Vince Gill once sang "there's no future in the past."

But now at the ripe old age - for a musician anyway - of 45, Gill seems to be tackling not only the past, but also looking ahead to his own future in country with his new album "Next Big Thing."

The Oklahoman mixes it up stylistically between honky tonkers, ballads, a Spanish touch here, a Cajun bent there and lots of his usual powerful guitar work and tenor voice.

But from the get go of the title and lead-off track, Gill seems to be reflecting not only on his career in Music City, a career that has afforded him numerous awards and huge hits, but also the difficulty of staying at the top.

"For a little while you can do no wrong," sings Gill in the title track song he wrote with Al Anderson and John Hobbs, "Well live it up, son, 'cause it don't last long/There's always somebody waitin' in the wings/Thinkin' they're gonna be the next big thing."

While it would be easy to think that Gill is inward looking, Gill takes a different tack.

"'Next Big Thing' definitely has got a humorous element to it," says Gill in a telephone interview from Nashville. "It was meant to make you laugh. 'Get a bellybutton ring and lose weight.' (Gill has had his moments where he's been a lot heavier than he would have liked and recently dropped about 30 pounds.) It's making fun of myself. It 's just telling the truth because that's telling what happens. Our culture (says) 'the next big thing is this, and it's not that any more. It's this'. It changes and changes and changes. To be able to laugh about that is fun."

Gill also seems to be looking at his past on "Young Man's Town," a song he wrote by himself.

"You wake up one morning, and it's passed you by
You don't know when, and you don't know why
You feel like an old memory hangin' 'round
Man you gotta face it - it's a young man's town
You knew this day was comin' all along
So why bitch and moan and say they've done you wrong
Just teach 'em what you know, and pass it on down
'Cause man, you gotta face it - it's a young man's town"

Gill describes "Young Man's Town" as a "little more poignant. It's a little more about life. At some point, the next generation is going to come along and take your spot whether it be the music business, the insurance business...I've been cast aside. Now what do I do?"

"I used to hate to hear to hear people be bitter when the young one's come along and take that slot," says Gill. "You got to give them a chance if you want them to continue and pass it down."

"It's kind of coming grips with the truth," says Gill of the song.

Gill says that in thinking about recording "Next Big Thing," he wanted to change direction from his previous two efforts, "Let's Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye" from 2002 and "The Key" from 2000.

"I think my last two records, I enjoyed them, and I'm glad I made them, and I love what they did for me personally" says Gill. "I just felt like it was time to dust off my imagination as a songwriter. Bring some humor back. Cut loose on the guitar. Just kind of get it all over the map again to people would listen to and say it's Vince, but it's not Vince. I like being a bit of a chameleon."

"I think it was as a conscious effort on my part like with "The Key." That record was really traditional country music. It never wavered from that. It was a familiar feel to country music's past. I kind of longed to hear that as much as anything. I knew going in they're not playing tons of traditional country music these days. I went through the process of losing my father and all the traditional records we grew up on. It was a somewhat a personal record. It met with not a lot of desire to get played (on radio). I kind of let slide things a little more on the contemporary side with the next record. It was not the majority (of the music). The next record was kind of up and fun and (done by) a happy guy (who) fell in love and had songs about it. And it just didn't have the blues side to it that people like most about my record." '

Gill is referring to his marriage to Christian/pop singer Amy Grant after his divorce from his first wife, Janis and later had a child. The music is decidedly upbeat and not overly hard country.

"I'm a lot more at peace today than maybe at years' past. I felt like I could get my imagination back and write songs about all kinds of things."

Another change is that Gill self-produced mainly because long-time producer Tony Brown left his perch as head of MCA to start his own label.

While Gill tackles different musical styles on "Next Big Thing," it's clear he has a love for country music's past.

That perhaps is never as evident as "Real Mean Bottle," a tribute to Merle Haggard, who penned the classic "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down."

"I was having a conversation with Harold Bradley, who's probably the most recorded guitarist in history," says Gill. "He's done a session with Hank Williams Sr. They did this one song, and he went up to Hank after, and he said, 'that may have been the saddest song I've ever heard.' He said, 'that was a real mean bottle that wrote that song.'"

"I thought that was a real neat phrase. I thought for me, to make it honest, I should write it about Merle. As I grew up, that's the guy when I was growing up I thought was the greatest. I didn't know Hank Williams' music growing up because I was too young."

What is it about the Hag that captivates Gill?

"First of all, he's the greatest singer, the greatest phraser, and then on top of that, his songs are really poetic," Gill says. "They really speak to me in a big way. I always thought he was brilliant songwriter. He sang and phrased better than anybody."

The two met for the first time in about 1980. Gill was playing at Red Rocks in Denver with Emmylou Harris, while Haggard was on a tour of honky tonks.

"We went and piled in the car and went to a club to meet Merle," says Gill. "His wife at the time had recorded one of my songs." That would be Lenora who recorded "I'm Almost Ready."

While Gill may look to folks like Haggard for musical inspiration, his first came right at home.

Born in Oklahoma City, both of Gill's parents were into country. Both parents played or sang. "He played a little guitar and a little banjo," Gill says of his father, who was a lawyer and later became a judge. "Just enough to sing along to. She played the harmonica."

Gill did not gain his prowess through lessons. "Not much. I took a few lessons once I got to junior high school, high school. That didn't last. I found it easier to listen to the records by ear. I kind of regretted it (later)."

By the time Gill was a teenager, he learned how to play his father's banjo and guitar. He also played publicly with his father.

While in high school, he joined with brother Bob in a bluegrass band, Mountain Smoke. "We did a little bit of travelling around in Oklahoma, Texas, playing festivals and things like that."

The band made one record, but Gill says, "Good luck finding it. We did it ourselves."

And while truth may seem stranger than fiction, Mountain Smoke also opened one gig for Kiss. (of course, the current band Hayseed Dixie just released a Kiss tribute album done bluegrass style, so maybe Gill was before his time)

"It was just hysterical, seeing a bluegrass band come out and open for Kiss," Gill says. "The folks didn't like it."

"I knew who they were," says Gill of Kiss. "I don't know that I had too many of their records."

Gill apparently impressed some with his picking skills. He received a call to join Bluegrass Alliance, which include a few folks who later made a name for themselves in bluegrass, Sam Bush and Dan Crary.

A year later, he joined fiddler Byron Berline and his group Sundance. He made the move to Los Angeles in 1976 to join Berline and stayed out west for seven years.

Gill joined Pure Prairie League in 1979, a band known for hits like "Two Lane Highway" and "Amie."

Apparently it was dumb luck that Gill even joined. The band was having auditions, and Gill went with a friend who was trying out. Gill just wanted to see if the PPL members remembered him from the time Mountain Smoke opened for them.

They did and asked Gill to join as lead singer.

Gill recorded three albums with the group, which saw its career pick up a bit with Gill aboard.

During his time in LA, Gill also became involved with a local singer, Janis Oliver. They married three years later. Oliver had a pretty fair career going of her own going as one-half of Sweethearts of the Rodeo with her sister, Kristine.

Also while out in La La Land, Gill hooked up with Rodney Crowell, who saw Gill play with Berline and Sundance. In the early 1980s, Crowell formed his own band the Cherry Bombs, which included pianist Tony Brown and bassist Emory Gordy Jr. plus Gill.

Brown soon joined RCA Records in Nashville, accepting a job to search for new talent.

The Gills left the West Coast for Nashville in 1983 to further their respective careers.

Brown inked Gill to RCA in 1984, but bolted for MCA before recording with Gill.

Gill ended up recording three discs with RCA: an EP "Turn Me Loose," "The Things That Matter" and "I Never Knew Lonely."

Gill's first four singles never made it higher than 32 on the Billboard charts, but a duet with Rosanne Cash, "If It Weren't For Him," cracked the top 10 in 1985. His career seemed on the rise with airplay for such songs as "Oklahoma Borderline," a song Gill still often plays in concert, "Cinderella" and "Everybody's Sweetheart," a tongue-in-cheek kind of song about his wife's band, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, who were much more successful at that point than Gill.

Gill was not exactly thrilled how his career was going. "Everybody was frustrated. I was frustrated. The record company was frustrated. You can play. You can sing. It's not translating. You got to have the right songs at the right time. It's that simple. Finally the right song came at the right time. I don't think they did anything wrong, and I don't think they thought I did anything wrong."

Gill wasn't sitting home staring at the ceiling waiting for his break.

"I was doing a lot of sessions (playing on other people's albums). I was making neat records that I liked."

Gill also remained resolved to his own career. "Where they would end up on the totem pole as far as how many they sold, that was not the deal breaker for me, that was I was never going to bag it. I was going to keep trying as long as they let me."

In 1989, Gill made a label change that also changed his career. He signed with MCA with Brown still there. His first album for the label, "Never Knew Lonely," was the one that broke him.

A duet with Patty Loveless, one of several they have recorded together, "When I Call Your Name," hit number two on the charts in 1990. The Country Music Association voted it single of the year. He also had a big hit with the title track.

But this almost didn't happen because Gill was asked by Mark Knopfler to join his British rootsy band Dire Straits in 1989 or 1990.

"I did (consider it) a little bit. I am just a major of fan of his. He's a major player. I had just recorded my first record for MCA, and I said man I can't do it. I've invested too many years into this country music thing. I said no, and when the album came out, (it) was a big hit."

Still Gill wonders what might have been. "I would love to have nights spending on stage playing with Mark," Gill says.

"Pocket Full of Gold" followed in 1991 with hits "Liza Jane," "Look At Us" and the title track."

But the best for Gill was yet to come with "I Still Believe In You." With this, Gill's career soared. He had four number one's with the title track, "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away," "One More Last Chance," and "Tryin' to Get Over You" and a top five with "No Future in the Past." He also hit the top with "The Heart Won't Lie," a duet with Reba McEntire with the song on McEntire's album.

Lots of awards followed with Grammys and CMAs including the coveted Entertainer of the Year in 1993 and 1994.

And the hits kept right on coming with "Whenever You Come Around," the bouncy "What the Cowgirls Do, "Which Bridge to Cross (Which Bridge to Turn)," "You Better Think Twice" and the title track from "When Love Finds You."

The disc also contained "Go Rest High On That Mountain," a tribute to his brother Bob, who died, and Keith Whitley. Gill was quite surprised how well the song did.

Gill says it "surprised me that it was a hit. It was interesting because it was not a huge hit. But it's probably had more of an impact that any song I've ever recorded. People playing it at services. It was kind of a real personal song for me and needed to be put on the record for personal reasons and see it unfold."

"It was (hard to write), but it's interesting because music has given me an outlet to...grieve and play the guitar and find a place to say things that I would never if it wasn't for music. That avenue (helped me) to get through some stuff."

Gill was more than a hit maker though. He was a fine singer with his sturdy tenor, and his guitar playing has always been considered top notch. A heavy touring schedule resulted from his success with concerts sometimes going on for three hours. He was not a paint-by-the-numbers kind of country performer.

While Gill scored some more hits with "High Lonesome Sound," he did not do as well with "The Key" or "Let's Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye."

During this period, Gill's marriage ended in divorce, but he later married Grant.

Despite the changes about him in the music business where Tim and Faith now seem to be the leading lights in country, Gill remains content with his station in life.

Gill refers back to "Young Man's Town" to demonstrate his state of mind.

"I don't really that feel that 'Young Man's Town' is too much a commentary on the state of music as much as it is the evolution of the process. Nobody can sustain and be king of the hill the whole time. It's kind of like parenting. You've got to teach your children the things they need, and it should be all the way across the board. You should embrace and teach and pass down and not be bitter and whine. To me, it tells both sides of the story without being offensive to either, which is the goal. That story could be very easily be told from one perspective and sound bitter."

And Gill is certainly satisfied with "Next Big Thing."

"You kind of let it go," he says about his new album. "You did you work. You hope. I don't think it ever changes that you don't want people to respond to what you've done. It's a great feeling. You can't deny that. It's still the case. I want to sing along."

"Somebody told me a long time ago, don't worry about nothing you can't control. I'm going to do my job, and it's just going to fall where it falls. I don't like to lose sleep over much of anything."