Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

1	Little Bitty 2:38
2	Everything I Love 3:06
3	Who's Cheatin' Who 4:01
4	There Goes 3:55
5	I'll Go on Loving You 3:57
6	Right on the Money 3:49
7	Gone Crazy 3:49
8	Little Man 4:27
9	Pop a Top 3:04
10	The Blues Man 7:04
11	It Must Be Love 2:53
12	www.memory 2:34
13	When Somebody Loves You 3:27
14	Where I Come from 4:01
15	Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) 5:05
16	Drive (For Daddy Gene) 4:03

Barnes & Noble

Tip your Stetsons to Alan Jackson. On his second volume of hits, he offers not only a generous 18-cut sampling of gems from 1996 through 2003 but also two outstanding new songs -- plus a limited-edition bonus disc featuring eight album tracks Jackson selected for inclusion here. The fully up-to-snuff new songs are a buoyant, tropical-flavored salute to the onset of happy hour, "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" (featuring Jimmy Buffett cracking wise), and a touching, acoustic-flavored ballad, "Remember When," reflecting on a love that grows deeper through good times and bad, its thoughtful sentiments caressed by the gentlest of string arrangements. Preceding the new tunes is memorable fare such as the whimsical, singsong "Little Bitty"; the monumental 9/11 treatise "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)"; the sensuous, atmospheric love song "I'll Go On Loving You"; the bopping cover of "Pop-A-Top"; and the rustic, exuberant reminiscence of a young boy's bond with his father, "Drive." The bonus disc offers the usual gamut of tradition-rooted country styles Jackson is known for, including "Job Description," a low-key, honky-tonk–style trucker's tale; a toe-tapping workout celebrating living and loving anew, "Let's Get Back to Me and You"; an acoustic-driven lament over lost love, "Hole in the Wall"; and a classically styled country-and-western testimonial, "When Love Comes Around," about making good in the romance department. These eight songs are so good, someone's gonna accuse Jackson of trying to run up the score on his outclassed opponents. Go for it, Alan. David McGee

All Music Guide

Alan Jackson was one of the leading lights of contemporary country music in the '90s and the key to his success is that he managed to be straightforwardly traditional without sacrificing his taste for slightly mawkish sentimentality. The first tendency got him respect, the second sold him records, and if the latter is emphasized on the 18-track Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, that's because that's what hit the charts, particularly as he settled into his role as a veteran during the second half of the '90s, the period that this volume covers. There's little faulting this as a collection of hits, since it picks up precisely where 1995's Greatest Hits leaves off, then runs through all the hits in chronological order, adding two new songs -- the cheerful Jimmy Buffett duet "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" and the slow, nostalgic "Remember When" -- at the end. This does its job right, functioning as a good, thorough collection of hit singles, though it has to be said that taken as an album, the sentimental stuff does weigh a little heavy and it's hard not to wish there were a few more hardcore honky tonk numbers like "Pop a Top," just to give the album some variety and a quicker pace, but it's hard to fault this as a collection of big hits. [Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 was released initially with an eight-track bonus disc, containing a bunch of album tracks, relying heavily on 1994's Who I Am, along with two tracks from 2002's Drive. Not a bad bonus disc -- actually, it's pretty enjoyable -- but it's hardly a collection of rarities, either.] Stephen Thomas Erlewine