Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (CD - 2006)

Personnel: Jeffrey Smith (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, baritone guitar, 6-string bass, background vocals); David Grissom (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Bryan Sutton (acoustic guitar, mandolin); Russ Pahl (electric guitar, 12-string guitar, steel guitar, banjo); Larry Franklin, Aubrey Haynie (fiddle); Clayton Ryder (accordion, Hammond b-3 organ); Jim "Moose" Brown (Hammond b-3 organ, keyboards); Glenn Worf, Darren Theriault (bass guitar); Steven J. Caldwell, Chad Cromwell (drums); Eric Darken (percussion).

In addition to covering most of singer-songwriter Phil Vassar's country hits from his first half-decade as a Nashville star--"Carlene" and "Just Another Day In Paradise" to name a pair--GREATEST HITS: VOLUME 1 features three brand new songs, "Last Day of My Life," "21," and "The Woman In My Life." Vassar, who was a successful Music Row writer-for-hire for several years before he began his solo career, also presents his own versions of the hits he's written for heavyweights like Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina, Alan Jackson, and Collin Raye.

There are seven new recordings on Phil Vassar's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there are six brand-new songs. Most of these new songs are Vassar's versions of songs he wrote for other people: "Bye Bye" and "I'm Alright" were hits for Jo Dee Messina, "My Next Thirty Years" and "For a Little While" were cut by Tim McGraw, and Collin Raye recorded "Little Red Rodeo." They're joined by three brand-new Vassar tunes -- "Twenty One," "The Woman in My Life," and also "Last Day of My Life" -- on this generous 15-track collection, which does an excellent job of capturing Vassar's strengths as both a songwriter and a performer. Not that it features every one of his charting singles -- 2001's "Rose Bouquet" isn't here, and neither are "This Is God" and "Ultimate Love" from 2003, or 2005's "Good Ole Days" -- but they're not missed because of the presence of those aforementioned songs recorded by other artists. These tunes give a fuller picture of Vassar's talents, and explain why he needs a greatest-hits album a mere three years into his career. After all, his proper albums don't touch on these songs, which are among his best, and Vassar's versions match the original hit versions, helping to make Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 not just a good introduction to his music, but the most consistently entertaining album he's yet released. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize