True to its title, Hits I Missed ... And One I Didn't consists mainly of songs George Jones initially declined to record that became big hits for other country singers. This 2005 release finds the older, wiser Jones finally getting around to putting his unmistakable mark on these already-classic tunes.
The opening cut, Funny How Time Slips Away, for example, will forever be associated with Willie Nelson, but Jones manages to find previously unexplored nooks and crannies within the song.
This approach serves him in good stead as he takes on tunes made famous by everyone from Randy Travis (the admittedly Jones-indebted On the Other Hand) to Ray Charles (Harlan Howard's hard-times lament Busted).
The husky gravitas that Jones's voice had gained by 2005 adds even more emotive power to what was already a formidable instrument, and backed by the usual gang of Nashville heavyweights, he digs into every track like a man with a mission.
The titular one I didn't refers to a re-recording of Jones's smash ballad He Stopped Loving Her Today, a hard one to top, but the new version is utterly convincing, providing a powerful finale for a disc of expertly rendered country gems.
- Funny How Time Slips Away
- Detroit City
- Blues Man w/ Dolly Parton
- Here in the Real World
- If You're Gonna Do Me Wrong
- Today I Started Loving You Again
- On the Other Hand
- Pass Me By
- Skip a Rope
- Too Cold at Home
- Busted