I Still Believe in You (CD - 1992)

Personnel: Vince Gill (vocals, guitar); Andrea Zonn (vocals, fiddle); Randy Scruggs (acoustic guitar); Steuart Smith (electric guitar); John Hughey (steel guitar); Steve Nathan (organ); Pete Wasner, John Barlow Jarvis (keyboards); Willie Weeks (bass); Carlos Vega (drums); Vicki Hampton, Bob Bailey, Yvonne Hodges, Kim Fleming, Harry Stinson, Billy Thomas, Dawn Sears (background vocals).

Personnel: Vince Gill (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, background vocals); Randy Scruggs, Richard Bennett (acoustic guitar); Steuart Smith (electric guitar); John Hughey (steel guitar); Andrea Zonn (fiddle, background vocals); Delbert McClinton (harmonica); John Barlow Jarvis, Pete Wasner (keyboards); Carlos Vega (drums); Dawn Sears, Harry Stinson, Lou Reed, Vicki Hampton, Billy Thomas, Kim Fleming, Bob Bailey, Yvonne Hodges (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: John Guess.

Recording information: Masterfonics Studio 6; Sound Stage Studios, Nashville, TN.

Photographer: Victoria Pearson-Cameron.

Unknown Contributor Role: John Hughey.

Vince Gill had already enjoyed country success before 1992's I Still Believe in You, but it was the album's four number one singles and almost immediate platinum status that assured the honey-voiced performer's fame and staying power. Gill's delivery is as smooth as the glass surface of a secluded mountain swimming hole, shifting from promise and pain to love and loneliness with easy charm and the occasional touch of his high lonesome background ("No Future in the Past," "Say Hello"). The title track fairly glows with slow-cooked soul, while "Don't Let Our Love Slip Away" nods along on a late-'70s contemporary country vibe. The whole affair is so gosh darn flawless it's impossible not to like. After all, how can you fault a guy with mainstream marketability who's also a talented session guitar player, songwriter, and the owner of one of Nashville's best voices? ~ Johnny Loftus

Vince Gill has the ability to create all kinds of moods, recording albums that are exciting listens from beginning to end. I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU is his crowning achievement, and an album that will be hard to top. On it, Gill gives an intensely direct performance, his searing tenor ripping into the soul, heart, and mind of the listener. "I Still Believe In You" is one of those instant classics, offering an uplifting message of strength; THE love song for our troubled times. And those notes he hits...

Old country messages are thrown aside on this very '90s, "new traditional" gem. I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU rejects the usual stances on staple country topics like adultery ("Under These Conditions") and smooth-talking hustlers ("Pretty Words"). Traditional textures are also brought back in a modern setting, as in the bluegrass hill sound of "Pretty Words," and on "No Future In The Past" with its piercing, keening chorus. "Say Hello" is an old-timey Texas shuffle; "Nothing Like A Woman" sounds like it was retrieved from '60s soul vault; and those notes he hits...

There are chart-toppers aplenty here--the heartfelt plea of "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away," the tormented "Tryin' To Get Over You," the carefree rollick that is "One More Last Chance." I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU shows why Vince Gill is so respected by his peers as a songwriter and musician. And those notes he hits... minimize