My Very Special Guests

George Jones | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 3, 1991)
• Original Release Date: 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000025DZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,238 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Album, Bad Copy Protection Software, September 17, 2008

By 

Rick Buchanan (Roanoke, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Very Special Guests (Dig) (Audio CD)

I bought this double CD used. Nowhere does anyone address the issue of the copy protection software on the two discs. When I attempted to burn these discs into ITunes, the software would not allow it. The software requires that you download using its own player, in WMA format, and in the lowest quality, at that. There is a link to the Sony BMG website which explains that you can download the songs, burn an interim CD, and then download THAT disc into ITunes. This is not only stupid it is venal and despicable, since you are not informed in advance of the copy protection. I gave up on it, and I will simply throw it away, since I cannot put the songs on my IPod. BE WARNED.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great country vocalist as duet partner, December 29, 2007

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: My Very Special Guests (Dig) (Audio CD)

Though Jones has sung duets throughout his career, most notably with Tammy Wynette, his reputation as one of the singularly great country voices generally overshadows his partner work. This 1979 release set out to highlight how well he could intertwine his voice with another's, and showed that he could partner as smoothly with a male singer as he had with females. Perhaps it's the heavyweight talent with which he consorts (Waylon, Willie, Emmylou, Tammy, et al.), but as terrific as is his voice, his ability to amplify the greatness of his partners is equally impressive. There's no mistaking Jones' star, but he's a generous partner who sings harmony and lays out on his partners' verses; he's able to retain his uniqueness even as he adjusts to a second voice.

The drowsy tempo taken to Willie Nelson's "Nightlife," gives Jones and Waylon Jennings an opportunity to show their chops as country-blues singers. Whether or not they actually stood in a studio and recorded together (many of these tracks were tape duets rather than in-studio collaborations), the result feels like a conversation. The duet with Willie Nelson finds Jones charging straight ahead while Nelson typically floats ahead and behind the beat. The resulting vocal syncopation is furthered by the light scuff Jones adds to his normally rounder tone, recounting his early honky-tonk sides and matching Nelson's edgier sound. Jones trades verses with Elvis Costello for the latter's terrific "Stranger in the House," with Costello showing off the wonderful nuances in his voice. Emmylou Harris' high, fragile voice provides superb balance to Jones lower tones on "Here We Are," but Linda Ronstadt's belted west coast country overshadows Jones in their shared passages.. Closing the original LP is a collaboration with Pops and Mavis Staples that inventively meshes the latter's gospel-pop with a commercial country sound.

Sony's 2005 2-CD reissue nearly quadrupled the original ten duets with twenty-seven more tracks drawn from the original 1979 sessions and cherry-pick from Jones' albums of the 1980s and 1990s. Jones finds resonance with nearly everyone, but especially enjoyable are Janie Fricke on "All I Want to Do In Life," the high-lonesome pairing with Ralph Stanley on "Wonderful World Outside," and Patty Loveless' brilliance on "You Don't Seem to Miss Me." Jones' woeful harmony on the latter is breathtaking, making this one of the very best duets of both their careers. Charlie Daniels provides the response to Jones' call on the Cajun inflected "Fiddle and Guitar Band," the novelty "We Didn't See a Thing" gives Jones a chance to muse with Ray Charles and Chet Atkins, and Vince Gill matches Jones syllable for syllable on the chorus of a superbly rendered, twangy shuffle of "The Love Bug." Added tracks by Randy Travis, Ricky Skaggs, Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt and others show the primal influence Jones had on subsequent generations of country singers.

What keeps these sessions from being legendary is their factory origins. Jones doesn't sound artistically engaged, and though the voices intertwine on tape, you quickly get the feeling there wasn't an opportunity for many of the singers to engage artistically. The arrangements and production are by-the-books Nashville, the players studio rehearsed, and the results are indistinct and tepid. There are some quality tracks here, and even a few moving performances, but this doesn't represent Jones' best (or most committed) work as a duettist. The recently issued "40 Years of Duets" is shorter but broader in time, and gives a look at more of Jones' classic duets. 3-3/4 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Possum Can Sing Well With Anyone!, May 25, 2006

By 

James E. Bagley "Jim Bagley" (Sanatoga, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Very Special Guests (Dig) (Audio CD)

George Jones vocal versatility and extensive range makes him an ideal duet partner for just about anyone as My Very Special Guests - a reissue of Jones' 1979 ten-song duets album of the same name bolstered mightily by 27 additional tracks from other sources - makes quite clear. The tracks from the original album, which run from Jones' soulful pairing with Waylon Jennings on "Night Life" to the traditional stroll "Stranger In The House" alongside the smoothly understated Elvis Costello, leads off this two-disc set, followed by the bonus tracks (including eight from 1991's Friends in High Places). The bonus highlight probably being the impressive collaboration with Ray Charles and Chet Atkins on "We Didn't See a Thing."

Jones sounds as comfortable flanking the poppish Deborah Allen on "Our Love Was Ahead Of Its Time" in 1984 as he does swapping angst with modern trad queen Patty Loveless in 1997 on their CMA award-winning "You Don't Seem To Miss Me," and his tone is equally distinctive next to Charlie Daniels' hearty bark when tackling " Fiddle And Guitar Band" as it is when paired with Alan Jackson's soft baritone on "A Good Year For The Roses." It is Jones' displays of singular strength and flexibility that tie this eclectic collection together, and make it as indispensable as his best solo recordings.