AMG Review of 16 Biggest Hits

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

16 Biggest Hits covers much of the same ground as the sublime Anniversary -- not quite as well, but it's still pretty great nonetheless, simply because the source material is very strong indeed. The first nine songs were all on Anniversary, and they're the best tracks here. Many of the remaining songs are culled from post-Anniversary albums, and while there are some great cuts -- "She's My Rock," "I Always Get Lucky With You," "The King Is Gone (So Are You)," "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" -- on the whole they don't match the earlier tracks. Nevertheless, this is a small matter, because it does a good job of sampling lesser work and thereby gives a good overview of his entire time with Epic. It may not be definitive the way the second disc of Essential George Jones: The Spirit of Country is or how Anniversary chronicles his peak years, but it's a good, affordable sampler all the same.