The Great Lost Hits [2-CD]

George Jones

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The Great Lost Hits [2-CD] Review

by Thom Jurek

This double-disc compilation of George Jones' singles has a bit of a misnomer attached as a title: none of these tracks were actually “lost.” These recordings were cut for Pappy Daily's Musicor label and were the subject of a legal dispute for a number of years that was only settled in the early years of the 21st century. Recordings for Starday (another Daily label), United Artists, Mercury, and Epic have ben released, but these remained back in the vault after the LPs and cassettes they were originally released on went out of print. The material here is simple, much more sparse and direct than the Billy Sherrill-produced sides for Epic. The songs contain immediacy, warmth and country music classicism. Well-known cuts, such as “Walk Through This World with Me,” “A Good Year for the Roses,” “Four-0-Thirty-Three,” “When the Grass Grows Over Me,” “Old Brush Arbors,” “Love Bug,” “I’m a People,” and “I’ll Share My World with You” are presented in their original versions. Some of these songs were re-recorded at Epic. Other tunes that are well-known by other artists -- “Beneath Still Waters” and “Your Angel Steps Out of Heaven,” later recorded by Emmylou Harris and the Flying Burrito Brothers, respectively, to great renown -- were inspired by the Jones’ versions included here. All of disc one and nine of the 17 cuts on disc two were Jones' singles. The rest of disc two is comprised of carefully chosen LP cuts, including a great reading of Dallas Frazier’'s “The Honky Tonk Downstairs,” which has never been released in North America before. There is a pair of duets here, the classic “We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds” recorded with Melba Montgomery, and “Milwaukee, Here I Come” with Brenda Carter. The listener can also hear a vocal by an un-credited Tammy Wynette on “Never Grow Cold” (though she is given attribution as the song’s composer) from a 1971 album entitled With Love. This package has been given Time-Life's trademark excellent treatment: good pictures and album cover reproductions, terrific sound, and and a set of liner notes by Colin Escott that are typically informative and beautifully researched.

Track Listing - Disc 1

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
1	Walk Through This World with Me K.J. Savage / S. Seamons	George Jones	02:18	Spotify Amazon
2	I Can't Get There from Here D. Frazier	George Jones	02:28	Spotify Amazon
3	Things Have Gone to Pieces	George Jones	02:53	Spotify Amazon
4	Love Bug C. Wayne	George Jones	02:02	Spotify Amazon
5	If My Heart Had Windows D. Frazier	George Jones	02:45	Spotify Amazon
6	Take Me George Jones	George Jones	02:46	Spotify Amazon
7	Four-O-Thirty-Three George Jones / E. Montgomery	George Jones	02:30	Spotify Amazon
8	I'll Share My World with You B. Wilson	George Jones	02:32	Spotify Amazon
9	Say It's Not You D. Frazier	George Jones	02:27	Spotify Amazon
10	Small Time Laboring Man George Jones / E. Montgomery	George Jones	02:35	Spotify Amazon
11	Milwaukee, Here I Come	George Jones feat: Brenda Carter	02:38	Spotify Amazon
12	As Long as I Live A. Zanetis	George Jones	02:30	Spotify Amazon
13	When the Grass Grows over Me	George Jones	02:55	Spotify Amazon
14	If Not for You	George Jones	03:02	Spotify Amazon
15	I'm a People D. Frazier	George Jones	02:11	Spotify Amazon
16	She's Mine George Jones / J. Ripley	George Jones	02:59	Spotify Amazon
17	Where Grass Won't Grow E. Montgomery	George Jones	03:13	Spotify Amazon

Track Listing - Disc 2

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
1	Good Year for the Roses	George Jones	03:05	Spotify Amazon
2	Tell Me My Lying Eyes Are Wrong D. Frazier	George Jones	02:25	Spotify Amazon
3	World of Forgotten People	George Jones	02:22	Spotify Amazon
4	Sometimes You Just Can't Win	George Jones	02:22	Spotify Amazon
5	Right Won't Touch a Hand E. Montgomery	George Jones	02:09	Spotify Amazon
6	Day in the Life of a Fool	George Jones	02:15	Spotify Amazon
7	Burn Another Honky Tonk Down	George Jones	02:34	Spotify Amazon
8	Your Angel Steps out of Heaven J. Ripley	George Jones	02:16	Spotify Amazon
9	I'll Follow You (Up to Our Cloud) D. Turner	George Jones	02:38	Spotify Amazon
10	Never Grow Cold Tammy Wynette	George Jones	02:41	Spotify Amazon
11	Honky Tonk Downstairs D. Frazier	George Jones	02:11	Spotify Amazon
12	We Must Have Been out of Our Minds M. Montgomery	George Jones feat: Melba Montgomery	02:36	Spotify Amazon
13	Developing My Pictures E. Montgomery	George Jones	02:17	Spotify Amazon
14	Old Brush Arbors D. Edwards	George Jones	02:29	Spotify Amazon
15	Beneath Still Waters D. Frazier	George Jones	02:39	Spotify Amazon
16	Feeling Single, Seeing Double	George Jones	02:11	Spotify Amazon
17	Will You Visit Me on Sunday D. Frazier	George Jones	02:51	Spotify Amazon

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