A great introduction to country music’s finest vocalist
This million-and-first George Jones compilation brings back 34 songs from 1965 to 1971, when he recorded for Musicor—the period when the singer’s style matured from raw honky-tonk to country-music elder status. It’s the favorite era of a lot of Jones fans, and it’s not hard to hear why: The singer takes to the epic pathos of “Sometimes You Just Can’t Win,” the high-spirited “Love Bug” and the break-up-to-make-up duet with Melba Montgomery “We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds” like a fish to water. Pruning from some 250 songs recorded during the era, The Great Lost Hits is truthfully titled—only five titles didn’t make the country charts, and “The Honky Tonk Downstairs” was previously unissued in the U.S.—and it’s a great way to introduce yourself to country music’s finest vocalist.