George Strait: C/D, S&D

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We've never done him! Genuinely curious. Fell for "When Did You Stop Loving Me" a week or two ago-- such a vocal stylist!-- and now I'm diving into 50 Number Ones.

Alas, usually I'm not exactly a "rolling country thread" guy. Is anything else like this song? What else is good? Some of it?

― marc h. (marc h.), Thursday, 14 September 2006 03:13 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, that's a good single. "50" seems like a fine place to start; Strait is definitely worth hearing, but his albums can get a little samey.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Thursday, 14 September 2006 04:17 (nineteen years ago)

the new mexico song is excellent

― anthony easton (anthony), Thursday, 14 September 2006 05:49 (nineteen years ago)

The album "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind" is pretty excellent from start to finish.

― Dr Benway (dr benway), Thursday, 14 September 2006 10:01 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, that was a good album; it also came out over two decades ago, which says something. His first MCA Greatest Hits is good too. 50>/i> is way way way too much, and should convince any sane person that George is one of the most boring humans alive. Near as I can tell, he's done exactly two undeniably great songs in his career: "The Cowboy Rides Away" and "Amarillo By Morning," both of which came early on. (I wouldn't mind hearing "40 Proof Bottle Of Tear Stopper" or whatever it's called sometime, though.) I am still and always have been willing to be proved wrong, though. (I just got this idea in my head that lots of times he's like Merle Haggard or Bob Wills with all the fun and humor and sex and funk taken out, but that's probably an easy idea to shoot full of holes, though I'll toss it out anyway.) (Maybe Lefty Frizell too? I've never really listened to Lefty Frizell much, though, so probably that's wrong.)

― xhuxk (xheddy), Thursday, 14 September 2006 10:20 (nineteen years ago)

wow, sorry about the weird-assed coding. (and hyperbole -- I'm sure he's hardly one of the most boring humans alive, when you take into account all the other humans or even country singers out there.)

― xhxuk (xheddy), Thursday, 14 September 2006 10:22 (nineteen years ago)

(anyway, even if you're not a rolling country thread kinda guy, you might go to this year's and last year's and search his name regardless. he's been discussed there -- and elsewhere on ILM -- more than once, and he definitely has some smart defenders here too.)

― xhuxk (xheddy), Thursday, 14 September 2006 10:24 (nineteen years ago)

thank you for all the info, chuck! i'll definitely poke around on the country threads and see what else i can find. i'm discovering i like his 2005 album, "somewhere down in texas," surprisingly well.

ultimately, you're probably right about him being boring, though... otherwise there'd have been a C/D thread on him ages ago.

― marc h. (marc h.), Thursday, 14 September 2006 12:51 (nineteen years ago)

three years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK34jEe58yo

oh yes.

― Jamie_ATP, Sunday, 27 September 2009 21:46 (sixteen years ago)

twelve years pass...

I found myself actively listening to George Strait today for the first time after learning the Silver Jews "Friday Night Fever" was done by him originally. Turns out today is George Strait's 70th birthday! Not a big deal but the synchronicity is low-key blowing my mind.

Anyway I'm digging the smooth twangy vibes of the first album. Other than that I'm only familiar with "Amarillo By Morning" which is my uncle's go-to karaoke song. Any recs for further exploration?

― J. Sam, Wednesday, 18 May 2022 19:34 (three years ago)

Oh yeah I also know "All My Ex's Live In Texas" and I'm sure I've casually heard at least a few of his other hits. He's got a pretty daunting discography and it's not clear how deep it's worth digging into, so guidance would be appreciated...

― J. Sam, Wednesday, 18 May 2022 19:41 (three years ago)

Also also it looks like only one of his first 10 albums is longer than 30 minutes. Not sure if that was just standard practice for country music at the time, but it's awesome

― J. Sam, Wednesday, 18 May 2022 19:59 (three years ago)

most of his stuff is good, or he has good stuff scattered throughout his career. Troubadour is a good later period one. I would just dig into one of his big compilations. So many good hits.

It's funny, I got into him through SJ's version of "Friday Night Fever" as well, but I really got into the songwriter, Dean Dillon, who wrote a bunch of stuff for Strait. He's one of the all time country songwriters imo

― Heez, Wednesday, 18 May 2022 19:59 (three years ago)

Of the early albums, Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind? is def worth your time.
Lots of great Strait out there though!

― mr.raffles, Thursday, 19 May 2022 03:29 (three years ago)

Does Ft Worth… is a good one. I’m only familiar with his 80’s run and he is very consistent. Cheap vinyl. His box set is really great and is probably dirt cheap.

I have a soft spot for me “If You’re Thinking You Want a Stranger (There’s One Coming Home)”

― Cow_Art, Thursday, 19 May 2022 03:44 (three years ago)

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