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. [An Australian edition appeared in 2007.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine