Pocket Full of Gold is one of
Vince Gill's straighter country recordings. Produced by
Tony Brown, it is steeped in bluegrass, country balladry from the '60s, and smoothed-out honky tonk, all done in
Gill's own chameleon-like yet trademark manner. The lineup speaks volumes about what's on the recording:
Herb Pedersen,
Richard Bennett,
Mac McAnally,
Barry Beckett,
Hargus "Pig" Robbins,
Willie Weeks,
Patty Loveless,
Billy Joe Walker, and
Larrie Londin are a few of the names offering this very distinct blend of styles that is all
Gill. The opener, "I Quit," is an uptempo shuffling honky tonk number, with stuttering Telecasters, and it's followed with "Just Look at Us," a gorgeous pedal steel whining love song.
Andrea Zonn's fiddle and
John Hughey's steel fuel another broken love song, but this one is a late-night barroom two-stepper. "Liza Jane" walks the line between hard country and rockabilly and features some smoking guitar work by
Gill, who also provides some of his flatpicking swagger in "A Little Left Over."
Gill wrote only about half the tunes on this set, which is unusual, but it was also fairly early in his career. Hit songwriter Max D. Barnes offered another three and maverick
Jim Lauderdale provided the burning Cajun-cum-rockabilly closer, "Sparkle." The set was a hit for
Gill, and deserved to be, because of its brilliant and sometimes dazzling mix of traditional styles. Records like this are what make him one of the music's most enduring artists. ~ Thom Jurek