet full of track information, biographical material, and pictures from the course of George's career offers much for loyal fans, as well.

Description of The Essential George Jones: The Spirit Of Country

Country CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop
• Rock