These Days (Vince Gill album)
These Days is the eleventh studio album and the first box set by country artist Vince Gill. Consisting of 43 original songs spanning four discs, the album displays the range of Gill’s lyrical and musical styles, ranging from traditional country and bluegrass to jazz and rock. The album was nominated for two Grammy Awards including Album of the Year and won Best Country Album. The album is currently number 10 on People Magazine's "Top 10 Best Albums of the Century ". It is also ranked #9 on Country Universe's "The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade."
History
To accompany him on this undertaking, Gill turned both to artists he knew and had worked with before and to those whose music he admired froma distance. "I never try to fill up my records with famous people," Gill says. "I try to fill them up with the most talented people I can find on the face of the earth." By the time the project was completed, that group included Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Diana Krall, Rodney Crowell, Patty Loveless, Phil Everly, the Del McCoury Band, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, John Anderson, Lee Ann Womack, Jenny Gill, Amy Grant, LeAnn Rimes, Gretchen Wilson, Guy Clark, Trisha Yearwood, Bekka Bramlett, Michael McDonald, steel-guitarist Buddy Emmons and many other musical standouts.
Initially, Gill planned to pare down the songs to a single album. Then, in one of the studios he used, he spotted some Beatles memorabilia and recalled that the Fab Four had routinely released multiple albums within the same year.
The album debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 at number 17, with 42,000 copies sold in its first week. This was also the album's peak position on the chart.
Singles
Three singles were released from this album, of which two were duets. The first single, "The Reason Why" reached #28 on the Hot Country Songs charts; following it was "What You Give Away", which featured Sheryl Crow and peaked at #43. The third single, "How Lonely Looks", failed to chart.Track listing
''Workin' on a Big Chill''
"The Rockin' Record"- "Workin’ on a Big Chill"
- "Love’s Standin’"
- "Cowboy Up"
- "Sweet Thing"
- "Bet It All on You"
- "Nothin’ for a Broken Heart"
- "Son of a Ramblin’ Man"
- "Smilin’ Song"
- "The Rhythm of the Pourin’ Rain"
- "Nothin’ Left to Say"
''The Reason Why''
- "What You Don't Say"
- "The Reason Why"
- "The Rock of Your Love"
- "What You Give Away"
- "Faint of Heart"
- "Time to Carry On"
- "No Easy Way"
- "This Memory of You"
- "How Lonely Looks"
- "Tell Me One More Time About Jesus"
- "Everything and Nothing"
- "Which Way Will You Go"
- "These Days"
''Some Things Never Get Old''
- "This New Heartache"
- "The Only Love"
- "Out of My Mind"
- "The Sight of Me Without You"
- "I Can’t Let Go"
- "Don’t Pretend with Me"
- "Some Things Never Get Old"
- "Sweet Little Corrina"
- "If I Can Make Mississippi"
- "Take This Country Back"
''Little Brother''
- "All Prayed Up"
- "Cold Gray Light of Gone"
- "A River Like You"
- "Ace Up Your Pretty Sleeve"
- "Molly Brown"
- "Girl"
- "Give Me the Highway"
- "Sweet Augusta Darlin’"
- "Little Brother"
- "Almost Home"
Personnel
- John Anderson - duet vocals on "Take This Country Back"
- Eddie Bayers - drums
- Bekka Bramlett - background vocals on "The Rhythm of the Pourin' Rain"
- Tom Britt - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, gut string guitar, slide guitar
- Mike Bub - upright bass
- Tom Bukovac - electric guitar
- Guy Clark - duet vocals on "Almost Home"
- Lisa Cochran - background vocals
- Jim Cox - Hammond B-3 organ
- Chad Cromwell - drums, tambourine
- Sheryl Crow - duet vocals on "What You Give Away"
- Rodney Crowell - duet vocals on "Nothin' for a Broken Heart"
- Charles Cushman - banjo
- Eric Darken - bells, chimes, percussion, tambourine, vibraphone
- Jerry Douglas - dobro
- Mark Douthit - tenor saxophone
- Stuart Duncan - fiddle
- Katrina Elam - duet vocals on "Everything and Nothing"
- Buddy Emmons - steel guitar
- Phil Everly - duet vocals on "Sweet Little Corrina"
- Paul Franklin - dobro, steel guitar
- Benny Garcia - choir
- Jenny Gill - background vocals on "Time to Carry On" and "A River Like You"
- Vince Gill - choir, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, resonator guitar, guitar sound effects, mandolin, soloist, lead vocals, background vocals
- Carl Gorodetzky - concert master
- Amy Grant - duet vocals on "Tell Me One More Time About Jesus"
- Barry Green - trombone
- Emmylou Harris - duet vocals on "Some Things Never Get Old"
- Mike Haynes - trumpet
- Wes Hightower - background vocals
- John Hobbs - choir, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3 organ, piano, Wurlitzer
- Jim Hoke - harmonica
- Jim Horn - baritone saxophone, horn arrangements
- Rebecca Lynn Howard - duet vocals on "Girl"
- John Hughey - steel guitar
- Sonya Isaacs - background vocals
- Kim Keyes - background vocals
- Diana Krall - piano and duet vocals on "Faint of Heart"
- Alison Krauss - background vocals on "The Reason Why" and "I Can't Let Go"
- Patty Loveless - background vocals on "Out of My Mind"
- Del McCoury - acoustic guitar and background vocals on "Son of a Ramblin' Man", "Cold Gray Light of Gone", and "Give Me the Highway"
- Rob McCoury - banjo on "Son of a Ramblin' Man", "Cold Gray Light of Gone", and "Give Me the Highway"
- Ronnie McCoury - mandolin on "Son of a Ramblin' Man", "Cold Gray Light of Gone", and Give Me the Highway"
- Michael McDonald - duet vocals on "Smilin' Song"
- Gene Miller - background vocals
- Doug Moffet - baritone saxophone
- The Nashville String Machine - strings
- Justin Niebank - choir
- Calvin Nowell - choir
- Michael Omartian - horn arrangements
- Williams Owsley III - background vocals
- Desmond Pringle - choir
- Bonnie Raitt - duet vocals on "The Rock of Your Love"
- Jon Randall - background vocals
- Drea Rhenee - choir
- Michael Rhodes - bass guitar, upright bass
- LeAnn Rimes - duet vocals on "What You Don't Say"
- Leslie Satcher - background vocals
- Dawn Sears - background vocals
- Steuart Smith - electric guitar
- Billy Thomas - drums, background vocals
- Dan Tyminski - background vocals on "I Can't Let Go"
- Billy Joe Walker Jr. - electric guitar
- Pete Wasner - Hammond B-3 organ, piano, electric piano, synthesizer, Wurlitzer
- Jeff White - acoustic guitar, background vocals
- Gretchen Wilson - duet vocals on "Cowboy Up"
- Lee Ann Womack - background vocals on "If I Can Make Mississippi"
- Trisha Yearwood - duet vocals on "This Memory of You"
- Andrea Zonn - background vocals
Chart performance