God's Country: George Jones and Friends

Tributee: George Jones.Audio Mixer: Billy Decker.Recording information: Georgetown Masters, Nashvile, TN; Masterfonics Studio A, Nashville, TN; Masterfonics Studio B, Nashville, TN.His voice has grown a little thicker with age and the many abuses heaped on it over the years, but George Jones is still the undisputed godfather of modern country, as his performance on the title track of this tribute album attests. Artists lining up to pay their respects include Tanya Tucker, whose feisty version of "Window Up Above" is a highlight, Sammy Kershaw, whose melancholy vocals are ideally suited to "He Stopped Loving Her Today," and Garth Brooks, who duets with the master on a spirited "Beer Run." The band sounds like it's having a blast, the production is loose but not messy, and the whole enterprise has an appropriately celebratory air in keeping with Jones's anarchic spirit.