The Greatest Hits Collection - Jackson, Alan (CD 1995)

If you're not country, you may not want to rush out and buy Alan Jackson'Greatest Hits Collection. Unless, of course, you're female and attracted to tall, good-looking men in cowboy garb. But if there is any country in you, this is a must-have addition to your music library.

Alan Jackson first came to my attention when my oldest daughter developed a crush on him. His "Chattahoochee" was a big hit, and since I grew up in Georgia--once living on the banks of that venerable river--the song, and then the man, attracted my attention.

In many "Greatest Hits" collections, 2 or 3 of the songs are great--and the rest are awful. My immediate favorites on this one were those I'd seen as videos. There was the amusing "I Don't Even Know Your Name" that Jackson did with Jeff Foxworthy, another good old boy. And I'd always liked "Mercury Blues," with it's old cars and Jackson's sly humor peeking through. By the way, these are the liveliest tunes, along with another of my favorites, "Summertime Blues" and the spunky "Tall, Tall Trees."

But the beauty of this collection is that some of the slow songs grow on you. Listen to Jackson's polite Southern rendition of "Wanted," with its poignant apology to his woman, or "I'll Try," and you hear country music at its current best. The other tracks are all quality, too--from the pained "Who Says) You Can't Have It All" to classics like "Midnight in Montgomery." Only personal taste will dictate favorites here, but the choices are certainly plentiful.


If there's a downside, it's that my younger daughter's favorite, "Itty Bitty," isn't included. This collection may have been in the works before that song's success, so it will undoubtedly show up on "Greatest Hits 2" some time in the future. Meanwhile, my younger daughter will someday outgrow her crush on Alan, and listen to him, as her sister and I now do, for the sheer artistry of his work.

And I mean every word of that.