Classic Album Review-Jack Greene “Statue Of A Fool”

By 1969, Jack Greene was one of the hottest acts in country music, trailing only the likes of Buck Owens and Johnny Cash. His style was a bit of a mixture; a bit of that Eddy Arnold/Ray Price smoothness, but with more of the traditional stylings. In my opinion, when given the right materials, he was one of the best handlers of a country ballad, that has ever appeared in the top ten. His album, “Statue Of A Fool” was released in the summer of ’69 and would be his last top ten album, while the title song would ultimately be Jack’s last number one hit.

I actually like Jack’s version of “Ribbon of Darkness”. I think it’s comparable to the hit Marty Robbins version.

“You Gave Me A Mountain” is a country classic, though admittedly, not one of my favorites. That said, I think Jack’s version is the best I’ve heard, even better than the top ten version by Johnny Bush or that which is generally considered the definitive version, Marty Robbins, who also wrote the song. Jack makes this song his.

I also like the next cut, “Just Enough To Start Me Dreamin’”. It’s too bad that back in the day, there would only be 1 or 2 singles from an album (in this case, 1), as this recording could have easily been a hit, in my opinion.

Jack tackles the Merle Haggard hit, “Hungry Eyes”, next, giving a more than acceptable performance that is very similar to that of the Hag’s.

“Yesterday’s Letters” and “There’s More To Love” are both perfect vehicles for Jack’s style. “Yesterday’s Letter” being the better of the two, could have been a single. As a song, “There’s More To Love” isn’t bad, but nothing special.

If there’s any songs that miss on this album, it would be his version of Willie Nelson’s “Bring Me Sunshine”. Good singer, good song, they just don’t work well together.

Fortunately, things get back on track with the next cut, the Dallas Frazier-penned “Watching My World Walk Away”. When Jack sings about watching his world walk away, he makes you feel what he is feeling, he’s that good with ballads.

“Montego Bay” is another of those songs that are okay, but nothing special or memorable. By the way, no, it is not the same “Montego Bay” that was a pop hit a year later for Bobby Bloom. Not even close.

“I Don’t Need Tomorrow”; pure country, right here. Another outstanding cut. How can you not like a song that says “I don’t need tomorrow, I had yesterday”?

On this album, they saved the best for last, the title cut, “Statue Of A Fool”. What can I say about this cut? It’s easily my favorite Jack Greene song, plus, if I were to make a list of my all-time faves, this recording would definitely be in the top five. It’s simply one of the best country records, ever.

The thing about Jack, is that he has a voice that is just perfect for songs that call for emotion, such as the title hit, or “You Gave Me A Mountain”. My only criticism that sometimes the arrangements seem to be lacking a little, or missing something, but Jack’s vocal abilities are usually able to compensate for any instrumental shortcomings.

The album, itself, has been out of print for several years, and to my knowledge has never been issued on CD. There are some used copies, though, online that one should be able to find.

Overall, I’ll rate this one a 3 out of 5.

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