George Jones & Gene Pitney – The Complete ’60s Duets

Of all George Jones’ more-than-one-shot duet partners, pop star Gene Pitney seems the least likely. Don’t let those Bacharach/David-penned western ballads (“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, “24 Hours To Tulsa”) fool ya; the Connecticut-raised doo-wop fan knew next to nothing about country. But in 1965 they both were on Musicor; Boss Pappy Daily put them together for two LPs, and the surprising results, collected here, were mainly terrific. Tenor Pitney adjusts to sing with the Possum, sometimes working Everlys-like tight harmonies, sometimes taking what might have been the woman’s part in traded verses. They nail bad news ballads (“Wreck On The Highway”, “I’ve Got A New Heartache”), and their turn on “That’s All It Took” is the model for the later Gram Parsons-Emmylou Harris version. If they’re less successful with tweedly-dee pop such as “Mockingbird Hill”, they score well with rhythm twang such as “Louisiana Man”. Eminently listenable fun.