The Very Best of Randy Travis (CD - 2004)

Personnel: Randy Travis (vocals); Richard Perry (bass voice); Dean Parks (guitar); Larry Byrom (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar); Mac McAnally, Russ Barenberg, Larry Beaird (acoustic guitar); Brent Mason (electric guitar, 6-string bass); Billy Joe Walker, Jr. (electric guitar); Doyle Grisham (steel guitar); Béla Fleck (banjo); Jelly Roll Johnson (harmonica); Dennis Burnside (piano, electric piano, keyboards); John Barlow Jarvis, John Jarvis (piano); Shane Keister (organ); Kyle Lehning (Wurlitzer organ); Gordon Mote, Bobby Wood (keyboards); Steve Lindsey (synthesizer); Michael Rhodes (bass instrument); Eddie Bayers, Paul Leim (drums); Eric Darken, Tom Roady (percussion); Cindy Richardson Walker, Curtis Young, Darrell Scott, Dennis Wilson , Fred White , Greg Walker , Cherry Sisters, John Wesley Ryles, Lisa Silver, Roy Galloway, Suzy Ragsdale, Take 6, Tennessee, Verlon Thompson, Wes Hightower, Carol Chase (background vocals); Mark Casstevens (acoustic guitar); Steve Gibson (electric guitar, 12-string guitar, dobro, mandolin); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Mark O'Connor (fiddle); Larrie Londin (drums).

Audio Mixer: Kyle Lehning.

Audio Remasterer: Pat Kraus.

Liner Note Author: Robert K. Oermann.

Recording information: Emerald sound Studio, Nashville, TN; Groundstar Lab, Nashville, TN; Morningstar Sound Studio, Hendersonville, TN.

Randy Travis emerged in the 1980s at the forefront of country's New Traditionalist movement, with a sound that recalled classic country balladeers George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Lefty Frizzell. His pure, honest approach to heart-wrenching saloon songs resonated with country audiences in a major way, making him a star. This 20-song collection is a single-disc distillation of Travis's long, fruitful career, and is the perfect place to start exploring his work.

While there are some up-tempo honky-tonk numbers here, it's the slow-burn ballad that is Travis's stock in trade, and there's no shortage of those. From the tormented would-be philanderer of "On the Other Hand" (his first big hit) to the jilted lover of the heartbroken lament "It's Just a Matter of Time," Travis inhabits every song completely, with a voice deeper than anything this side of Tennessee Ernie Ford and full of unadorned emotion. The fact that Travis's career weathered the changes in the country scene long enough to merit an anthology such as this is a mark of both his enduring appeal and his substantive, unpretentious artistry. minimize