Customer Reviews

Grandpa Jones - 28 Greatest Hits

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First, let me say that I love Grandpa Jones. It's bothersome to me that it's so hard to find his earlier recordings on CD. To the best of my knowledge, this CD released by King Records is the only CD currently available containing his classic King recordings. And it's a great idea: 28 classic Grandpa Jones tracks on one CD. Unfortunately, despite containing great recordings by Grandpa, I found the CD to be a waste of money and time. The sound quality varies greatly from song to song, with some being decent and some being downright awful. And the packaging is even worse. The only liner notes are the sparse ones stuck on the back cover. There's no recording info such as dates or musicians. And don't let the "Photos enclosed!" blurb on the cover fool you. There's simply a little collage of six photos on the backside of the front insert. I don't understand why King can't spend a little money or at least a little time when putting out CD's. My advice would be to leave this CD on the rack and wait for Westside or another label to put together a quality CD of Grandpa's King recordings.

I saw Grandpa Jones at the Opry many years ago, when he was still relatively young. At the time I bought a cassette of his music, long since worn out as cassettes do. I came across this CD by chance browsing through Amazon. A word to those who only know him from Hee Haw: Jones was an accomplished musician, singer and comedian whose considerable talent was not done justice on television.

I admit I couldn't put this CD down when it came in the mail. These are country songs like you certainly won't hear on or off the radio today. He is very, very far removed from what country music calls itself today. Jones became famous as a young man singing songs that were old then! He sings with an honesty of humor when the song calls for it. However, this small collection also demonstrates his fine singing voice on 'straight' songs. 'Daisy Dean' and 'I'm Tying the Leaves...' have never been surpassed. 'Chicken Don't Roost Too High' and 'How Many Biscuits Can You Eat' are enchanting in their frank celebration of what country life used to be like in my grandparents' time.

Now, for the recording: the sound quality is very variable. However, please don't let this deter you from purchasing one of Jones's albums. So many of these songs were recorded under less than ideal conditions, in pre-tape days. I've encountered the same limitations with other historical recordings, such as the original Carter Family. Perhaps it's because I also have a lot of historical opera that it truly doesn't bother me much. CEDAR and other filtration methods mask too much of the original character of recordings. I didn't expect these to sound modern, and they don't. Early Burl Ives sounds like this also. So what? Let's celebrate that we have these legendary artists preserved at all. When I can find a better copy of some of these songs I'll buy them. In the meantime, enjoy!

Even if you didn't grow up watching Hee-Haw, you have to love Grandpa Jones. The songs are fun to listen to and the music is great. Whether you're a country fan or not, there's something for everyone on this Grandpa Jones album. A must have for any music fan's collection.

Great listening music. Takes me back to old Hee-Haw days. Enjoy the old music and people from my younger days listening to radio and then TV.

Wonderful CD, I wish that people were still making music like this.....Old Recordings but still very enjoyable to listen to....

If you were a fan of Grandpa Jones, you will like this record. Aside from the fact that most of his big "hits" are included, there is interesting information about Jones himself. Sound quality is first rate, considering that many of the tracks were recorded some years ago.