Until a box set of his King recordings appears,
28 Greatest Hits is the best available anthology of
Grandpa Jones' classic early years. Sounding like
Uncle Dave Macon with an electric guitar,
Grandpa Jones' King sides mixed old-timey novelties with hot
Travis-picking (
Merle Travis and
Grandpa Jones were bandmates in the Brown's Ferry Four gospel quartet), and created an anachronistic style that kept pace with the times in its own way. Not every track is electrified, but
Jones' unique update of mountain music is heard most clearly on tracks such as "Five-String Banjo Boogie" and the popular "Eight More Miles to Louisville." While most of the songs are novelties,
Jones plays it straight occasionally, as on "Tragic Romance" and the couple of sacred songs. Essential music from everybody's favorite
Grandpa.