Vince Gill - The Key
I've been looking to buy another Vince Gill album for a while, but he's a bit of a puzzle. He is absolutely one of the best guitar players around (as testified by his performances at the CMA awards), but his records tend to be full of commercial smoochy balladry. He's probably pressured into this by his record company, but he is definitely part of the golfing establishment of Nayushville.
The last one I bought was High Lonesome Sound (1996), which was a nice record, with one song on it I really liked, but the rest I could take or leave.
So I just bought The Key (1998), which by all accounts is his Blood On The Tracks, his post-divorce, rootsy album. Before he was anything else, he was a renowned Bluegrass player, so aside from anything else I was hoping for some nice pickin'.
I'm not disappointed, but it's not exactly what I was hoping for. It still sounds very smooth and "nice", with his "nice" voice singing a series of traditional country ballads. And it does sound traditional, almost old fashioned, were it not for the bang up to date production values. But a couple of listens reveals the subtleties.
All of the songs were either written or co-written (only a couple) by Gill, so the sentiments behind the songs seem sincere and heartfelt. Take a look at the album credits, too, and you see the backing band is, put simply, the absolute cream of what Nashville has to offer, including Larry Franklin on fiddle, Glenn Worf on bass, Randy Scruggs, and more, and backing vocals from the likes of Sara Evans, Lee Ann Womack, Patty Loveless, and Faith Hill, among others.
That alone is testament to his status as the most popular musician, among musicians, in Nashville. An all round Nice Bloke, a Good Egg. He's played on over 500 other artists' records, so he has a few favours he can call in. And as for that nice voice, it's a good one, with just the right edge of emotion in it.
Gill never showboats and always plays for the song, so you don't get loads of loud guitar solos, which probably would have suited me no end. On the other hand, if you do listen to the playing on this record, it is all sublime, especially the pedal steel, played by John Hughey (nice web site, John).
My favourite track is probably Let Her In, which is a beautifully simple (3 chord) song with some lovely acoustic playing. And where else but country music would there be a song about asking your daughter to give her blessing to your new, post-divorce girlfriend?
The last one I bought was High Lonesome Sound (1996), which was a nice record, with one song on it I really liked, but the rest I could take or leave.
So I just bought The Key (1998), which by all accounts is his Blood On The Tracks, his post-divorce, rootsy album. Before he was anything else, he was a renowned Bluegrass player, so aside from anything else I was hoping for some nice pickin'.
I'm not disappointed, but it's not exactly what I was hoping for. It still sounds very smooth and "nice", with his "nice" voice singing a series of traditional country ballads. And it does sound traditional, almost old fashioned, were it not for the bang up to date production values. But a couple of listens reveals the subtleties.
All of the songs were either written or co-written (only a couple) by Gill, so the sentiments behind the songs seem sincere and heartfelt. Take a look at the album credits, too, and you see the backing band is, put simply, the absolute cream of what Nashville has to offer, including Larry Franklin on fiddle, Glenn Worf on bass, Randy Scruggs, and more, and backing vocals from the likes of Sara Evans, Lee Ann Womack, Patty Loveless, and Faith Hill, among others.
That alone is testament to his status as the most popular musician, among musicians, in Nashville. An all round Nice Bloke, a Good Egg. He's played on over 500 other artists' records, so he has a few favours he can call in. And as for that nice voice, it's a good one, with just the right edge of emotion in it.
Gill never showboats and always plays for the song, so you don't get loads of loud guitar solos, which probably would have suited me no end. On the other hand, if you do listen to the playing on this record, it is all sublime, especially the pedal steel, played by John Hughey (nice web site, John).
My favourite track is probably Let Her In, which is a beautifully simple (3 chord) song with some lovely acoustic playing. And where else but country music would there be a song about asking your daughter to give her blessing to your new, post-divorce girlfriend?
posted by Anonymous at
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
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