The Very Best of Randy Travis

1	On The Other Hand
2	Diggin’ Up Bones
3	Forever And Ever, Amen
4	Too Gone Too Long
5	I Told You So Single Remix
6	I Won’t Need You Anymore (Always And Forever)
7	Honky Tonk Moon
8	Deeper Than The Holler
9	Is It Still Over?
10	It’s Just A Matter Of Time Country Single Mix
11	Hard Rock Bottom Of Your Heart Single Remix
12	He Walked On Water
13	Heroes And Friends Long Single Edit
14	Forever Together
15	Better Class Of Losers
16	I’m Gonna Have A Little Talk
17	If I Didn’t Have You
18	Look Heart, No Hands
19	Whisper My Name
20	Three Wooden Crosses

Barnes & Noble

This exemplary 20-song overview of Randy Travis's vocal artistry leaves the listener hungering for more -- and for that, try the Rhino box set, Trail of Memories: The Randy Travis Anthology, from 2002. Which is not to imply that something vital is missing in this No. 1-dotted track list. No, this is choice Randy Travis, from the gospel-flavored, career-launching heartbreaker "Diggin' Up Bones" to the more recent gem "Three Wooden Crosses," a philosophical musing on the intersection of life, death, and spirituality. In between are many of the evergreens that form the musical foundation of one of country's greatest singers: "Honky Tonk Moon," the bluesy, dreamy ballad that gave Travis an opportunity to validate his chops as a crooner; the easygoing, timeless love song, "Forever and Ever, Amen"; "Is It Still Over," one of the wittiest, most bittersweet breakup songs of its time ("I assume that since my phone still ain't ringin' / it still ain't you," he pines); a country single mix, with pronounced R&B overtones, of the moving "It's Just a Matter of Time"; and the mid-tempo declaration of fidelity and all consuming love, "Deeper than a Holler." The spirits of Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard, Travis's vocal touchstones, are ever present, but the magic he works with a lyric is wholly his own, his choice of shadings and phrasings revealing an interpreter of the highest order. This disc is a powerful monument to a body of work that has gained added luster over time. David McGee

All Music Guide

There have been plenty of Randy Travis compilations, from the initial 1992 Greatest Hits to Rhino's superb 2002 double-disc set Trail of Memories: The Randy Travis Anthology, but there is still place in his catalog for Rhino's 2004 The Very Best of Randy Travis. Essentially, this is a single-disc distillation of Trail of Memories, with 19 of its 20 tracks also featured on the previous compilations -- and it's not just that they're duplicated, it's that these are the same versions, the same single edits and mixes, that were on the two-CD set. The one new track is "Three Wooden Crosses," a 2003 single that became his first country chart-topper since 1994. It's a welcome addition, but not enough to make this necessary to anybody who already owns Trail of Memories, but for those who don't have that excellent collection, this is worth considering since it covers the same ground more concisely, providing the best single-disc overview of Travis released to date. Stephen Thomas Erlewine