George Jones - The Absolutely Essential (2013)

IThese silly songs are nearly as much a trademark of Jones' style as his signature ballad style, so without them and without the Musicor songs The Essential feels a bit lop-sided toward the serious hardcore honky tonk. Hardly a fatal flaw, of course, since this is where much of Jones' legacy lies, and it is a good, accurate overview of George's career, even if it's not as thorough or lively as The Spirit of Country. Apart from the aforementioned Musicor sides and his MCA work of the '90s (which is hardly a glaring omission), this offers a fair representation of his many labels: there are four cuts from Starday, six apiece from Mercury and United Artists, a whopping 25 sides from Epic which is appropriate, since he spent nearly 20 years on the label and had over 60 charting singles while he was there and, as a coda, a cut from his 1999 album for Asylum. Along the way, most, but certainly not all, of his big hits are presented, including "Why Baby Why," "White Lightning," "The Window Up Above," "Tender Years," "She Thinks I Still Care," "The Race Is On," "The Grand Tour," and "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Any George compilation that has all these hits, along with many other excellent songs, is bound to be a great listen and a useful overview it's just that the absences here are large enough that this can't quite supplant The Spirit of Country, which remains the best overall George Jones compilation.

Tracklist:

CD 1
1. White Lightning (2:49)
2. Treasure Of Love (2:20)
3. Yearning (To Kiss You) (2:53)
4. I'm Ragged But I'm Right (2:23)
5. Why Baby Why (2:16)
6. No Money In This Deal (2:20)
7. I Take The Chance (2:44)
8. Don't Stop The Music (2:14)
9. Color Of The Blues (2:52)
10. Big Harlan Taylor (2:03)
11. Honky Tonkin' (2:03)
12. Tender Years (2:24)
13. Out Of Control (2:37)
14. Take The Devil Out Of Me (2:43)
15. If I Don't Love You (Grits Ain't Groceries) (1:55)
16. Who Shot Sam (2:26)
17. Uh, Oh No (2:16)
18. Still Hurtin' (2:04)
19. Life To Go (2:27)
20. Cold, Cold Heart (3:20)

CD 2
1. Heartaches By The Number (2:35)
2. Did I Ever Tell You (2:07)
3. If You've Got The Money (I've Got The Time) (2:08)
4. I'm With The Wrong One (2:12)
5. Too Much Water (2:09)
6. Sweet Dreams (2:09)
7. Just One More (2:33)
8. What Am I Worth (2:32)
9. Heartbroken Me (2:43)
10. Play It Cool (2:38)
11. Gonna Come Get You (2:29)
12. I Gotta Talk To Your Heart (2:24)
13. Money To Burn (2:37)
14. Hey Good Lookin' (2:19)
15. Accidentally On Purpose (2:26)
16. Family Bible (3:02)
17. Sparkling Brown Eyes (2:33)
18. Don't Do This To Me (2:17)
19. Settin' The Woods On Fire (2:13)
20. A Girl I Used To Know (2:41)

CD 3
1. She Thinks I Still Still Care (2:36)
2. It's Been So Long (2:12)
3. Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used To Do) (2:06)
4. My Soul's Been Satisfied (2:28)
5. Tall Tall Trees (2:27)
6. You Gotta Be My Baby (2:26)
7. All I Want To Do (2:12)
8. Jesus Wants Me (2:00)
9. Jambalaya (On The Bayou) (2:11)
10. Rain Rain (2:11)
11. Oh Lonesome Me (2:40)
12. Frozen Heart (2:12)
13. The Window Up Above (2:36)
14. We'll Understand It (2:31)
15. Poor Man's Riches (1:58)
16. One Is A Lonely Number (2:32)
17. I've Got Five Dollars And It's Saturday Night (2:12)
18. Half As Much (2:19)
19. I Love You Because (2:51)
20. You're Still On My Mind (2:36)