It Don't Get Any Better Than This

Last updated
It Don't Get Any Better Than This
Georgebetter.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 7, 1998
Genre Country
Length37:47
Label MCA Nashville
Producer Buddy Cannon
Norro Wilson
George Jones chronology
I Lived to Tell It All
(1996)
It Don't Get Any Better Than This
(1998)
Cold Hard Truth
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

It Don't Get Any Better Than This is an album by American country music singer George Jones released on April 7, 1998, on the MCA Nashville label.

Contents

Jones's 55th studio album would be his last with MCA Nashville Records. The album's title track was used as the theme song to Jones's talk show which aired on what was then The Nashville Network. The program featured informal chats with Jones holding court with country's biggest stars old and new, and music. Guests included Loretta Lynn, Trace Adkins, Johnny Paycheck, Lorrie Morgan, Merle Haggard, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Charley Pride, Bobby Bare, Patty Loveless and Waylon Jennings, among others. "Wild Irish Rose" was released as a single, but failed to chart, a common occurrence for Jones in recent years since he was no longer played on mainstream country radio.

The song "It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This" includes several guest vocalists, in order of appearance they are: Waylon Jennings, the Johnny Cash impersonator, Johnny Counterfit (incorrectly credited as "Johnny Counterfeit" in the liner notes), Merle Haggard, Bobby Bare, and Willie Nelson. The song "Got to Get to Louisiana" is a duet with T. Graham Brown.

"When Did You Stop Loving Me" is a cover of the 1993 Top Ten single by George Strait from the soundtrack to the 1992 film Pure Country . "Small Y'all" was originally recorded by Randy Travis on his 1994 album This Is Me , and later re-recorded by Jones as a duet with Kenny Chesney on Chesney's 2010 album Hemingway's Whiskey . "Smack Dab" was later recorded by Ken Mellons on his 2004 album Sweet . "Don't Touch Me" is a cover of the 1966 #2 country hit single by Jeannie Seely. The album also features several songs written by Nashville veteran Bobby Braddock, who co-wrote "He Stopped Loving Her Today".

Reception

AllMusic states of the album: "It's not a bad record by any means, and George is in surprisingly good voice, hardly sounding like a man approaching his 70th birthday. Still, there's no truly great performances or unusual songs to make it worth putting on after the initial play."

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wild Irish Rose" Bobby Braddock 4:40
2."Small Y'all"Braddock2:46
3."Over You"Braddock3:56
4."It Don't Get Any Better Than This" (feat. Waylon Jennings, Johnny Counterfit, Merle Haggard, Bobby Bare & Willie Nelson) Buddy Cannon, Norro Wilson, Max D. Barnes 3:07
5."Smack Dab"T.W. Hale, Kerry Kurt Phillips2:54
6."Don't Touch Me" Hank Cochran 4:23
7."Got to Get to Louisiana" (duet with T. Graham Brown)Steve Schuffert, Alexander Harvey3:02
8."When Did You Stop Loving Me" Monty Holmes, Donny Kees 3:42
9."I Said All That to Say All This"Claire Davidson, Karyn Rochelle 2:34
10."No Future for Me in Our Past"Glenn Martin, Leigh Dillard2:59
11."I Can Live Forever"Tony Stampley, Johnny Christopher, Bucky Lindsey3:44

Personnel

As listed in liner notes. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>And Along Came Jones</i> 1991 studio album by George Jones

And Along Came Jones is an album by American country music singer George Jones released in 1991 on the MCA Nashville Records label.

<i>A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean</i> 1973 studio album by Jimmy Buffett

A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released on June 4, 1973, as his first album for Dunhill.

<i>One Piece at a Time</i> (album) 1976 studio album by Johnny Cash

One Piece at a Time is the 54th album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released in 1976 on Columbia Records. "One Piece at a Time," which was a #1 hit, is a humorous tale of an auto worker on the Detroit assembly line who puts together a car out of parts he swipes from the plant. "Sold Out of Flag Poles" also charted as a single, reaching #29 on the country singles charts. "Committed to Parkview", a Cash original, would be re-recorded in 1985 by Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, collectively known as The Highwaymen, on their first album, Highwayman; it is one of the few country songs sung from the perspective of a patient at a mental hospital.

<i>Heroes</i> (Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings album) 1986 studio album by Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings

Heroes is a duet studio by American country music singers Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, released on Columbia Records in 1986.

<i>Jesus Was a Capricorn</i> 1972 studio album by Kris Kristofferson

Jesus Was a Capricorn is the fourth album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1972 on Monument Records. The album cover pictures Kristofferson and his soon-to-be wife Rita Coolidge. "Why Me" reached #1 on the Country singles charts.

<i>Kickin Out the Footlights...Again</i> 2006 studio album by George Jones and Merle Haggard

Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again is a studio album by American country music artists George Jones and Merle Haggard, released in 2006.

<i>Waylon</i> (album) 1970 album by Waylon Jennings

Waylon is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released in 1970 on RCA Victor.

<i>Walls Can Fall</i> 1992 studio album by George Jones

Walls Can Fall is an album by American country music artist George Jones. This album was released in 1992 on the MCA Nashville Records. It peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and number 77 on The Billboard 200 chart. Walls Can Fall went Gold in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Chesnutt</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1963)

Mark Nelson Chesnutt is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1990 and 1999, he had his greatest chart success recording for Universal Music Group Nashville's MCA and Decca branches, with a total of eight albums between those two labels. During this timespan, Chesnutt also charted twenty top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, of which eight reached number one: "Brother Jukebox", "I'll Think of Something", "It Sure Is Monday", "Almost Goodbye", "I Just Wanted You to Know", "Gonna Get a Life", "It's a Little Too Late", and a cover of Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing". His first three albums for MCA along with a 1996 Greatest Hits package issued on Decca are all certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); 1994's What a Way to Live, also issued on Decca, is certified gold. After a self-titled album in 2002 on Columbia Records, Chesnutt has continued to record predominantly on independent labels.

<i>Hangin Tough</i> (Waylon Jennings album) 1987 album by Waylon Jennings

Hangin' Tough is a studio album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on MCA Records in 1987.

<i>A Man Called Hoss</i> 1987 studio album by Waylon Jennings

A Man Called Hoss is a concept album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on MCA in 1987.

<i>If You See Her</i> 1998 studio album by Brooks & Dunn

If You See Her is the fifth studio album by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn, released in 1998 on Arista Nashville. The album featured five chart singles: "If You See Him/If You See Her", "How Long Gone", and "Husbands and Wives", all of which reached #1, plus "I Can't Get Over You" and "South of Santa Fe". This last song was the first single of Brooks & Dunn's career to miss Top 40 entirely, and was the last single to feature Kix Brooks on lead vocals instead of Ronnie Dunn. The album is a counterpart to Reba McEntire's album If You See Him, which shared the track "If You See Him/If You See Her". A bonus limited edition EP was made available when consumers bought both If You See Him and If You See Her at the same time. "Born and Raised in Black in White" is a cover of The Highwaymen song off their 1990 album, Highwayman 2.

<i>Big City</i> (Merle Haggard album) 1981 studio album by Merle Haggard

Big City is the thirty-third studio album by American country music artist Merle Haggard backed by the Strangers, released in 1981. It was his debut on the Epic label after ending his association with MCA. Big City peaked at number three on the Billboard Country Album charts and number 161 on the Pop Album charts. It is an RIAA-certified Gold album.

<i>Back to the Barrooms</i> 1980 studio album by Merle Haggard

Back to the Barrooms is the thirty-first studio album by American country music singer Merle Haggard, released in October 1980. He is backed by Norm Hamlet and Don Markham of The Strangers.

<i>Always on My Mind</i> (Willie Nelson album) 1982 studio album by Willie Nelson

Always on My Mind is the 27th studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. It was the Billboard number one country album of the year for 1982, and stayed 253 weeks on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts, peaking at number one for a total of 22 weeks, as well as spending 99 weeks on the Billboard 200 for all albums, peaking at number two for 3 weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ace in the Hole Band</span>

Ace in the Hole Band is the backup band for American country music performer George Strait, who was the band's lead singer before beginning his solo career in the early 1980s. The band formed at San Marcos, Texas in the 1970s, and recorded several singles for "D Records" including the Strait-penned "I Just Can't Go On Dying Like This" and "I Don't Want To Talk It Over Anymore". After Strait attained status as the "King of Country", the group released an album of its own in 1995 featuring vocals from Darrell McCall and Mel Tillis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Strangers (American band)</span> American country band

The Strangers were an American country band that formed in 1966 in Bakersfield, California. They mainly served as the backup band for singer-songwriter Merle Haggard, who named them after his first hit single "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers". In addition to serving as his backing band, members of the Strangers also produced many of Haggard's records, sang lead vocals on select tracks, and co-wrote many of Haggard's songs with him, including the No. 1 singles, "Okie From Muskogee" and "I Always Get Lucky with You".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Mooney</span> Musical artist

Ralph Eugene Mooney was an American steel guitar player and songwriter, he was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1983. He was the original steel guitarist in Merle Haggard's band, The Strangers and Waylon Jennings's band, The Waylors.

<i>Devoted to Your Memory</i> 1983 studio album by Moe Bandy

Devoted to Your Memory is the 22nd album by country singer Moe Bandy, released in 1983 on the Columbia label recorded at Woodland Studio "B".

<i>Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium</i> 1981 live album by Merle Haggard

Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium is a live album by American country music artist Merle Haggard with backing by The Strangers. It was recorded in October 1980 and released in July 1981 on MCA Records.

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. It Don't Get Any Better Than This (CD booklet). George Jones. MCA Nashville. 1998. MCAD-70005.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)