Disco de George Jones: “Together Again”

Tammy Wynette and George Jones are two of the greatest of all time and for good reason. Even when they are not at their best they are still pretty darn good. When you are as legendary as these two it may not be fair but you are held to a higher standard since we know what they are capable of. Together Again has a few good moments, but doesn't come close to the magic we expect from them.

There is one outstanding track here "Two Story House". All long time country fans know that song and it has held up pretty good. There are no other outstanding songs here but there are at least a few worth mentioning. "A Pair of Old Sneakers" is a good fun song. "We'll Talk About It Later" is also a good song that showcases the emotion these two have in their voices but will make you hungry for some of their better stuff. The rest of the songs are not bad but really nothing to get excited about. They are just album filler that producer, Billy Sherrill did just a bit too much with his artists. Billy Sherrill was a top notch producer but at the same time he was lazy. Once he created a masterpiece or two on an album he put in just filler to complete the product. One other note about this CD. The song "Night Spell", though not a good song is interesting as it probably was the closes George ever came to attempting a pop song. Its just interesting to hear. Overall, this is not a bad CD and old time country fans will like to have this as part of thier collection, but if you are introducing the greatness of this duet to fans not familiar with this twosome you will want to dig a little deeper.

While the first reviewer made some valid points about this release...one should listen with open "ears" before deciding NOT to purchase this. There is some weak material here, but in the hands of two superb country stylists like Jones & Wynette, even the weakest of songs come off better than most everybody else's good stuff. BUT THE FACT IS THERE IS SOME GREAT ALBUM CUTS HERE. "Right In the Wrong Direction" is a classic cheatin' song done in the great harmony tradition that these two so well embodied! There's other solid country material here as well. But, the surprise of the CD is "Night Spell". Two very lonely people coming together for a night of love...sung with great heartbreak and compassion, wrapped in a surprisingly very pop arrangement. So, while the album is a little more progressive than earlier work...check it out! And, thanks Razor and Tie for the release!

And why not indeed? Very similar to Volume 2 of their "Greatest Hits", Tammy and George have put together another winning CD-even though only 2 of the 10 tracks were a chart hit (according to Billboard). Those are "A Pair of Old Sneakers" and "Two Story House". One wonders why some of the selections were NOT more commercially successful. All the Tammy and George trademarks are there on "Right in the Wrong Direction", "I Just Started Living Today", "Love in the Meantime" and "We'll Talk About It Later". One track is an old Charley Pride hit, "We Could", which I believe Johnny Rodriguez also made popular. To my ear, Tammy was particularly effective on this CD. I always believed She carried George in the studio. Who knows what happened away from work! My simple recommendation to fans and non-fans alike is to add "Together Again" to your collection. "TA" is a true sleeper, all the more so because most of the selections never made the charts.

First off, let me say that ANYTHING recorded by George Jones or Tammy Wynette is worth listening to. Some of their stuff is just better than others. Both of their unique voices represent historic milestones in country music. This collection of songs is their weakest duet offering however, with the exception being the hit single, TWO STORY HOUSE. But one must realize that by the time they recorded this reunion album, they were divorced, Jones was in the middle of a substance abuse problem and there were a lot of unsolved emotional problems between the two of them. It is obvious to the listener because they just don't relate to one another well musically here. By the time they recorded their last album together, ONE, they had healed the old scars and had returned to a fond affection for one another. That is what is missing here, and even the stable producing skills of Billy Sherill couldn't make magic when the potion was all gone.

It came as a surprise to many people that George and Tammy recorded this album in 1980, before the wounds from their divorce had properly healed. Nevertheless it is a wonderful album that yielded two major country hits. One is the classic Two-story house, a song that Tammy co-wrote and which may have been partly based on her four failed marriages. The other song, A pair of old sneakers, is more of a fun song. As originally released on vinyl, there two songs were the opening tracks for each side.

There are more great songs including We could, a cover of a Charley Pride song. Right in the wrong direction, It's not my fault and We'll talk about it later are all examples of songs about a couple's differences. Another song here, If we don't make it, sounds like it should have been recorded earlier in their career but it's a great song anyway. Night spell is a great song to close the album, leaving the listener to hope that George and Tammy might one day reconcile their differences - they did, both finding happiness in marriages to others while becoming friendly towards each other again.

On this album, George and Tammy often sing their own lines although there is some harmony singing. Maybe that's why some fans aren't keen on this album - they prefer the interplay that is more evident on some of their other albums but which can be found here, particularly on It's not my fault and Two-story house.

I love this album - it was the first George and Tammy duet album I ver bought back in my vinyl days. It has been released more than once on CD. Apart from this straight re-issue, it also formed the first ten tracks of an Australian compilation (I love country) that also included some other duets and solo tracks.