George Jones Album: “The Essential George Jones: The Spirit of Country”

The newfangled country radio stations may have stopped playing George Jones years ago, but he was, is, and always will be the voice of true country music. As a general rule, I don't like country music, but George Jones is something special. Two CDs is barely a start in terms of collecting all of his many, many hits over the years, but these 44 tracks still do quite a good job of showcasing his talent and tracing the evolution of his music over the course of the first thirty-three years of his unprecedented career. In addition, the accompanying booklet stands as a particularly good tribute to the man who, as you can see by all the quotes from big-name stars of today, has influenced country music perhaps more than any other entertainer.

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.

WOW! That's what I can say about this amazing collection. It does a beautiful job of showing how Jones and his music grew and changed over the years, but always remained totally George Jones. The included book uses the songlist to tell the story of George's career with fascinating background notes and information. One of my non-country-fan friends said, "George Jones' voice is a national treasure." This is a truly a classic.

George has had a long career spanning half a century and recorded for several labels. Sometime he re-recorded hits he'd had with previous labels, but what makes this compilation unique is that it includes original recordings from four different labels, covering the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties. Sony (who own the Epic recordings) licensed tracks from the other three labels represented here.

The first seven tracks were recorded for Mercury and cover the period 1955 to 1961, beginning with Why baby why and ending with Tender years. The standout from this period is Window up above, a very sad song about lost love. George's Mercury years are covered in greater depth in the 48-track double CD Cup of loneliness.

The next three tracks - She thinks I still care, We must have been out of our minds (with Melba Montgomery) and The race is on - are from his period with United Artists (1962 to 1965). Although these are the three most famous tracks, there should have been more than that. This period is covered in greater depth in the 40-track Razor and tie compilation She Thinks I Still Care: The George Jones Collection.

The next five tracks are from his Musicor period (1965 to 1970), including Walk through this world with me and Good year for the roses. There were other great songs from this period, but there is no definitive compilation covering this period.

The remainder of this compilation is devoted to his long spell with Epic which covers most of the seventies and eighties, including duets with Merle Haggard, Johnny Paycheck, Ray Charles and four songs with Tammy Wynette. Of his own songs from this period, the most famous is He stopped loving her today, a very sad song about a man who remained loyal to a woman who had left him - until he died.

This is a stunning collection of George's music. It's not possible to get all his big hits into two CD's, but this is the best place to begin a George Jones collection.

I grew up on rock & roll, but began looking to expand my horizons several years ago. I found George Jones by accident. I was on the road, in the middle of nowhere searching the AM stations for something interesting. I came across a station that was doing a feature on George Jones. Many of the songs included on this 2 CD set were played. I was sold, and bought this set as soon as I could. George Jones' voice is indeed the Cadillac of country music. The Essential George Jones is just that. Essential. Buy it.

A few years ago I went to a flea market at the Cyclorama in Boston and found a box set of music (The Spirit of Country) by this guy, George Jones. Over the years I'd heard intriguing bits and pieces about the man and his remarkable voice. An association to Keith Richards stood out in my mind. Evidently each thought the other to be the truest instrument of his particular style of music.

For years I'd been coming around to country music by way of legends like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. These two outlaws had crossover appeal that made them gate-keepers of my initiation as a country listener. But behind those doors stood a man who never crossed over and never cared to.

That would be George Jones. Not since John Lennon had I been so sucker-punched by a voice. The minute I pressed play, I understood the bricks of reverence that musicians pile at this man's feet. So I built my own George Jones pedestal.

I started singing with fever because of "The Possum," with more encouragement from my golden-voiced father and "that singing friend of mine," Ed. Still it was George Jones that made country music essential to me. I was so moved by his mastery, I Just set out in the direction of his particular light-and recorded my CD, "Wild Irish Rose, reverences of George Jones."

Maybe in my old age, in some coffee house, the stars will align and I'll deliver one song the way George Jones delivers a song. Maybe I'll sing for three minutes like the man Frank Sinatra called "the second greatest singer" and others call the "the Rolls Royce of country singers."

Then I'll wake up from that dream and go put on a George Jones record. Probably "It Don't Get Any Better Than This."