by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The title track to It Don't Get Any Better Than This has George lamenting contemporary country and celebrating classic country with a bunch of pals -- Merle, Waylon, Willie, Bobby Bare, &Johnny Counterfeit& -- thereby providing the emotional touchstone for the entire album. Discounting the overly clean production, the album makes no concessions to contemporary country -- it's a honky tonk record, filled with steel guitars and fiddles. George even revives an old hit, &When Did You Stop Lovin' Me,& which fits right into this collection of traditionalist country. It's not a bad record by any means, and George is in surprisingly good voice, hardly sounding like a man approaching his 70th birthday. Still, there's no truly great performances or unusual songs to make it worth putting on after the initial play.