Review--"Guitarslinger"--Vince Gill

It's been five years since Vince Gill has released a CD; though you'd never know it listening to his latest offering, "Guitarslinger".

From the opening title track through the rest of the twelve songs, this CD flows as smoothly as Gill's voice, while still having wide variety in both music and subject matter.

The title track is an upbeat, almost rockish tune, that weaves a story of the floods in Nashville last year, Vince meeting Amy Grant, and other things that have happened in his life.

"When the Lady Sings the Blues" mixes country with a heavy dose of, you guessed it, the blues. Amongst the other CD song selections, this tune is right at home.

The current single, "Threaten Me with Heaven", is truly pure Vince Gill at his best. It's the type of song listeners expect from Gill, and he definitely doesn't disappoint anyone with his delivery.

It would probably be easier to list songs that fall a bit short of the rest of the music on "Guitarslinger", for instance, "If I Die". Though it fits well with the other songs, it doesn't seem to make the same impact as the others do. Yet, at the same time, "If I Die" really is a good song. That's how good "Guitarslinger" is, even the more lackluster songs are still great.

Though it's been five years, Vince Gill's latest CD is worth the wait and sure to be a classic. I'd rate it one of the best CD's of 2011.

Vince Gill @ the Bing Lounge-October 15, 2011

There are so many things I want to say about Vince Gill's performance in the Bing Lounge on October 15, 2011; though if I had to use only one word, it would be AWESOME!

Anyone who listens to country knows Gill is a living legend; you wouldn't know it to see and meet him though.

When the show got started Vince walked on stage in his faded camo pants, and baggy sweatshirt, sat down and started talking and playing songs for the audience. Throughout the show, I kept thinking how different this performance was than others in the Bing Lounge.

Sure, there's been a lot of great musicians on the Monster Energy stage, and to me, everyone I've had the chance to meet has always been kind; this time was just different somehow.

Then it hit me; the difference was the "feel" of the place. Shows in the Bing Lounge are naturally intimate, it's a small venue. The difference this time, to me, was it felt more like everyone was kicked back in the living room at home, while someone was singing. It could be any living room anywhere, and the singer could be a friend of the host of the party. In this case the "living room" was the Bing Lounge, and the "host" was KUPL.

I think a big part of that is Vince didn't "act" like a living legend, or even a star; he was just another one of the guys in the standing room only crowd that day.

I was happy to hear Vince do his latest single, "Threaten Me with Heaven". I love this song; it's classic Gill through and through.


Another new song Gill performed was the title track to his new CD, "Guitarslinger". He explained to the audience that the song combines many aspects of his life and career, like meeting his wife, Amy Grant.


Though Vince didn't have time to do every hit he's had, he did do "Go Rest High on That Mountain". He mentioned that though the song isn't the biggest hit he's had, it's the song that he'll always be remembered for, in his opinion.


As I said at the beginning of this post, Vince Gill was awesome in the Bing Lounge. Though I didn't hear all his hits, I did get the chance to meet this living legend and I'm very grateful for that. It's definitely something I'll never forget.