George Jones Hits I Missed... And One I Didn't CD

True to its title, HITS I MISSED...AND ONE I DIDN'T consists mainly of songs George Jones initially declined to record that became big hits for other country singers. This 2005 release finds the older, wiser Jones finally getting around to putting his unmistakable mark on these already-classic tunes. The opening cut, "Funny How Time Slips Away," for example, will forever be associated with Willie Nelson, but Jones manages to find previously unexplored nooks and crannies within the song. This approach serves him in good stead as he takes on tunes made famous by everyone from Randy Travis (the admittedly Jones-indebted "On the Other Hand") to Ray Charles (Harlan Howard's hard-times lament "Busted").

The husky gravitas that Jones's voice had gained by 2005 adds even more emotive power to what was already a formidable instrument, and backed by the usual gang of Nashville heavyweights, he digs into every track like a man with a mission. The titular "one I didn't" refers to a re-recording of Jones's smash ballad "He Stopped Loving Her Today," a hard one to top, but the new version is utterly convincing, providing a powerful finale for a disc of expertly rendered country gems.

Live Recording

Recording information: Sound Station, Nashville, TN; Starstruck, Nashville, TN; Wedgewood Studio, Nashville, TN.

Photographer: Dennis Carney.

Personnel: George Jones (vocals); Rhonda Vincent (vocals, background vocals); Dolly Parton (vocals); Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano); Glenn Worf (bass guitar); Sheri Copeland (background vocals); Bruce Watkins (acoustic guitar); Brent Mason (electric guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar, dobro); Larry Franklin (mandolin, fiddle); Eddie Bayers (drums); John Wesley Ryles, Liana Manis, Marty Slayton (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Hank Williams; John Kelton.

Dirty Linen (p.87) - "[T]his one is his best since 1999's COLD HARD TRUTH..."
No Depression (p.120) - "[With] unspeakably gorgeous solos by a couple of old comrades-in-arms, pedal steel man Lloyd Green and pianist Pig Robbins."