Be Here

Be Here
Original cover
Studio album by Keith Urban
Released 21 September 2004
Recorded 2004
Genre Country
Length 56:20
Label Capitol Nashville
Producer Dann Huff
Keith Urban
Keith Urban chronology
Golden Road
(2002)		 Be Here
(2004)		 Days Go By
(2005)
Australian cover
Singles from Be Here
  1. "Days Go By"
    Released: 29 June 2004
  2. "You're My Better Half"
    Released: 25 October 2004
  3. "Making Memories of Us"
    Released: 21 March 2005
  4. "Better Life"
    Released: 30 July 2005
  5. "Tonight I Wanna Cry"
    Released: 21 November 2005
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Rolling Stone[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB[3]

Be Here is the fourth studio album by New Zealand-born Australian country singer Keith Urban. It was released on September 21, 2004 via Capitol Nashville. With four million copies sold, the album is not only Urban's best-selling album, but also one of the best-selling albums in America by an Australian artist.

The album produced three number 1 singles on the Hot Country Songs chart with "Days Go By", "Making Memories of Us" and "Better Life", as well as the number 2 hits "You're My Better Half" and "Tonight I Wanna Cry". The song "Live to Love Another Day" also peaked at number 48 on the country charts, even though it was not released as a single. The album also includes a cover of Elton John's "Country Comfort", which appeared on his 1970 album Tumbleweed Connection.

Content

"Making Memories of Us", written by Rodney Crowell, was originally recorded by Tracy Byrd on his 2003 album The Truth About Men. It was also recorded by Crowell himself, along with his backing band The Notorious Cherry Bombs, on their 2004 self-titled album. Nine of the album's songs were written by Urban. Urban produced the tracks "God's Been Good to Me" and "Live to Love Another Day" himself, and then he co-produced the rest of the tracks with Dann Huff.[4]

"Country Comfort" is a cover of a track from Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection.

Critical reception

The album has received positive reviews from Allmusic,[1] BBC,[5] Entertainment Weekly,[3] and Rolling Stone.[2] Three tracks from the album, "Days Go By", "Making Memories of Us", and "Tonight I Want to Cry" were included in an About.com ranking of Urban's top ten songs.[6]

Be Here received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Album.[7]

Commercial performance

The album was certified 4× Platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[8] and remains as Urban's best-selling album to date, with sales of 3,639,000 copies in the United States, as of July 2009;[9] it also reached number 8 on the Canadian album chart, number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Albums chart and number 3 on the Billboard 200.

Artwork

Two covers exist on this album. The first cover shipped with a color photograph of Urban sitting at a table at a coffee shop. This image is also featured on Urban's 2005 compilation album, Days Go By. The second cover, for the Australian release, shipped with a monochrome photograph of Urban driving a car.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Days Go By"Keith Urban, Monty Powell3:44
2."Better Life"Urban, Richard Marx4:43
3."Making Memories of Us"Rodney Crowell4:11
4."God's Been Good to Me"Urban3:38
5."The Hard Way"Rivers Rutherford, Gordie Sampson4:37
6."You're My Better Half"Urban, John Shanks4:12
7."Tonight I Wanna Cry"Urban, Powell4:19
8."She's Gotta Be"Urban, Powell4:52
9."Nobody Drinks Alone"Matraca Berg, Jim Collins5:21
10."Country Comfort" (Elton John cover)Elton John, Bernie Taupin4:23
11."Live to Love Another Day"Urban, Darrell Brown3:29
12."These Are the Days"Urban, Powell2:49
Total length:56:20

Personnel

  • Tim Akers – accordion (tracks 1, 7), keyboards (1-3, 6-7, 10), Hammond organ (9), piano (3)
  • Charlie Bisharat – violin (tracks 8-9)
  • Bruce Bouton – dobro guitar (track 9), steel guitar (11)
  • Paul Buckmaster – string conductor, string arrangements (tracks 8-9)
  • Denyse Buffum – viola (tracks 8-9)
  • Tom Bukovac – acoustic guitar (track 12), electric guitar (2-7, 10), slide guitar (7), wah wah guitar (7), additional guitars (1, 3, 8-9, 11, 13)
  • Paul Bushnell – bass guitar (tracks 3, 5, 9, 11)
  • Matt Chamberlain – drums (tracks 3, 5, 9, 11), percussion (3, 5, 9)
  • Larry Corbett – cello (tracks 8-9)
  • Eric Darken – percussion (tracks 1-2, 6-8, 10-11, additional: 3)
  • Bruce Dukov – violin (tracks 8-9)
  • Matt Funes – viola (tracks 8-9)
  • Armen Garabedian – violin (tracks 8-9)
  • Berj Garabedian – violin (tracks 8-9)
  • Endre Granat – violin (tracks 8-9)
  • Paula Hochhalter – cello (tracks 8-9)
  • Dann Huff – acoustic 12-string guitar (track 3), electric guitar (6), mandolin (1, 11)
  • Suzie Katayama – cello (tracks 8-9)
  • Peter Kent – violin (tracks 8-9)
  • Steven King – accordion (track 13)
  • Natalie Leggett – violin (tracks 8-9)
  • Chris McHugh – drums (tracks 1-2, 4, 6-8, 10, 12-13), percussion (4, 12)
  • Robert Matsuda – violin (tracks 8-9)
  • Steve Nathan – piano (track 8)
  • Jimmy Nichols – keyboards (5), piano (11), synthesizer strings (9)
  • Sara Parkins – violin (tracks 8-9)
  • Bob Peterson – violin (tracks 8-9)
  • Steve Richards – cello (tracks 8-9)
  • Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass guitar (tracks 1-2, 4, 6-8, 10, 12-13)
  • Dan Smith – cello (tracks 8-9)
  • Charles Stegeman – violin (tracks 8-9)
  • Rachel Stegeman – violin (tracks 8-9)
  • Rudy Stein – cello (tracks 8-9)
  • Russell Terrell – background vocals (tracks 1-3, 5-7, 9-10, 13)
  • Chris Thile – mandolin (track 9)
  • Keith Urban – banjo (tracks 2, 4, 6-7, 11-13), e-bow (1, 5), acoustic 12-string guitar (3), acoustic guitar (1-7, 9-13), electric guitar (1-7, 9-12), hand clapping, mandolin (7, 13), slide guitar (4), lead vocals (All tracks), background vocals (tracks 1-10, 12-13, harmony: 11)
  • Josefina Vergara – violin (tracks 8-9)
  • Evan Wilson – viola (tracks 8-9)
  • Jonathan Yudkin – cello (track 3), fiddle (1, 13)

Charts

Album

Chart (2004) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart (ARIA)[10] 11
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[11] 8
US Billboard 200[12] 3
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[13] 1

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions
US Country US US AC US Adult AUS NL
2004 "Days Go By" 1 31 — — 56 99
"You're My Better Half" 2 33 — — 34 —
2005 "Making Memories of Us" 1 34 5 22 54 —
"Better Life" 1 44 — — — —
"Tonight I Wanna Cry"[A] 2 36 — — 72 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Footnotes

Certifications

Region Certification
Australia (ARIA)[15] 3× Platinum
Canada (Music Canada)[16] 2× Platinum
United States (RIAA)[17] 4× Platinum

Release history

Country Date Label
Canada[18] 21 September 2004 Capitol Nashville
United States[19]
Australia[20] 30 November 2004

References

  1. 1 2 Allmusic review
  2. 1 2 review
  3. 1 2 Alanna Nash (September 24, 2004). "Be Here". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  4. ↑ Be Here (CD booklet). Keith Urban. Capitol Records. 2004. 77489.
  5. ↑ Sue Keogh (2004). "Keith Urban Be Here Review". BBC. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  6. ↑ Sean Dooley. "Top 10 Keith Urban Songs". About.com. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Grammy Award nominees in top categories". USA Today. December 7, 2004. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ "American album certifications – Keith Urban – Be Here". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  9. ↑ "Chart Watch Extra: The Top 20 New Acts Of The 2000s". Chart Watch. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  10. ↑ "australian-charts.com - Keith Urban - Be Here". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "Keith Urban Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  12. ↑ "Keith Urban Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  13. ↑ "Keith Urban Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.
  14. ↑ "Issue 1123" (PDF, reprint). ARIA report. ARIA (1123): 4. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  15. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  16. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Keith Urban – Be Here". Music Canada.
  17. ↑ "American album certifications – Keith Urban – Be Here". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  18. ↑ "Be Here by Keith Urban". iTunes Store (CA). Apple Inc. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  19. ↑ "Be Here by Keith Urban". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  20. ↑ "Amazon.com: Keith Urban: Be Here: Music". Amazon Music. Amazon.com. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
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