| 20th Century Masters - George Strait | |
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Reviewed by Matt Bjorke
George Strait appeared on the Country music scene at a time that is strikingly similar to that of the current state of Country Music. There was a ton of pop influenced songs that threatened to transform the genre into an abyss for bad pop music. Fortunately for the early 1980's George Strait was able to get through the red tape and record his debut CD. Now 22 years later and with over 30 million CDs sold, George Strait now has hand picked some of his best songs, all are No. 1 Hits, from 1983 to 1993 for his first single disc CD of hits that features wide a range of songs.
"Baby Blue" is a song that is still played on many country stations after its original release date of 1998. This song is about the loss of a great girlfriend. Soft and subtle, this ballad is just one indication of George Strait's ability to interpret the songwriter's lyrics brilliantly.
Always an artist who likes to cover songs, George chose to name his 1998 release after the great Faron Young song, "If You Ain't Lovin (Then You Ain't Livin'). With its shuffle beat and some stellar vocals by George, this track is certainly a highlight of this collection.
"Baby's Gotten Good At Goodbye" comes from George's 1989 release, Beyond The Blue Neon." Another song about the girl leaving the guy, this song is more uptempo than "Baby Blue" was.
"Ace In The Hole" is one of those songs that showcases George Strait's love for the Western Swing sounds of Bob Wills. This song is also the name of George's stellar touring band. This is one of those songs that radio still plays from time to time and is sure to get the people out on the dance floor at a country dance hall.
As my favorite George Strait song, "Love Without End, Amen" was enough for me to attain this CD. There simply isn't a bad thing about this mid-tempo song about what true love is all about. If you don't feel closer to your family after hearing this song, something's gotta be wrong.
As the only song from George's movie soundtrack Pure Country, "I Cross My Heart" is probably the most popular song George Strait ever recorded. A perennial wedding song, this track is about everything that makes love a great place to be in.
"All My Ex's Live In Texas" is one of the lighter hearted songs George has ever recorded and is with out a doubt a fun song to sing along to. With its approach about a guy having all his ex girlfriends living in Texas, the guy simply avoids Texas for Tennessee.
"You Look So Good In Love" is the oldest song in this collection yet it still sounds as if it could be a great hit today as well. This song is such a great song I would suspect that sometime soon another artist may try and cover it for their CD or on a tribute CD to George himself.
While many of the hard core George Strait fans will already have all these songs on CD, the average newcomer to Country Music may want to start with this collection as an introduction to George Strait and realize just how many of these songs they already know.
Song List:
- Famous Last Words
- Baby Blue
- If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')
- Baby's Gotten Good at Goodbye
- What's Going on in Your World
- Ace in the Hole
- Love Without End, Amen
- I've Come to Expect It from You
- Easy Come, Easy Go
- I Cross My Heart
- All My Ex's Live in Texas
- You Look So Good in Love
Album cover, used with permission of MCA Nashville.
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