A MERCURIAL HONKY-TONKER

This feature spotlights noteworthy reissues and compilations. Artist: George Jones.

Album: “Rockin’ the Country” (Mercury).

History: This Texas-born singer--widely considered the greatest living country-music artist--had just scored his first hit with “Why Baby Why” in 1955 when the Elvis Presley phenomenon blew a hot wind through the country-Western field. Jones’ producers at Starday Records decided that the singer should try to record in Presley’s rockabilly style, and even changed his name briefly to Thumper Jones. (One of country’s more temperamental characters, Jones, now 54, has been said to destroy remnants of this period whenever he comes across them). The effort failed, but Jones was picked up by Mercury Records, where he established his legend as one of the great honky-tonk stylists. This LP collects 12 tracks recorded for Mercury between 1958 and 1961.

Sound: It would be interesting to hear the “Thumper Jones” cuts, but they’ve been collected only on hard-to-find English imports--though you might get the impression from this new album’s packaging (vague liner notes, no recording dates) that those tracks are included. Instead, this is an anthology of some of Jones’ most lively country novelties. Numbers like “White Lightning,” “Who Shot Sam” and “Revenooer Man” may be about back-wood rapscallions, but they’re musically almost as close to the style of the Coasters, the humorous black R&B; group, as to rockabilly. “Who Shot Sam,” for example, has the same sort of comical bass punctuations as the Coasters’ “Charlie Brown.” Of course, Jones’ goofier songs were also in line with a country-comedy tradition. While a couple of lesser numbers cut into the fun (notably the chauvinistic tripe of “You Better Treat Your Man Right”) and Jones had yet to mature into the full glory of “She Thinks I Still Care,” “The Race Is On” and other classics, this is a highly recommended collection by a singer whose tricky, Texas-meets-Appalachia style is one of the most individual and flavorful in American music.