WINE COLORED ROSES is a true classic from "the Rolls Royce" of country singers. Released in 1986 when George was with Epic Records, this album is a return to a more sparse sound. Producer Billy Sherrill cut much of the strings and background voices to showcase George doing what he does best - singing country songs with so much passion it will make your spine bleed whiskey.

There's a little bit of everything on this album. There is the sad resignation of the title track, the bitter account of a breakup (Don't Leave Without Taking Your Silver"), and a novelty ("Ol' Frank"). It's not all doom and gloom, however, with touching love songs like "I Turn To You" and "The Right Left Hand," which was written specifically for his wife, Nancy. Patti Page duets with the Possum on "You Never Looked That Good When You Were Mine," and although she does a great job, it remains a song that was meant for George and ex-wife Tammy Wynette. By the time we get to the heart-wrenching "These Old Eyes Have Seen It All" it is apparent that Jones - newly sober after about thirty years of self-abuse - had not lost a step whatsover. Pure country soul.

Billy Sherrill frames these songs perfectly and shows a flair for taking George in a more contemporary direction on "If Only Your Eyes Could Lie" with great results. In fact, it would fit in nicely on country radio today if not for the narrow-minded powers-that-be that run the show these days. THIS IS A CLASSIC GEORGE JONES ALBUM THAT REVEALS WHY HE HAS MANAGED TO STAY ON TOP OF THE HEAP FOR SO LONG. If you're a Geroge Jones fan and you haven't heard this, you're missing out big time.

I can't say anything about the incomparable voice of THE VOICE of country music, George Jones. Its a shame this incredible CD is no longer in print. The title cut is classic Jones, which has interestingly enough, basically become synonymous with REAL country, not this bubble gum rock stuff they put out today with some rhinestones and cute faces. The song, "Right Left Hand" shows his happiness with his wife Nancy. "You Never Looked That Good When You were Mine" shows his stunning ability to duet with the best, in this case Patti Page. And my favorite should be Anna Nicole Smith's theme, "Ol Frank" a song about a younger woman marrying a man who owned "half of the county but would never see 60 again!" Start to finish, one of the Possum's best. Grassroots, hardcore, pure, idealic, honest, heart-felt, and LIVED are words which only touch on this surface of this CD, but more importantly, only touch on the surface of this worldwide musical icon!

I lifted the title of this review from a promo item about this particular album. As it's been mentioned in the previous reviews, this album came along in 1986 and is a wonderful collection of songs. The album is named for the lead-off track, a ballad about a woman who sends George a letter in the mail asking all sorts of things...one of the things she asks is if he's quit drinking. Due to the fact that he can't tell her the truth over the phone, he sends her "Wine Colored Roses" in the mail. It was a Top-10 single in the fall of 1986. I have always liked the purple colors...an obvious choice considering the name of the album is WINE COLORED ROSES...the color of grapes on the vine...

The title track, plus the next to, were released as commercial singles. The rest of the album went unheard unless you happened to personally own the album back then...there was no internet and definitely no way of purchasing non-single recordings off of albums which is so common now. So, for those who missed out on the album the first time around, the MP3 version is here for all to re-visit the mid '80s period of his career. "The Right Left Hand", written about him and his wife, Nancy, was the biggest success from the album...it was the album's second single in early 1987. A third single, "I Turn To You", was a Top-30 success in mid 1987. That particular song could also be thought of as a song for him and Nancy but the lyrics aren't on the same level as "The Right Left Hand" which I believe the songwriters went on record as saying they wrote specifically for George and Nancy. As for "I Turn To You", this is going to sound funny, but it actually has a poetic feel...yes, I know, songs are poems anyhow...but this one sounds like a genuine poem set to music...you can actually speak the song and it carry the same value as if it were being sung. I guess you can put it in the category of pretty songs?

"If Only Your Eyes Could Lie" is one of the songs on here that should have been a single. If i were Billy Sherrill I would have opted for this song, instead of "I Turn To You", as the third single release. When you listen to "If Only Your Eyes Could Lie", you'd think it WAS a single...it sounds like a song crafted for radio. It's no surprise that it became a single several years later for Earl Thomas Conley...notable, in a way, as being the last song Conley put on the charts in the early '90s.

There are two novelty songs on this album...one is an indirect novelty song and the other is more intentional. For the next several songs I use "spoiler alert" because in my description of the songs I'm giving away their hook-lines so if anyone wants to be surprised what the songs are about, by-pass the spoiler alerts.

Spoiler Alert: "Ol' Frank", the intentional novelty, tells the story of a woman who wants to marry money and does so and the hook line "she cried all the way to the grave where he layed; then she smiled all the way to the bank".

Spoiler Alert: Track number four, the indirect novelty song, "Don't Leave Without Taking Your Silver", upon just seeing the song's title, one may think it's about a couple splitting up and the man reminding the woman to take her dishes and fine silver with her when she leaves. However, the actual song is about a man who is bitter about a break-up and tells her in his own way that she's the reason for his graying hair so "don't leave without taking your silver...you left it right here in my hair".

The album's closing track, "These Old Eyes Have Seen It All", is a story song about a man George encounters. It has a similar concept to a couple of songs George had recorded previously. 1983's "The Show's Almost Over" and more famously 1985's "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes". In each of the songs, the concept revolves around the shared theme of mortality, the uncertainty of what the future holds, and nostalgia for the past. In the case of "These Old Eyes Have Seen It All" we are taken on a walk through time as a man struggles with mortality and loneliness upon becoming a widow after 50 years.

Spoiler Alert: "The Very Best of Me" is the album's only genuine up-tempo song on album filled with a couple of mid-tempo songs settling in amidst the ballads. This particular song could be about George's own life...a song dealing with the idea that whenever he passes away, he wants to donate his body parts...it isn't a novelty song in the classic sense, even though it's a funny idea... "send my dry lips to Jack Daniels; give the jukebox both of my ears; plant one foot in Texas, one in Tennessee". The killer line "send my backside to my ex-wife, tell her: seal it with a kiss". Of course, one thinks of Tammy Wynette when you hear him sing that line even though he's had a couple other ex-wives.

The word sparse was used to describe the production of the album. Interestingly, though, as far as my ears are concerned, the arrangements are typical of 1980's George Jones material. There's the presence of the pedal steel guitar...moaning away in the background in a few songs to create a lonesome sound...then there's the background harmony singers, I wouldn't say the album lacks background voices, as you can hear them harmonizing with George on nearly every song; but there isn't an instance where the background singers sing on their own, as was a custom in the 1960's particularly with "I'll Share My World With You" as one example. I'm probably in the minority but production doesn't really factor in with me when it comes to singers I like to listen to...hearing then sing in any setting is great...and this setting for George is great.

My dad has the cassette and was worried that if it got damaged, he wouldn't be able to listen to George Jones any more. Now, I can give him the CD for Father's Day. He will be elated. Thanks for sending this product so quickly and in excellent packaging.

This isn't really a review,it is more like a request. I'm looking for this album on cd, I've only been able to find it on cassette. Any help would be greatly appreciated.By the way,this is a great COUNTRY album. Thanks, email me at coloradocoolaid@hotmail.com