These Days (Vince Gill album)

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	82/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com
AllMusic
The Austin Chronicle
Billboard	(favorable)
Entertainment Weekly	A−
Hartford Courant	(favorable)
The New York Times	(positive)
PopMatters

These Days is the eleventh studio album and the first box set by American country music 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. In 2012, the album was number 10 on People Magazine's "Top 10 Best Albums of the Century (So Far)". 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 from a 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" (featuring Alison Krauss) 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" (Gill, Al Anderson, Leslie Satcher) - 4:03
"Love’s Standin’" (Gill, Joe Henry, John Hobbs) - 4:05
"Cowboy Up" (featuring Gretchen Wilson) (Gill, Pete Wasner) - 4:00
"Sweet Thing" (Gill, Gary Nicholson) - 3:20
"Bet It All on You" (Gill, A. Anderson) - 4:26
"Nothin’ for a Broken Heart" (Duet w/Rodney Crowell) (Gill, A. Anderson) - 3:03
"Son of a Ramblin’ Man" (featuring Del McCoury Band) (Gill, A. Anderson) - 2:45
"Smilin’ Song" (featuring Michael McDonald) (Gill) - 2:59
"The Rhythm of the Pourin’ Rain" (featuring Bekka Bramlett) (Gill, Wasner) - 3:26
"Nothin’ Left to Say" (Gill, Billy Thomas) - 3:56

The Reason Why

"The Groovy Record"

"What You Don't Say" (with LeAnn Rimes) (Gill, Hobbs, Reed Nielsen) - 5:03
"The Reason Why" (with Alison Krauss) (Gill, Nicholson) - 2:50
"The Rock of Your Love" (with Bonnie Raitt) (Gill, A. Anderson, Satcher) - 3:51
"What You Give Away" (with Sheryl Crow) (Gill, A. Anderson) - 4:52
"Faint of Heart" (with Diana Krall) (Gill, A. Anderson) - 4:30
"Time to Carry On" (with Jenny Gill) (Gill, Wasner) - 4:09
"No Easy Way" (Gill, Nielsen) - 3:40
"This Memory of You" (with Trisha Yearwood) (Gill, A. Anderson, Hobbs) - 3:43
"How Lonely Looks" (Gill, Beverly W. Darnell) - 5:10
"Tell Me One More Time About Jesus" (with Amy Grant) (Gill, Grant) - 4:02
"Everything and Nothing" (with Katrina Elam) (Gill, Darnell, Kyle D. Matthews) - 4:02
"Which Way Will You Go" (Gill, Hobbs, Nielsen) - 4:11
"These Days" (Gill) - 3:55

Some Things Never Get Old

"The Country and Western Record"

"This New Heartache" (Gill) - 3:31
"The Only Love" (Gill, Nielsen) - 3:53
"Out of My Mind" (featuring Patty Loveless) (Gill, A. Anderson, Satcher) - 3:18
"The Sight of Me Without You" (Gill, A. Anderson, Hobbs) - 4:07
"I Can’t Let Go" (featuring Alison Krauss & Dan Tyminski) (Gill) - 3:28
"Don’t Pretend with Me" (Gill, A. Anderson, Satcher) - 2:32
"Some Things Never Get Old" (featuring Emmylou Harris) (Gill, A. Anderson, Tia Sillers) - 4:11
"Sweet Little Corrina" (featuring Phil Everly) (Gill, A. Anderson) - 2:52
"If I Can Make Mississippi" (featuring Lee Ann Womack) (Gill) - 3:44
"Take This Country Back" (Duet w/John Anderson) (Gill) - 3:37

Little Brother

"The Acoustic Record"

"All Prayed Up" (Gill) - 2:16
"Cold Gray Light of Gone" (featuring The Del McCoury Band) (Gill, Bill Anderson, Otto Kitsinger) - 4:03
"A River Like You" (featuring Jenny Gill) (Gill, Randy Albright, Mark D. Sanders) - 4:50
"Ace Up Your Pretty Sleeve" (Gill, Mark Germino) - 3:33
"Molly Brown" (Gill, Jim Waggoner) - 4:19
"Girl" (Guest Vocalist: Rebecca Lynn Howard) (Gill) - 4:30
"Give Me the Highway" (featuring The Del McCoury Band) (Gill) - 3:14
"Sweet Augusta Darlin’" (Gill) - 3:12
"Little Brother" (Gill) - 4:46
"Almost Home" (Duet w/Guy Clark) (Gill) - 5:19

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"
Charlie 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

Weekly charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	17
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)	4

Year-end charts

Chart (2007)	Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)	50

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)	Platinum	1,000,000
Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

"Critic Reviews for These Days". Metacritic. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
Bauman, Sue. "Vince Gill - These Days". About.com. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
Jurek, Thom. "These Days - Vince Gill". AllMusic. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
Jordan, Scott (December 8, 2006). "Vince Gill: These Days (MCA)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
Tunzi, Kristina. "These Days". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 9, 2007. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
Willman, Chris (October 20, 2006). "These Days Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
Kintner, Thomas (October 17, 2006). "Vince Gill Shows His Audacious Side". Hartford Courant. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
Friskics-Warren, Bill (October 15, 2006). "Just a Balladeer? A 43-Track Manifesto Testifies Otherwise". The New York Times. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
MacIntosh, Dan (December 17, 2006). "Vince Gill: These Days". PopMatters. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
Thompson, Gayle. "People's Top 10 Albums of the Century Includes Vince Gill CD". The Boot. March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
"The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, Conclusion: #10-#1 – Country Universe". Retrieved 2016-08-11.
Katie Hasty, "Diddy Scores First No. 1 Album In Nine Years", Billboard.com, October 25, 2006.
Artist chart history for Vince Gill (albums), Billboard.com.
"Vince Gill, TLP". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
"Vince Gill, CLP". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
"Top Country Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
"American album certifications – Vince Gill – These Days". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

These Days at Metacritic

v t e Vince Gill
Studio albums	The Things That Matter The Way Back Home When I Call Your Name Pocket Full of Gold I Still Believe in You When Love Finds You High Lonesome Sound The Key Let's Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye Next Big Thing These Days Guitar Slinger Bakersfield Down to My Last Bad Habit Okie
Compilation albums	Souvenirs Icon
Christmas albums	Let There Be Peace on Earth Breath of Heaven: A Christmas Collection
Extended plays	Turn Me Loose
Notable singles	"If It Weren't for Him" "Oklahoma Borderline" "Cinderella" "Let's Do Something" "Everybody's Sweetheart" "Never Alone" "Oklahoma Swing" "When I Call Your Name" "Never Knew Lonely" "Pocket Full of Gold" "Liza Jane" "Look at Us" "Take Your Memory with You" "I Still Believe in You" "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away" "No Future in the Past" "One More Last Chance" "Tryin' to Get Over You" "Whenever You Come Around" "What the Cowgirls Do" "When Love Finds You" "Which Bridge to Cross (Which Bridge to Burn)" "You Better Think Twice" "Go Rest High on That Mountain" "High Lonesome Sound" "Worlds Apart" "Pretty Little Adriana" "A Little More Love" "You and You Alone" "If You Ever Have Forever in Mind" "Don't Come Cryin' to Me" "My Kind of Woman/My Kind of Man" "Let's Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye" "Feels Like Love" "Next Big Thing"
Guest singles	"The Heart Won't Lie" "House of Love" "I Will Always Love You" "It's Not Over" "If You Ever Leave Me" "Building Bridges" "Don't Rush" "I Just Can't Help Believing" "Sober Saturday Night" "Dear Hate" "Heaven by Then"
Other songs	"Here We Are" "I Can't Tell You Why"
Related articles	Discography Awards and nominations Here Today Eagles Pure Prairie League The Time Jumpers The Notorious Cherry Bombs The Notorious Cherry Bombs

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