I Am What I Am

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In or out of context, George Jones's "comeback" album of 1980 is an unassailable classic of modern country music. Since 1975, Jones's solo career had been in a tailspin, taking him to the Top 10 only twice in four years, so that by late 1979, he had soused and doped his body from 150 to 100 pounds. He might have died, were it not for the musical and commercial resurrection of I Am What I Am. Produced by Billy Sherrill, the sound is stunningly advanced, full of complex, layered guitar tones, exquisitely placed harmonies, and an elegant melding of lyrical spaciousness and hard honky-tonk. Opening with perhaps the greatest country single ever, "He Stopped Loving Her Today," Jones lends both a regal authority and a humble sorrow to lyric after lyric, all uniformly graceful and stately. The only weak track is "His Lovin' Her Is Gettin' in My Way," an anticipation of the cloying bounce of Hot Country, though even that slight number is redeemed by Jones's underrated comic gifts. This 2000 reissue includes a wise essay by Glenn Gass, a personal reflection by the Possum himself, and four previously unreleased cuts, all of which are as memorable as the haunting, original recordings themselves. Essential doesn't begin to describe the treasures you'll find here. --Roy Kasten, ISBN13: B00004U2GA ISBN10: B00004U2GA Material Type: audioCD