This is a peculiar project. The title suggests that it's the latest collection of traditional spirituals done country style (Alan Jackson, what hath thou wrought?), which it isn't. The artists' credit of "George Jones and Friends" suggests that it's another tribute in which the master and acolytes collaborate on duets, which they don't. Actually, the spirited "Beer...
Read moreThis is a peculiar project. The title suggests that it's the latest collection of traditional spirituals done country style (Alan Jackson, what hath thou wrought?), which it isn't. The artists' credit of "George Jones and Friends" suggests that it's another tribute in which the master and acolytes collaborate on duets, which they don't. Actually, the spirited "Beer Run" features Jones and Garth Brooks trading verses, but the title cut, which Jones sings himself, represents his only other appearance here. The rest features artists who are mainly past their commercial prime singing songs that Jones made his own. The best performances are by those who know they can't sound like Jones and don't try, like Vince Gill's luminous "She Thinks I Still Care" and Pam Tillis's tender reading of "Take Me." Much of the rest sounds like George Jones Karaoke Night, with Mark Chesnutt, Joe Diffie, Tracy Lawrence, and Sammy Kershaw all taking their best shots. It should be against the law for anyone but Jones to sing "He Stopped Loving Her Today"; Kershaw's tortured rendition sounds like he's still shaking off the dentist's Novocain. --Don McLeese
Brand: CATEGORY 5 RECORDS
