eMusic Review 0
As George Jones puts it in the booklet of Legacy's reissue of 1979's My Very Special Guests — which nearly quadruples the original album, ballooning it from 10 tracks to 37 — "I just thought it would be fun to sing some songs with some of my good friends — and some new friends." Sure, George. That's why these ten items were recorded in February 1977 and November 1978 and not released until October 1979 — because it came out so damn spontaneously. Isn't it great when life is that simple?
Of course, My Very Special Guests was nothing like simple. For one thing, it's the hardcore honky-tonker's first attempt to cross over to a non-country audience since the '50s. (When Jones played New York's Bottom Line in 1980, it was a big deal, because he so seldom showed up in the live-music capitol of America.) For another, it was pulled together while Jones was in the pits of his raging twin habits of drugs and booze. The latter doesn't show up on the album except in its haphazard quality, but either way, nearly two years is a long time for any album to gestate in Nashville, the most efficient major… read more »
