Not too long ago, Clint Black had his old friend and renowned country musician, Vince Gill, on his show Talking In Circles With Clint Black. The two had an incredibly insightful conversation regarding music. However, it reached a whole other level when Black revealed why he listens to other artists so consistently. In short, he does it for the betterment of his own music. Black’s comments got Vince Gill to think about how his own records play a role in his life now that he is older and somewhat detached from his older work.
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“I go back and look at my records and I don’t like a lot of them,” Vince Gill revealed on the show. “You know, I like some of them, but I don’t like them all.”
Given that Gill is a 22-time Grammy winner and a perfectionist, it’s no surprise that he can identify some flaws in his music.
Vince Gill Is His Own Worst Critic
“I don’t like every song, I don’t like every record, I think that’s part of the process,” he continued.
Gill’s talent does not come from musically plateauing. Rather, it comes from the constant chase of perfection and bettering one’s former self. Hence, he is critical of his own work because as a musician, he has seemingly changed so much since he released those early-career albums.
Thanks to Gill’s comment about his songs, Black asked him to “tell us which ones we shouldn’t listen to.”
“Oh, they’re very obvious,” Gill laughed.
To fans, that is hard to believe. Still, Gill’s ears and mind are far more critical than the folks who love his songs “Liza Jane” and “New Kid In Town”.
Again, to the average listener, there are few blemishes or imperfections in Gill’s music. But to someone like Gill, even the most minuscule detail seemingly rubs him the wrong way.
“I listen to an old record, and I won’t like the snare sound, or I won’t like the reverb,” Gill admitted. “You should get better, the more you do it.”
With anything, practice makes perfect. Thus, Gill, who is now in his 60s, thinks he’s gotten tremendously better with age. His laundry list of accolades from early in his career might disagree. However, we’ll leave it to the man himself to express his talent in a candid and entirely unbiased fashion.
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