Oh yeah, this is it. Just in time for Valentine's Day 2004, Legacy kicks loose this compilation of love songs by
George Jones and
Tammy Wynette. And though it only contains 14 songs, they are choice. The six years documented here, 1971-1976, when the duo were sharing
Billy Sherrill as a producer, offer one of the most beautifully stylized and emotionally wrought pairings in country music history. Whether it be the classic "The Ceremony," in which the pair openly declare wedding vows, to the devastatingly beautiful "It's Been a Beautiful Life (Loving You)," to the redone, definitive version of "We're Gonna Hold On" -- that
Jones originally recorded with
Melba Montgomery -- and arguably, the greatest version of the
Billy Sherrill-Curly Putman classic "My Elusive Dreams" ever put on tape, the result is the same: pure countrypolitan bliss (though "We're Not the Jet Set" could have been here, too). Highly recommended. ~Thom Jurek