Customer Reviews

George Strait - Greatest Hits

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George Strait's "Greatest Hits" was released in 1985 and contains his first 10 hits. It's an incredible collection and shows why George has been so successful. From the very beginning, he's worked with some of the best songwriters and producers in the business, which really shows in this work. George has had a ton of hits and is now the #5 country artists of all-time. It all started with these songs.

1) Unwound - George's first hit kick-started his enduring career by peaking at #6 in 1981. A terrific up-tempo song with lots of fiddles, it was the first of many hits he recorded written or co-written by Dean Dillon. This amusing song about drinking away your problems contains this amusing lyric - Cause that woman that I had/ Wrapped around my finger just a come unwound. Terrific stuff.

2) Down and Out - A great swing song. This song only went to #16 in 1981, but it would be more than a decade before another one of his hits stopped short of the Top 10.

3) If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger (There's One Coming Home) - George's first Top 3 hit (#3 in 1982) is one of his best songs ever. The story of a couple growing apart, the song manages to pack in amazing variety in under 3 minutes.

4) Fool Hearted Memory - George's first #1 hit (#1 for one week in 1982) is a beautiful up-tempo ballad about a man remembering an old love.

5) Marina Del Rey - Was George's first hit slow ballad (#6 in 1983). It has some really lovely lyrics, such as: And as we looked into each others eyes/ We found our bodies lost in paradise/ Like castaways/ In Marina Del Ray.

6) Amarillo By Morning - Simply my favorite song by George (#4 in 1983). A true classic about a bull rider, CMT deservedly named it one of the Top 10 country songs of all time. The lyrics are so evocative, starting with the incredible beginning (Amarillo by morning/ Up from San Antone) and the best lyrics in any Strait song - Well I'll be looking for eight/ When they pull that gate/ And I'm hoping that/ Judge ain't blind. The fade-out with violins is a haunting and apropos ending.

7) A Fire I Can't Put Out - George's second #1 hit (#1 for one week in 1983) is another story of a past love.

8) You Look So Good in Love - Includes a somewhat sappy spoken-word interlude (#1 for one week in 1984). It's not one of my favorites on the CD but quite smooth.

9) Right or Wrong - George got back to recording some hit swing with this song (#1 for one week in 1984). It sounds contemporary but could have been recorded by Hank Williams; an extraordinary song.

10) Let's Fall to Pieces Together - A sweet ballad about finding solace in the arms of another when you're in pain (#1 for one week in 1984).

This CD is a must-have for fans of George Strait and country music; every song on here is quite good. Although his later box set includes all of these songs, I like having this collection as well, as it has absolutely no filler. Most highly recommended.

I bought "George Strait- Greatest Hits" after buying "Greatest Hits, Vol. 2" and I have to say that I've never made a wiser choice music-wise. It's got all of his early singles including my personal favorite and just downright haunting "Amarillo By Morning". You just can't help singing along to "Fool Hearted Memory" or "If You're Thinking You Want A Stranger" or "Let's Fall To Pieces Together". If you can't handle traditional country music, this isn't your cd. If you are though and you're looking to add to your country or Strait collection, you just can't pass this one up.

Gennie Bailey-Rogers

If I could take just one single CD with me to a deserted island this would be the one. One classic after another-Unwound, If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger, Right or Wrong, Let's Fall to Pieces Together, and the hauntingly sad Amarillo By Morning. I could hear them all a thousand times and never get tired of them. I'm sure everyone has those certain songs that they like to sing along with in the car and they don't care who's watching and I'm no exception. THESE are the songs that I sing along to, and I couldn't care less who is watching. I may look like a complete idiot going down the road, but that's OK because I'm singing along with my music hero George Strait. "Pardon me, you left your tears on the jukebox..." from Let's Fall to Pieces Together-could there be a better opening line to a song in the history of country music? I THINK NOT!

His first 10 great hits assembled on a must-have cd for any country fan. Even if because of current country radio you are only familiar with Strait's more recent stuff, grab this one anyway. With one listen you will love it.

Great George Strait album because this is the music that made him a star. This has got to be his best greatest hits package so far he has released many but this one sticks out for the great songs it shows. Best all around song here is Amarillo by morning and many others. Probably a must have cd for all George Strait fans and anyone who is a fan of contempary country music of today.

George Strait is one of those artists that can never have enough hits collections. As long as he is selling records and topping the charts, hits collections will just keep on coming.

And, Strait's original, the 1985 'Greatest Hits' release spanning George's first three records is essential. Yes, it's really skimpy, and it's only 10 songs long, but so what? It's still really definitve, and it gives the casual fan who wants nothing but classic George what they are looking for.

I'd recommend this over '50 Number Ones,' which features really bad single edits so 51 songs could fit on two CDs. But these are the full length album versions, digitally remastered to sound great. MCA gets extra pointers for remastering this.

I also like the song choice here. 'You Look So Good In Love,' 'Right Or Wrong,' 'A Fire I Can't Put Out,' 'Unwound,' and 'Marina Del Rey' all appear on this set, which are some of his finer songs.

Highly recommended for any George Strait fan. A great CD to own. ENJOY!!!

These were some of the first hit songs that George Strait had when he first started singing and they are all great. Fool Hearted Memory, So Good In Love, and Marina Del Rey are true classics already. Anyone who likes George Strait should like this cd.

I Have Been Listening To George Since His Debuet Single Unwound Came Out. He Is 1 Of The Best Singers In Country Music. His Songs Mean A Real Lot To Me Including You Look So Good In Love, Lets Fall To Pieces Together, And Fool Hearted Memory.

George Strait's Greatest Hits covers his first four years of music. Ten songs to some up 4 years. These may not be some of his best known songs these days, but George Strait's Greatest Hits houses some of his finest music. Classics like Unwound, Amarillo by Morning, and You Look so Good in Love just to name a few. Although there are more comprehensive packages out their Greatest Hits is a great introduction to the music of George Strait.

This is a collection of George Strait's early hits, taken from his first three albums. All of these songs continue to be played on radio stations and have become classics. They sound as fresh and appealing today as they were back in the early '80s when they were new. At the time of this Greatest Hits package release, no one could yet foresee that this album would become only the first of his many "Greatest Hits" type of albums, nor that he would be turning out hits 30 years later as if he was a hit new artist. As of now, he has been singing for thirty years and he has made more than 30 albums, with no sign of slowing down in the near future.

The first three tracks were extracted from his first album, "Strait Country". "Unwound" has a bouncy, thumping rhythm, and is about a man whose wife has kicked him out of the house because she found out that he was messing around. Now he is at the bar trying to get drunk in order to deal with his guilt. "Down and Out" is also about a man at a bar, feeling bad because his woman left him, and it seems like to him that the juke box is playing the blues as if it is sympathizing with him. A honky-tonk rhythm and mournful essence flavor this song. "If You're Thinking You Want A Stranger" tells about a man who notices that his woman appears ready to move on to someone else because he has spent late nights out. He decides he's going to change his ways and become the "stranger" that she may be looking for. The verses are slow and soft, but the chorus is faster as if he is frantically trying to get her to stay with him.

The next four tracks come from his second album, "Strait from the Heart'. "Fool Hearted Memory", a moderate-paced song, tells about a man whose love has left him, but his memory won't let him see that. He spends time at the bar where the whiskey and the jukebox help bring on his memory of her. Next is "Marina Del Ray", a soft, sentimental song about a guy meeting a girl on an island beach and having a good time with her, but the time spent with her is brief and he feels bad that he has to go back home to Tennessee and leave her, and his heart, behind. As a change in subject, "Amarillo By Morning", with a haunting, gloomy fiddle in the background, tells the story about a cowboy who competes in a rodeo in Amarillo, even though he suffered misfortunes such as breaking his leg and losing his saddle, wife, and girlfriend, as a result. In "Fire I Can't Put Out", a moderate-paced song, a man compares the memory of his former relationship with his girl to a fire, and his inability to forget about her is like a fire that he cannot exinguish.

From his third album, "Right or Wrong", come three songs. In "You Look So Good In Love", a soft ballad with waltz-like rhythm, a man noticing that his former wife or girlfriend is happily in love with another man, he regrets that he let her go and feels bad that she no longer wants him. Next is "Right or Wrong", about a man who is still in love with the woman who left him, and he knew he'd someday lose her. This song has a fast rhythm, fast jazz beat with guitar picking and honkytonk swing. Finally, comes "Let's Fall to Pieces Together", a soft waltz-like ballad, in which a man who recently broke up with his lover, notices a woman who also had a broken romance. He suggests they share their misery together.

Although relatively short now, given his prolific output of hits, this album represents the dawn of his career now. Few other artists have enjoyed as long and as successful a career in country music as George Strait. To top that off, as of right now, his career in this genre of music may be far from over.