The album kicks off with “Gimmie That Girl,” a song which hit #1 on the charts late in the spring of last year and is immediately followed by the only other track from 2009’s Old Things New album, the current single “The Shape I’m In.” Both songs were written by the Peach Pickers, the hot songwriting collective of Dallas Davidson, Ben Hayslip and Rhett Akins. They’re both immediate; radio-ready slices of ear candy that showcase Joe’s Haggard-esque voice in an easily digestible way. “Gimmie” is the second-biggest hit of Joe’s career and is one of two Gold-selling singles for him, after his signature single “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” a fun irreverent story song from 2005 that was written by John Wiggins (of 90s brother-sister duo John & Audrey Wiggins) and Gary Hannan.
“Brokenheartsville,” with unique turns of phrase like “he wore that cowboy hat to cover up his horns” and “here’s to the past, they can kiss my glass” was Joe’s first chart-topping single and appeared on the Man With A Memory album, Joe’s Major label debut. The other big hit from that album, Joe’s first Top 5 single, “The Impossible” is also featured on the disc as well as the spirited “Cool To Be A Fool.” What’s surprisingly missing from the album is the fine ballad “She Only Smokes When She Drinks.”
“What’s A Guy Gotta Do” is the single from Revelation featured on this collection and while it is a fun, twangy tune that wouldn’t have been outta place on a Mark Chesnutt record, the fantastic Top 10 single “If Nobody Believed In You” is noticeably absent. Why that fantastic ballad was lopped off this collection, I have no idea, except for perhaps Show Dog-Universal trying to showcase Joe’s more ‘tempo oriented stuff as “The Impossible” and the beautiful “I’ll Wait For You” are the only ballads featured on the collection. “Size Matters” is the other song featured on the CD.
Even though other hits like “Believers,” and “Another Side Of You” are missing from this collection, Joe Nichols Greatest Hits does work well as a ‘gateway’ set of tunes into the music of Joe Nichols and while one could debate whether a Greatest Hits collection is even worth releasing in a digital age where iTunes features a-la-carte song buying opportunities, for those fans who still prefer the silver platters, Joe Nichols Greatest Hits is a nice, lean priced-right package of hits.
Song Rating: 
Album rating: 
(for missing a few hits).
You can support Joe Nichols by purchasing this album at Amazon | iTunes.
If you prefer your music to be of the silver platter variety, you can purchase this album at Amazon.
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