Interspersed among the classic albums of George Jones, country music's all-time greatest performer, are gems of collections of his hits. LIVE with the Possum is probably one of the better collections, not so much for the songs, which are of course classic, but because it captures the electric aura of a George Jones concert.
   Recorded in 1994 in Knoxville, Tennessee, LIVE is basically the audio version of 1994's video LIVE in Tennessee.
   The album's introduction is courtesy of Alan Jackson, who joins in with Jones on "No Show Jones." Other hits included on this CD are "Once You've Had The Best," "The Race Is On," "Bartender's Blues," "A Picture Of Me (Without You)," the spine-tingling "Who's Gonna Fill their Shoes," "She Loved A Lot In Her Time," "One Woman Man," and a medley of early hits including "The Grand Tour" and "Walk Through This World With Me."
   Also included is the instrumental bluegrass number "Orange Blossom Special." Closing out the album is the song voted as the number one country song of all time, "He Stopped Loving Her Today."
   What is unusual about this album is that it lacks the packaging associated with what should have been a major release as it is the second album Jones has put forth from his new label Asylum. Even though it was recorded in 1994, the liner notes do not even make mention of when and where it was recorded and the cover looks like it was thrown together to make it to the presses in time to get on K-Mart shelves for a blue-light special - hardly an appropriate effort for the sultan of country music. Be that as it may, the music makes up for the short sightedness on Asylum's part.

-Charlton Wiggins