The Grand Tour

Classic country

wow country haters severely underrating this one...
im not a country fan myself, but this album is good!

I’m at a 4.5, and I think I’ll have to bump it down to a 4, even though I liked it a lot.

I’m a sucker for country music from this era, and this is just an album of great country music. The instrumentation (and that steel guitar) is great, his vocals are lovely, and the lyricism evokes imagery and emotion about as well as most country albums of the time do. I really feel like George Jones simply doesn’t get the same acclaim or credit as his contemporaries from this time, despite his rather prolific output. It might be an indictment of some of his songs feeling very one-note & sad and mostly driven by relationship woes, and that’s my biggest indictment on this album.

When this album steps out of the box of “oh, my poor relationship is over”, the songs have a really fun energy, as “The Weatherman” & “Our Private Life” are both uptempo standouts to me. It is, however, just a bit too one note when it comes to relationships as the main topic over the course of the album. Hell, I really do like all of the love songs on this album regardless, but they’re just a collection of songs that slowly start to feel too similar the more they pop up, and some of them directly disagree with each other (“Pass Me By” & “Borrowed Angel” comes to mind as the clearest example).

Let me put it this way – if this had even one or two more uptempo tracks that weren’t about the sorrow of a lost relationship (or fawning over a new one), I think I’d be at a 5 without a question. I’m probably being a bit harsh, but I think I’ve been really, really kind to country albums from this era as they come up, and this one, while still great to my ears, needs to get a little bit of a knockdown because of the lack of variety. In my brain, it’s like a 9/10, and I really did like it a lot, but for the site, I think I simply have to give it a 4. I still really recommend it though, if only because we simply need more country music like this.

If I had a granny that lived, oh I don't know, somewhere in the woods near the Cumberland Gap, and she liked to bake pie, but had some fairly unacceptable views on race and sexuality, I can imagine this album would be the soundtrack to my visits there.

I grew up in a shitty suburban UK council estate.

Pros: I love steel guitar. Totally underrated instrument.

Cons: literally everything else

I mean, it's classic country, so it's not going to get me going, but this is pretty nice across the board. He's got a nice voice, full of emotion. This is unapologetic, heart on the sleeve kind of stuff. Some of the earlier tracks I found quite effective, especially with the big swells in music.

2.5 rounded up.

Some decent old school country, but nothing really got its hooks into me like a few of the previous albums we've had. Liked it, didn't love it.

The Grand Tour is a perfectly fine album. The music and vocals all sound pleasant enough to the ears but don't really do anything super interesting. The album also runs at a quick pace too which is something i have fairly mixed feelings about. I do like that the songs don't ever get tedious because i bet they would if they went on for too long. But at the same time, the songs are too short to have enough time to really sink in causing a lot of the transitions from song to song feel very jarring and awkward. This isn't really the best album out there but i have listened to far worse.
Best Song: The Weatherman
Worst Song: Borrowed Angel

🥱

Favourite songs: The Grand Tour, The Weatherman, Mary Don't Go Round, Pass Me By (If You're Only Passing Through), Darlin', Borrowed Angel, She Told Me So, Who Will I Be Loving Now

Least favourite songs: She'll Love the One She's With

4/5

I like George Jones a lot, but this album was not great.

Country... sigh. I'll give everything here a shot, but idk.
All kinda same-y, just ok. I just haven't found country I didn't find boring and uninteresting. 2*

Very old country, far removed from the outlaw version I love. Almost borders on cliché at points, with songs about "borrowed women" and "she left me & I'm sad".
Decent for what it is, but not for me. A worthwhile addition to the list, and one I am happy to have heard, but not an artist I am likely to come back to.

Never trust albums with the track listing on the front cover.

Siinähän se contry soi. 3/5

I've tried so hard but I just can't with this kind of country/honky tonk. Just grates me. He has a good voice if you stripped away the overly affected accent.

I can absolutely recognise that George Jones is a giant of country music, and The Grand Tour is often held up as one of his finest records. Going into it, I knew I was stepping into classic 70s country storytelling at its purest.

It just is not really my thing.

There is no denying the quality of his voice. It is rich, controlled and full of emotion. The title track in particular is a masterclass in heartbreak and delivery. You can hear every ounce of pain in the phrasing, and the production is polished without losing that traditional country feel.

But as a full album, it does not quite connect with me. The themes are heavy on sorrow and domestic heartbreak, and while I can respect the craft, I never feel truly drawn in. It is beautifully performed, just not something that fits naturally with my taste.

I can see why it is revered, and for fans of classic country this will be essential listening. For me, though, it is more admiration than enjoyment.

Favourite song: The Grand Tour
Least favourite song: She’ll Love the One She’s With
Album artwork: Very much of its time. Simple and classic country styling

I just can't

This was fine, but not earth shaking. She Told Me So was funny.

Thank you 1001 for pointing out yet another country artist I've slept on for far too long. My soft spot for 60s and 70s country continues to grow. The title track is a gut punch!