George Jones Album: “All-Time Greatest Hits, Vol. 1”

All of the tracks on this CD are re-recordings of previous hits while George was at other labels, Mercury, United Artists, Musicor and are flat and nonengerized. The Problem is there is not a cd collection that combines all of George's best songs from the various labels into one collection. This country music legend has 162 charted songs in his 50 year career, so it is very difficult to find some of the material in some kind of collection. The Best Pre-Epic collections out there are "Cup of Loneliness: The Classic Mercury Years and She Thinks I Still Care-The George Jones Collection which covers the United Artist Material. Both of the collections are 2 CD sets.

The recordings from George's time with the Musicor label, after United Artist, has never really been properly put into a collection, one must look to the cheap Federal, Hollywood or Deluxe labels for this material and the sound quality is usually poor. The Best Epic Collection of George's work is the Essential George Jones-Spirit of Country 2CD collection. After this there is A George Jones Collection that covers the best of his MCA work. If you can afford all of these 2CD sets mentioned and find a descent cd covering the Musicor material and also buy the George Jones Collection covering the MCA material you have it covered, oh but what about the mateial after the MCA material, The Asylum years,The Cold Hard Truth Album with the fine ballad "Choices" Jones's catalogue is exhausting. However in the meantime, skip this poor, worthless, ALL-TIME GREATEST HITS VOL. 1 CD. The Orginal versions are always the best versions even if they are on costly collections

If you're trying to learn about the music of the greatest singer in country history and are bewildered by his vast catalog of forty-odd years, here's an easy and cheap starting point. Done in 1976 these re-recordings of Jones earlier crowd-pleasers are excellently done: Sherill's production is tasteful and intelligent, for once, the chorus is muted, the sound fine. And Jones, given here finally, half a chance, reaches Sinatra-like lustre on the ballads (especially "She Still Thinks I Care") and shines up the old rockers like "White Lightnin'" far beyond the originals. This is the way re-recordings should be: mature, better thought-out, and ultimately definitive. One of the all-time best Jones album covers, too.

Released in 1977 - when George Jones was in the depths of his alcohol and cocaine addiction - ALL-TIME GREATEST HITS, VOL 1 showcases some of the many great songs Jones had popularized in the previous two decades. Producer Billy Sherrill shows his genius here in giving these songs the treatment they deserve and these gems sparkle all the more with his classic touch.

All the hits are here, including "White Lightnin'," "The Race Is On," "Walk Through this World With Me," and "The Window Up Above" (the ladder, while respectable, does not come close to the chilling original version, which features Jones discovering his trademark vocal delivery). In addition, Jones' often overlooked skills as a songwriter is revealed, with him being credited with composing "My Favorite Lies," "Why Baby Why," and the forlorn "She's Mine," which has a surprise ending which will likely make tears well up in your eyes. You may have heard these songs before but it is worth hearing them again framed with Sherrill's immaculate touch. Hunt it down now!

This is a good CD, but if you're looking for the real "hits", skip this one. SOme of the songs sound downright lazy, like this slowed down re-record of "The Race Is On", as well as this version of "She Thinks I Still Care".

The high points of this collection are as follows:

First, this CD contains the best version (and there have been a few) that Jones ever recroded of "White Lightnin'." This version far surpasses the original Murcury recording and the Musicor version where they tried to get by using twin fiddles (very cheezy).

The second high point is the very "true-to-the-original" re-record of "She's Mine."

All in all, this is a good CD (Jones couldn't record anything that wasn't), but keep in mind that these are NOT the original hits, and they will sound just like what they are: Re-records.