George Strait - #1's Vol. 2 [Tan]

George Strait has enough number ones to fill a jukebox several times over, and #1's Vol. 2 gathers fourteen more of them onto a single LP of colored vinyl.

Released in 2022 as the follow-up to the first volume, the set roams from the early eighties to the early 2000s, tracing the King of Country's long reign through neotraditional honky-tonk and polished nineties balladry. The constant is that voice, smooth, steady and never in a hurry, backed by fiddle and steel guitar that keep things firmly rooted in Texas dancehall tradition.

"All My Ex's Live in Texas" opens with its grinning roll call of former loves, while "I Can Still Make Cheyenne" is a quiet heartbreaker about a rodeo cowboy whose call home comes too late. "Write This Down" turns a promise of devotion into an irresistible, upbeat sing-along.

"I Cross My Heart," from the Pure Country soundtrack, remains a favourite first dance at weddings, and the sequencing moves easily between two-steppers and slow-dance ballads so the record never loses its rhythm.

For fans building a Strait shelf, this volume sits perfectly beside the first, and it works just as well as a crash course in why he has stayed at the top for so long.