Critic's Review
Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
These 18 cuts offer a very decent look at some of the major phases of George Jones long career now in its seventh decade. Direct Source has cross-licensed material from Musicor, Mercury, and Epic to present Jones as a wild honky tonk singer ("The Race Is On"); a truly enigmatic country balladeer who used the "Nashville Sound" to his own advantage ("Good Year for the Roses," "She Thinks I Still Care," "Things Have Gone to Pieces," and, of course, "He Stopped Loving Her Today"); and as a brilliant duet partner ("As Long As I Live" with the late Gene Pitney, and three with former wife, the late Tammy Wynette, including "Golden Ring"). Bringing Jones massive catalog down to 18 greatest cuts is impossible, but for the price this is a good choice to see what the fuss is all about, and why that fuss has become the stuff of legend.
