Customer Reviews

I Lived to Tell It All

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George Jones is the real deal and this album is a testament to his soulful voice. The first few bars of first cut Honky Tonk Song set a tone of straight up country that last the whole record. Lots of telecasters, dobros, pedal steel, violins, and harmonicas create a backdrop for the greatest country singer ever to wail about Hank Williams, women and booze. Back Down to Hung up on You, Hundred Proof Memories, and I'll Give You Something to Drink About are classic country drinkin songs. Billy B Bad and The Lone Ranger help lighten things up. I Must Have Done Something Bad is George Jones teachin class. This is how country music should sound.

I suggest trying out "Choices" if you want the full George Jones experience as recorded in the 90's. But this album is wonderful. Buy it, its has a few upbeat tracks that make it worth the money.

Virtually every song is excellent. This is the way country music should be. Along with HI TECH REDNECK, this is his best work of the 80s and 90s.

this album, served as a tie in with his 1996 book of the same name, is one of his best albums of the '90s. ahead of it is 1999's Cold Hard Truth; 1998's It Don't Get Any Better Than This; and 1992's Walls Can Fall in that order. this 1996 project opens up with "Honky Tonk Song", which is about his escapade in the early '70s when Tammy took away his car keys and so he jumped on a riding mower and drove to the main highway and hitched a ride to a bar! i like all the songs, "Back Down To Hung Up On You" and "Tied To a Stone" are my favorites. "Billy B Bad" and "The Lone Ranger" are the novelty songs of the album. "I'll Give You Something To Drink About", a song i saw him perform on the David Letterman show of all places, is okay. i like what the song says...and i can't help but think of Tammy and if she ever said anything like that to George...however, nobody will disagree with me when i say the song would've been MORE powerful if he had recorded it back in the mid '70s given what he was going through at the time.

My guess (confirmed by the album title) is that George's difficult times were past and that he was particularly happy about life when he recorded this album, because although he is in great voice, the whole feel of the album is upbeat. Any sadness in some of the songs is massaged so none of the songs sound particularly sad.

My favorite song here, Billy B Bad, is the story of a country singer who makes it big while still young then fades quickly. The days when country singers had long careers on major labels are long since gone for all but a few legends - anybody that lasts five years now is doing well.

There are plenty of other upbeat songs here, notably Honky tonk song, Lone ranger and Hello heart.

I'll give you something to drink about is about a woman finally leaving her man because she's had enough of his drinking problems. George might have turned it into a real tearjerker, but here he sings it more with philosophical acceptance than real anguish. I must have done something bad is another song about a broken relationship, but again, George doesn't really pour his heart out.

Stripped of any real sadness, this may never be regarded as a classic George Jones album, but it is hugely entertaining and it's nice to know that George can enjoy life.