Razor & Tie
1976
Golden Ring
About This Album
Of all the George Jones duet recordings, this one -- done with his then-wife, the late Tammy Wynette -- remains the finest moment. Golden Ring was released in 1976 and produced by the legendary Billy Sherrill, as the Jones and Wynette marriage was coming apart. This is a set full of heartbreak songs accompanied by real heartbreak. Jones went on a multi-year bender after the divorce was final, putting his health, reputation, and even career on the line. There's no stretch here that these songs are loaded with emotion, but for a change, Sherrill's production allows the voices to speak for themselves. The track list is devastating, opening as it does with Bobby Braddock's title track. Jones' singing here is among his best of the 1970s, and Wynette as an accompanist gives him a run for his money as the top biller on the record jacket. Buck Owens' "Cryin' Time" begins with them singing, so to speak, cheek to cheek. Red Lane and Daniel Morrison's "I've Seen Better Days" gives Wynette the space to sing first, and she seizes the opportunity with restraint, drama, and relish for the entire verse. Jones responds lost, forsaken, and bewildered as to how he ever got here.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,5,6,7 and 8)

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