Let’s Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye

After his bluegrass years and a spell fronting the later Pure Prairie League, Vince Gill began his solo career in 1983. His sweet voice helped make him one of sophisticated country’s defining singers, and his success eventually reached superstar proportions. Yet that achievement was no accident. His singing remains deeply rooted in the American South, and he is also a formidable guitarist: an artist who possesses several kinds of gift at once.

This 2000 collection is particularly distinguished among his country albums by its elegance and good taste. Newly married to Amy Grant, who also appears, Gill offers a set of love songs of his own writing. Mac McAnally and Willie Weeks bring support with links to pop, while Dann Huff and contemporary country’s best players shape the production.

Gill can sometimes become overly smooth or mannered, but this record avoids that trap. A heartfelt singing voice seems to pour out its single-minded love for one person; that directness is what stays with you.