I was an innocent at school, it must have been 1971. I was dabbling with music, into The Who and Hendrix thanks to the Backtrack series. My mate’s cousin, Alan, had a far superior record collection and he turned us onto The Byrds and The Grateful Dead. By 1972, we were off to Newcastle, a 120 mile round trip to see The Grateful Dead. I was besotted and as the early ‘70s rolled out I became intrigued by the country cousins that the Dead, The New Riders Of The Purple Sage, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Mickey Newbury and even Neil Young who covered ‘Oh Lonesome Me’, were name-checking.
The Burrito Brothers’ ‘Gilded Palace Of Sin’ was never off the stereo and long before American package holidays made it cheap enough to travel west or the concept of line dancing had ruined it for everyone, the country music that Gram Parsons, Ry Cooder, Jerry Garcia, Commander Cody, Poco and their compadres alluded to seemed fascinating.
The radio would play the likes of ‘Stand By Your Man’ and ‘Four In The Morning’, but it just wasn’t enough. There was something deeper, sadder and more achingly soulful lurking at the dark end of the street and I needed to hear more. The junk shops were full of Johnny Cash, Pat Boone and Jim Reeves, but only Cash had any kudos and the stuff on offer was usually too darn cheerful by half and ruined by stereo reproduction (what a great idea that was).
Eventually, I came across a rich seam of despondency. Hank Snow, Hank Williams and George Jones to name but a few. By then, Jones was legendary for his wild lifestyle and the tale that he drove to the liquor store on a lawn mower when his wife hid the car keys to try and stem his substance abuse. Allegedly this happened with both Tammy Wynette and his previous wife Shirley Ann Corley. Well, if you’ve got a plan…
Jones had been married to Shirley Ann Corley in 1954 and it lasted to 1968. She was his second wife (there were four in all), and the person who was around when he recorded the tracks on this album – it must have been some happy home.
I came across ‘Blue And Lonesome’ many years ago when I finally made it to the States. I bought it for the title alone. I wasn’t disappointed when I got it home. Recorded in 1963 for Mercury it features a couple of Hank Williams’ songs, Jones’ take on ‘Oh, Lonesome Me’ and nine other songs that sound like they could have been done at the same session as ‘Gilded Palace Of Sin’ – without the fuzz guitar of course.
Fiddles, steel guitars and plodding rhythms form the backdrop, but it’s George Jones’ plaintiff vocal and the stories of love, loss and how it just gets worse that really strike a chord here. From a prison cell to a lonesome (and inevitably booze-sodden and blue) lament to a departed loved one, this is the Holy Grail for the sad and lonely.
The original sleeve revealed that, “Accompanying George are some of the top musicians in Nashville. Throughout the album you’ll hear the fiddles of Tommy Jackson and Rufus Thibedeaux; the electric guitars of Grady Martin, Harold Bradley, Jerry Kennedy and Hank Garland; the steel guitars of Buddie Emmons and Jimmy Day; the piano of Pig Robbins, and the drums of Buddy Harman.”
It concludes: “If you’re a “blue and lonesome” song fan you’ll love this album, and if you’re George Jones fan this will be a great addition to your collection.” They really knew how to sell stuff back then.
As well as the 12 tracks from the original album, we’ve managed to clean up six earlier recordings that add to the melancholy mood, closing with the lament for one more drink, Just One More, that has seen Jones’ reputation and the story of that fateful lawn mower ride repeated over and over.
According to country music scholar (now, there’s a job) Bill C Malone; "For the two or three minutes consumed by a song, Jones immerses himself so completely in its lyrics, and in the mood it conveys, that the listener can scarcely avoid becoming similarly involved."
Without doubt, every song here sounds like George Jones has lived it, loved it and had the accompanying hangover to boot.
Dave Henderson, MOJO
The original album 1 Oh Lonesome Me 2 Life To Go 3 Just Little Boy Blue 4 Cup Of Loneliness 5 Nobody's Lonesome For Me 6 There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight 7 Color Of The Blues 8 Go Away With Me 9 Talk To Me Lonesome Heart 10 If You've Got The Money (I Got The Time) 11 Singing The Blues 12 Don't Stop The Music
The early recordings 13 Nothing Can Stop Me 14 Flame In My Heart 15 Seasons Of My Heart 16 All I Want To Do 17 You Never Thought 18 Just One More
