It's Only Country 1985-1989 follows the pattern of JCI's It's Only series, offering a seemingly random collection of 20 hits from a given genre for a period of five years. These songs weren't necessarily the biggest hits of these five years, although there are a number of classics and smashes here. It may be hard to deduce exactly why these songs were chosen, but the end results are nevertheless quite entertaining. All of the songs are featured in their original hit versions, not remakes, which isn't always the case with midline country collections. Furthermore, there a few cuts that aren't easy to find on other collections or even greatest-hits albums, which means it's interesting to collectors as well as casual fans. Most importantly, each volume captures the feeling of the era, even if it's missing several big hits, and that's what makes the series a nice introductory overview for curious listeners. Among the highlights on It's Only Country 1985-1989 are Steve Wariner's "Life's Highway," Patty Loveless' "Little Bit in Love," Highway 101's "Somewhere Tonight," Lee Greenwood's "Touch and Go Crazy," Don Williams' "Walkin' a Broken Heart," Conway Twitty's "Julia," Ricky Van Shelton's "Living Proof," John Conlee's "Working Man," Holly Dunn's "Love Someone Like Me," Marty Stuart's "Cry, Cry, Cry" and Randy Travis' "Diggin' Up Bones." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide