album rating: ★★★★☆
Genre: Country / countrypolitan. A deeply heartfelt country album featuring lush string arrangements and backing vocals in the polished countrypolitan style, centred on themes of heartbreak, loss, and divorce.
Label: Epic Records.
Producer: Billy Sherrill.
Recording studio: Columbia Studio B, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Recorded in January 1974.
Critical reception: Upon release, the album was praised by country music trade publications. Billboard highlighted its excellent production and Jones's emotional vocal delivery. In subsequent decades, it has been regarded as one of Jones's defining works. AllMusic's Thom Jurek gave the album a perfect score, describing it as a watershed moment for Jones and the title track as one of the most devastating country singles ever issued. Rolling Stone ranked the title track number 38 on its '40 Saddest Country Songs of All Time' in 2014. Genre historian Bill C. Malone called it 'a perfect matching of lyrics and performance.'
Commercial success: The album peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The title track reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in August 1974 and was the fourth-biggest country hit of that year. The single 'Once You've Had the Best' also charted, reaching number three. The album marked Jones's first number one hit in eight years and represented a significant commercial and artistic resurgence.
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