I believe the Country Music Association blew it last week when it handed its album of the year award to George Strait’s It Just Comes Natural.
Nothing against Strait: He is by all accounts a fine fellow, It Just Comes Natural is a likable album and Give It Away was a terrific single.
But CMA could have struck a blow for art over commerce by giving its award to the far more deserving Vince Gill, the mastermind of the audacious These Days.
These Days includes 43 songs either written or co-written by Gill that are spread over four CDs. The songs are divided along thematic lines and each of the CDs features a distinctive sound.
The album is jam-packed with guest artists, including Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless, Gretchen Wilson, Diana Krall, Bonnie Raitt, Rodney Crowell and his wife, Amy Grant, and they all add their own distintice touch in service of the songs.
And the songs are great; there’s not a stinker in the lot. But the guests are not the reason to buy the album; the true stars are Gill’s songwriting, singing and guitar playing.
It all comes in a sumptuous package and is reasonably priced (Amazon is selling it for $21.97, about five bucks a disc).
That this album ever saw the light of day is a miracle. Hats off to MCA Nashville for releasing it.
It is the crowning achievement of Gill’s stellar career and is an album for ages.
It deserves to be recognized as such. Maybe the Grammys will get it right.
Yeah, like that’s going to happen.
