Vince Gill - Down To My Last Bad Habit
Humphead Records 4768473
Vince Gill may no longer be the poster boy of America’s mainstream country radio playlists, but he is still making some of the best mainstream country music to come out of the Nashville studios—and he’s doing it on his own terms, oblivious to those dreaded radio playlists or the current trends and fads that dictate what we should be buying or listening to. A magical vocalist and stunning guitarist, he is a pure talent, both in terms of his writing and his ability to convey raw emotion vocally. Along with his rare charisma, he offers heavy doses of stomping country-rock, irresistible emotional balladry and classic honky-tonk. The dozen tracks here are billowing with possibility: there are moments of extreme sadness—I Can’t Do This is the plaintive howl of one man aching for the one woman he can’t have, his heart literally coming apart at the seams, yet the whole record hums with energy, glows with hope.
Gill’s talents shine within each carefully crafted song with plenty of space for him to demonstrate that his guitar sorcery is as powerful as ever, but it’s also the best songwriting of his career. Opener Reasons For The Tears I Cry highlights his stingingly fluid guitar lines and soulful vocals backed by a stellar cast of musicians. The title song, a co-write with Al Anderson, is a smoothly executed crying-in-your beer lament, whilst Me And My Girl is an easy-swaying remembrance of rural small-town life without a pick-up truck, cut-off jeans or a tail-gate in sight. Make You Feel Real Good is a surprising foray into untempered rock’n’roll, with a wailing guitar solo, bluesy piano and organ and wild harmonica courtesy of Kirk ‘Jelly Roll’ Johnson. One More Mistake I Made, a search for closure to the demise of a relationship, serves as a testament to moving on. Chris Botti’s haunting trumpet creeps in steady and strong lifting out of the lingering sorrow, while redemption soaked vocals with daughter Corrina adding ethereal harmonies as the pedal steel and electric guitar shuffle forward as if crawling out of the darkness. The pop-flavoured Take Me Down features background vocals by Little Big Town on this hypnotic tune that insinuates itself into your subconscious. Young newcomer Cam joins in vocally on I’ll Be Waiting For You a gorgeous steel-driven heartbreaker. He closes the album with the aptly titled Sad One Comin’ On (A Song For George Jones), a touching homage to the late singer who made a major impact on Vince and his music.
The breadth and range of this album is very impressive and the vocal work of Vince Gill is absolutely sublime He is accompanied by a cadre of all-star session players who bring a soulful intensity that matches his emotionally-charged vocals that are further enhanced by his two daughters Jenny and Corrina adding exquisite harmonies throughout. From honky-tonk heartache of classic country to winding jams, this is an album that defies easy categorisation … so just file under essential listening.
www.vincegill.com
Vince Gill may no longer be the poster boy of America’s mainstream country radio playlists, but he is still making some of the best mainstream country music to come out of the Nashville studios—and he’s doing it on his own terms, oblivious to those dreaded radio playlists or the current trends and fads that dictate what we should be buying or listening to. A magical vocalist and stunning guitarist, he is a pure talent, both in terms of his writing and his ability to convey raw emotion vocally. Along with his rare charisma, he offers heavy doses of stomping country-rock, irresistible emotional balladry and classic honky-tonk. The dozen tracks here are billowing with possibility: there are moments of extreme sadness—I Can’t Do This is the plaintive howl of one man aching for the one woman he can’t have, his heart literally coming apart at the seams, yet the whole record hums with energy, glows with hope.Gill’s talents shine within each carefully crafted song with plenty of space for him to demonstrate that his guitar sorcery is as powerful as ever, but it’s also the best songwriting of his career. Opener Reasons For The Tears I Cry highlights his stingingly fluid guitar lines and soulful vocals backed by a stellar cast of musicians. The title song, a co-write with Al Anderson, is a smoothly executed crying-in-your beer lament, whilst Me And My Girl is an easy-swaying remembrance of rural small-town life without a pick-up truck, cut-off jeans or a tail-gate in sight. Make You Feel Real Good is a surprising foray into untempered rock’n’roll, with a wailing guitar solo, bluesy piano and organ and wild harmonica courtesy of Kirk ‘Jelly Roll’ Johnson. One More Mistake I Made, a search for closure to the demise of a relationship, serves as a testament to moving on. Chris Botti’s haunting trumpet creeps in steady and strong lifting out of the lingering sorrow, while redemption soaked vocals with daughter Corrina adding ethereal harmonies as the pedal steel and electric guitar shuffle forward as if crawling out of the darkness. The pop-flavoured Take Me Down features background vocals by Little Big Town on this hypnotic tune that insinuates itself into your subconscious. Young newcomer Cam joins in vocally on I’ll Be Waiting For You a gorgeous steel-driven heartbreaker. He closes the album with the aptly titled Sad One Comin’ On (A Song For George Jones), a touching homage to the late singer who made a major impact on Vince and his music.
The breadth and range of this album is very impressive and the vocal work of Vince Gill is absolutely sublime He is accompanied by a cadre of all-star session players who bring a soulful intensity that matches his emotionally-charged vocals that are further enhanced by his two daughters Jenny and Corrina adding exquisite harmonies throughout. From honky-tonk heartache of classic country to winding jams, this is an album that defies easy categorisation … so just file under essential listening.
www.vincegill.com