RCA Country Legends: Jim Reeves

The second side begins with a song entitled "Most of the Time." There is the usual flawless Chet Atkins-produced setup, and then comes a voice, a man who sounds so smooth and totally in control, and he sings "I just burned the picture of you that was on my wall." The contrast between the helpless emotion of the lyrics and the image of a crooner such as Jim Reeves makes for a classic country & western moment. When they call this album The Country Side, the label implies more of a country direction than some of the Reeves country-pop material. In point of fact Reeves may never be country enough for some listeners, but there is definitely some genre-specific content, including piercing pedal steel licks sopping wet with reverb and echo, and some excellent songs, including the artist's own "Yonder Comes a Sucker." As a country singer, though, he is a crooner, make no mistake. Every "o" he pronounces comes out "oooh."