Hits I Missed and One I Didnt

Just 30 seconds into this record, after George Jones massages the opening lines of “Funny How Time Slips Away,” you smile and realize that this is the album you’ve wanted Jones to make for decades. The master takes on 11 songs that he passed on the first time around . . . only to watch them become hits for other singers. As such, there’s not a throwaway in the album. Songs like “If You’re Gonna Do Me Wrong” and the more recent “Too Cold At Home” are revelations. His duet with the equally beguiling Dolly Parton on “Blues Man” is everything a meeting of two legends should be. The twelfth song on the album (and the explanation of the second half of the album’s title) is a new recording of Jones’ signature song, “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” It’s not bad, and it fits nicely in with the rest of the album, but let’s face it: the original, considered by many to be the best country song ever recorded, just can’t be bettered. Still, you can’t blame him for trying.