It Don't Get Any Better Than This
It Don't Get Any Better Than This is an album by American country music singer George Jones released on April 7, 1998 on the MCA Nashville label. Jones's 55th studio album would be his last with MCA Nashville Records. The album's title track was used as the theme song to Jones's talk show which aired on what was then The Nashville Network. The program featured informal chats with Jones holding court with country's biggest stars old and new, and music. Guests included Loretta Lynn, Trace Adkins, Johnny  Paycheck, Lorrie Morgan, Merle Haggard, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Charley Pride, Bobby Bare, Patty Loveless and Waylon Jennings, among others. "Wild Irish Rose" was released as a single, but failed to chart, a common occurrence for Jones in recent years since he was no longer played on mainstream country radio. The song "It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This" includes several guest vocalists, in order of appearance they are: Waylon Jennings, the Johnny Cash impersonator, Johnny Counterfit (incorrectly credited as "Johnny Counterfeit" in the liner notes), Merle Haggard, Bobby Bare, and Willie Nelson. The song "Got  to Get to Louisiana" is a duet with T. Graham Brown. "When Did You Stop Loving Me" is a cover of the 1993 Top Ten single by George Strait from the soundtrack to the 1992 film "Pure Country". "Small Y'all" was originally recorded by Randy Travis on his 1994 album "This Is Me", and later re-recorded by Jones as a duet with Kenny Chesney on Chesney's 2010 album "Hemingway's Whiskey". "Smack Dab" was later recorded by Ken Mellons on his 2004 album "Sweet". "Don't Touch Me" is a cover of the 1966 #2 country hit single  by Jeannie Seely. The album also features several songs written by Nashville veteran Bobby Braddock, who co-wrote "He Stopped Loving Her Today". Reception. AllMusic states of the album: "It's not a bad record by any means, and George is in surprisingly good voice, hardly sounding like a man approaching his 70th birthday. Still, there's no truly great performances or unusual songs to make it worth putting on after the initial play." Personnel. As listed in liner notes.