Next Big Thing

1	Next Big Thing 3:23
2	She Never Makes Me Cry 3:58
3	Don't Let Her Get Away 3:09
4	Someday 3:41
5	These Broken Hearts 4:56
6	We Had It All 4:04
7	Young Man's Town 4:33
8	Real Mean Bottle 3:19
9	Whippoorwill River 5:48
10	The Sun's Gonna Shine on You 3:21
11	From Where I Stand 3:42
12	You Ain't Foolin' Nobody 3:51
13	Old Time Fiddle 2:50
14	Without You 3:11
15	Two Hearts 4:03
16	This Old Guitar and Me 3:53
17	In These Last Few Days 3:38

Barnes & Noble

With Next Big Thing, Vince Gill returns to a familiar theme -- exploring life experiences from a mature vantage point -- and plays to his strengths throughout. He sings with heat or with tenderness, as the moment requires, and does so beautifully throughout, and his guitar solos are both judiciously employed and expertly crafted. Beyond that, Gill, who co-produced the disc, mixes up the stylistic palette with intriguing results. The ballads -- notably the lush heartbreaker "These Broken Hearts" and the spare honky-tonk weeper "Two Hearts" -- are exquisitely realized for maximum tear-jerk. A honky-tonk piano, robust horn section, and rocking beat power the title track, a melodic but sarcastic take on the music biz's flavor-of-the-month mentality. Mid-tempo pop-country fuels "Young Man's Town," in which Gill echoes the title track's theme in admitting to feeling out of place in the scheme of things. On the Tejano-flavored "We Had It All," he frames an emotional lament over a failed love affair with gut-string guitar and traditional country fiddle as the rhythm section nails down a big beat. Cajun cooking adds spice to the party-hearty barn burner "Old Time Fiddle," while "Without You" travels a western swing route rich in twin fiddles and moaning pedal steel as Gill, barely containing his glee, sings a heartfelt litany of all the things he doesn't miss about his old flame ("Without you trying to change me/Without you trying to make me/Without you trying to break me/All I can see is me without you"). Like that song, Next Big Thing trades a lot on irony, and it deserves -- ironically -- to be the next big thing on Gill's resume. David McGee

All Music Guide

Vince Gill's studio offering following his paean to his new bride, Let's Make Sure We Kiss When We Say Goodbye, is one of the strongest recordings in a decade. Perhaps it's the freedom from the usual Nashville production bullsh*t -- Gill produced the album himself. His cast of players and singers is a veritable list of stars, including Emmylou Harris, Lee Ann Womack, the Doobie Brothers' Michael McDonald, life partner Amy Grant, Kim Keyes, Andrea Zonn, and Leslie Satcher. Famed producer and engineer Justin Niebank is at the mixing desk, and Gill's regular band propels a mixed bag of pop, boogie, swing, and neo-trad country tunes -- and odd for a Nash Vegas album, there are 17 of them, not ten or 12. Standout tracks are the rollicking title with its booming guitars; the mariachi-tinged "We Had It All"; the slow country stroll of "Young Man's Town," despite its sweeping strings and electric violin moan; and the stunning ballad "These Broken Hearts," with McDonald adding a depth of emotion rarely matched on Gill's records. There is also the Merle Haggard tribute "Real Mean Bottle" that features the opening guitar lines to "Mama Tried." But it's far from syrupy -- it's a tough song about a tougher, more visionary man than the singer could ever hope to be, sung in an unflinching manner. All of this said, there are the now-requisite Gill saccharine tracks such as "Whippoorwill River," an insufferable homage to his father that drowns in syrup. The hardcore honky tonk rock of "The Sun's Gonna Shine on You" is one of the strongest cuts on any Gill album, full of shuffling blues and rockabilly swagger. "Old Time Fiddle" is a cross-pollination of Cajun music and bluegrass that works surprisingly well considering how slick it is -- perhaps it's the layered accordions and the organic-sounding percussion. The album closes with "In These Last Few Days," another ballad; Gill always makes records that are at least 60/40 ballads to up-tempo tunes, and this track is that forlorn, bittersweet ballad that seems to close every record of his. But lyrically it's so strong and vulnerable that it works, leaving the listener haunted with the notion that something special has occurred, that he or she has born witness to a man becoming aware of the preciousness of his own life. In all, it's a strong effort. It's nice to see established artists reclaim control of their careers -- especially when the results are so rewarding. Thom Jurek