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W hen country.artist Phil Vassar looks back
on his second release, 2002's American Girt,
he doesn't have many stories to tell about
the album. "The second album... I don't even
remember recording that album," Vassar said in a
2005 interview. "I really honestly don't remember
anything about it. I have no memory of it, really,
because we were so busy on the road. We'd come
home off the road, jump in the studio for 12
hours and jump back on the bus. That's no way
to cut a record."
Vassaris account of the second CO is not a
sign of any lapse in memory. In fact, he's cur
rently giving fans a trip back through his past—•
along with a taste of the present—on the newly
released CD Greatest Hits Volume 1. The album,
however, is not the typical best-of release. Yes,
it does include seven of Vassals biggest hits as
a solo act. But it's supplemented by five songs
that predate his 2000 self-titled debut album, as
well as three brand-new tunes.
But these "new" songs, however, newly
recorded by Vassar and his touring band, may
well ring a bell with country music fans; they're
songs Vassar wrote during his time as a full-time
songwriter on NashviHe's Music Row that were
recorded by other artists and became number one
country singles. Those tracks include "My Next
Thirty Years" and "For A Little While," both chart-
toppers for Tim McGraw; "Bye-Bye" and "I'm
Alright," both made famous by JoDee Messina;
and "Little Red Rodeo," a song that gave Collin
Raye a taste of chart-topping success.
Vassar, in a recent phone interview, says he
thinks the combination on Greatest Hits Volume 1
makes a lot of sense. "I think it was time to tidy
up my career and say, 'Look, here are my songs
as a writer and my songs as an artist, where I've
been and where I'm going,' and kind of rock it
into the next record," he says. "I think it's a re
ally cool deal."
Back when his early songs were being pitched
to top country artists, it appeared that songwrit
ing alone might be Vassal's future in country
music. A native of Lynchburg, VA, he moved to
Nashville in the mid-1980s hoping his songwrit
ing, vocal and instrumental skills would earn him
a record deal. Instead, he turned to songwriting
after he was turned down repeatedly.
It took Vassar plenty cf time to establish
himself as a songwriter. Crooner Englebert
Humperdinck became the first artist to record a
Vassar track when he cut "Once in a While" in
1996. But that taste of success started to get
Vassar noticed. Alan Jackson tried "Right on
the Money" on for size, and it became a number
one song (though it's nowhere to be found on
Greatest Hits Volume 1). Then came Messina re
cording "Bye Bye" and "I'm Alright" and McGraw
raiding the Vassar songbook to record "For A
Little While" and "My Next Thirty Years."
With this track record of hits, record labels
started getting very interested in Vassar, and in
2000, he signed with Arista Nashville. At first it
looked like Vassal's success as a songwriter might
quickly carry over to his recording career. His
first album spawned four top 10 singles, includ
ing the top hit "Just Another Day In Paradise."
But then came the misstep with American
Girl. Not wanting to miss that initial momentum,
Vassar says he rushed into the project unpre
pared. The album produced two top 10 singles
("This Is God" and the title song), but it wasn't
anything close to a blockbuster hit. If anything,
Vassar, who won the Academy of Country Music
award for top new male vocalist following the
release of his first CD, saw his career trajectory
level off a bit.
So, for third album Shaken Not Stirred, Vassar
was determined to make both the music and
the recording a memorable experience, which
meant giving himself the necessary time—six
months—to make the CD he envisioned. The ex
tra care paid off, as Shaken Not Stirred recaptured
much of Vassaris early career momentum. The CD
produced a number one single, "In A Real Love,"
as well as a top 20 hit in "I'll Take That As A Yes
(The Hot Tub Song)."
Now the Greatest Hits Volume 1 CD has only
enhanced Vassal's profile. One of the new songs
on the CD, "Last Day Of My Life," became Vassar's
fastest-charting single and reached number two
on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
Vassar has already started writing for his
next studio album and he thinks his most recent
material (including the new numbers on Greatest
Hits Volume 1) show he is continuing to grow as
a songwriter. "I'm really just writing better than
I've ever written," he says. "I feel the challenge,
and every day I wake up and I want to go out
and do it better than I did the day before. You
know what, I just feel like I'm on a roll."
Alan Sculley
WHO: Phil Vassar, Matt Moore
WHERE: Georgia Theatre
WHEN: Thursday, February 8
HOW MUCH: $15
V J
34 FLAGPOLE.COM • FEBRUARY 7,2007
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