Bartender's Blues / Shine On

Superb CD a must for any Jones fan.He was country and will be missed if you have no Jones cds then get some

This medium price twofer combines two George Jones albums from his later Epic period. Bartender Blues was issued in 1978, and Shine On in 1983. These albums cover a period in George Jones career when he was drinking heavily, but sadly this problem was being used as an angle to promote his career. The Bartenders Blues album does not lack for performances by George, indeed his duet with James Taylor on the title track is good, but overall the album lacks a focus, and Billy Sherrills production had veered towards soft pop, with electric pianos lurking on many tracks. You have to dig very deep to remember that at this time in the late 1970s, George Jones was hailed by some modern rock artists as a style icon.Shine On is a similar mixture. Two songs are based on Georges drinking, including Ol' George Stopped Drinkin' Today, which really wasn't true, and Tennessee Whiskey which has echoes of product placement. Two of Georges best efforts include a Bobby Braddock song, She Hung The Moon, which George articulates beautifully, and Almost Persuaded which sounds refreshed. Overall though, Billy Sherrill had ceased to add much to George Jones material, and it would take a change of label and rehab to bring late flowering to Georges lengthy career.It is useful to have these albums on CD in decent sound, but new George Jones fans should not make this their first purchase, but head off to his Starday/Mercury releases where George Jones could really produce the goods. For existing collectors, I think this is one for the completists, not for regular listening.