Warner Brothers teamed with Rhino for
The Very Best of Travis Tritt, the most comprehensive single-disc compilation of the rough-edged country singer's greatest hits to date. The two labels had teamed up in 2002 for a fine pair of
Tritt collections --
The Rockin' Side and
The Lovin' Side, each of which includes 16 songs -- but it's nice to have an all-encompassing single-disc collection like this one, especially for casual fans who don't want to buy two separate CDs.
The Very Best includes the primary highlights from
Tritt's Warner Brothers catalog, which began with
Country Club (1990) and concluded with
No More Looking Over My Shoulder (1998). Furthermore,
The Very Best includes a pair of songs from
Down the Road I Go (2000),
Tritt's debut album for Columbia: "It's a Great Day to Be Alive" and "Best of Intentions," which charted number two and one, respectively. Plus, there are a few non-album inclusions, namely "Take It Easy," from the
Eagles tribute album
Common Thread (1993); the "Single Version" of
Steve Earle's "Sometimes She Forgets," from
Greatest Hits: From the Beginning (1995); and "This One's Gonna Hurt You (For a Long, Long Time)," from
Marty Stuart's
This One's Gonna Hurt You (1992). The only minor complaint is that
The Very Best isn't sequenced chronologically. But at least the sequencing is logical, for the most part alternating uptempo songs with ballads. In the end, it's difficult to envision a better-compiled Warner Brothers-era single-disc collection of
Tritt's music than
The Very Best. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide