“Same Ole Me”
George Jones
Written by Paul Overstreet
Radio & Records
#1 (1 week)
April 9, 1982
George Jones’ tenure at Epic Records reached the decade mark in 1982, and the label took advantage of that milestone and Jones’ revival at country radio to release Anniversary: Ten Years of Hits.
The twenty track collection, which included such standards as “The Grand Tour” and “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” closed with “Same Ole Me,” which was his most recent No. 1 single at the time of the compilation’s release.
In a way, it closes the album on a forward-looking note. Paul Overstreet, who penned the song, would go on to become one of the most important songwriters of the burgeoning new traditionalist movement, as well as a successful singer in his own right.
“Same Ole Me” hits the typical Overstreet themes of family, monogamy, and a man’s identity being defined by his role at home. He would’ve been too young to make “Same Ole Me” work for himself as a recording artist, with the song’s references to wrinkles and the home stretch of an enduring marriage working perfectly for a vocalist of Jones’ age and experience.
As expected, Jones is flawless vocally, and during the verses, “Same Ole Me” holds up as well as any of his best records from his time on Epic.
But the syrupy production that made so many of Jones’ hits from this time period sound epic in their melodrama falls completely flat here on the chorus. The Oak Ridge Boys overwhelm Jones each time the chorus comes around, and undercut the intimacy of the message. Nobody died here, Billy Sherrill. Nobody even left home with the baby in tow.
Having the Oaks drown out Jones is a remarkably tasteless production choice, and Sherrill should’ve figured that out in the mastering stage and taken them off the damn record. Both acts deserved better.
“Same Ole Me” gets a B.
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I would give it B +. I actually don’t believe the oak ridge boys drown out Jones. I catch myself having the chorus stuck in my head often. If there was a huge George Jones gem to be found it would be “Good Ones & Bad Ones” of the “Same Ol Me” album. I love that song!
…when this one hit #1 mtv had been on air for a little over six months. no wonder, country music consequently went into a tailspin commercially.over the next few years given performances like that rubbish (in all departments). at that time skaggs and strait were still little more than a promise.
I didn’t have, “Getting Screamed At On Twitter By A Bunch Of ORB Fans Acting Like Carrie Underwood’s Stanbase Over A Review That Got A B Grade,” on my 2023 BINGO card, but what a world we live in.
And I wasn’t even dissing the Oak Ridge Boys!
The record doesn’t work because the elements don’t mix together.
It’s like Peanut Butter and Marinara Sauce. Delicious on their own, but they don’t belong together.
Exactly. It is literally a critique of how their vocal track is placed in the mix, not of their actual vocal performance. It’s about the production choices!
I would’ve loved to hear them do it as a lead track on their own. They were on fire at this time.
Heather Jones was best
My hackles were initially up as well!
It took another read of the review to sort out the praise for the artists from the disappointment of the production. It’s a quick transition from flawless to tasteless in the review.
It is clear, however that Billy Sherrill is the accused hear and neither Jones nor the mighty Oaks.
A warning shot has been fired across your bow for future Oak Ridge Boys’ reviews as they will lose their golden touch in the coming years.
For the record, I like Jones essentially becoming the fifth 0ak on the chorus.
This has always been a favorite. It’s really quite amazing how Jones turned his career around in 1980. I never thought of the Oaks as drowning him out on the chorus, but they could’ve stood to be turned down.
(I haven’t been commenting lately due to technical issues.)
Hopefully they’ve been resolved! I’ve been deactivating a lot of plugins to try to fix the issue.