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
"Days Go By" Released: 29 June 2004 "You're My Better Half" Released: 25 October 2004 "Making Memories of Us" Released: 21 March 2005 "Better Life" Released: 30 July 2005 "Tonight I Wanna Cry" Released: 21 November 2005

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]

Be Here is the fourth studio album by New Zealand-born Australian country singer Keith Urban. It was released in the US on September 21, 2004 via Capitol Nashville.

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". "Live to Love Another Day" also peaked at number 48 on the country charts without being released as a single.

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.^[3]

Commercial

The album was certified 4× Platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),^[4] 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;^[5] 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.

Cover arts

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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Days Go By"	Keith Urban, Monty Powell	3:44
2.	"Better Life"	Urban, Richard Marx	4:43
3.	"Making Memories of Us"	Rodney Crowell	4:11
4.	"God's Been Good to Me"	Urban	3:38
5.	"The Hard Way"	Rivers Rutherford, Gordie Sampson	4:37
6.	"You're My Better Half"	Urban, John Shanks	4:12
7.	"I Could Fly"	Urban, Shanks	5:19
8.	"Tonight I Wanna Cry"	Urban, Powell	4:19
9.	"She's Gotta Be"	Urban, Powell	4:52
10.	"Nobody Drinks Alone"	Matraca Berg, Jim Collins	5:21
11.	"Country Comfort"	Elton John, Bernie Taupin	4:23
12.	"Live to Love Another Day"	Urban, Darrell Brown	3:29
13.	"These Are the Days"	Urban, Powell	2:49

Australian Release Bonus Tracks
No.	Title	Length
1.	"You (Or Somebody Like You)"	4:51

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)
• Robert Matsuda- violin (tracks 8-9)
• Chris McHugh- drums (tracks 1-2, 4, 6-8, 10, 12-13), percussion (4, 12)
• 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)

Chart performance

Album

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart (ARIA)[6]	11
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[7]	8
US Billboard 200[8]	3
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[9]	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

• A: "Tonight I Wanna Cry" charted in Australia in 2011, after it was performed by a contestant on The X Factor Australia.^[10]

Certifications

Region	Certification
Australia (ARIA)[11]	3× Platinum
Canada (Music Canada)[12]	2× Platinum
United States (RIAA)[13]	4× Platinum

Release history

Country	Date	Label
Canada[14]	21 September 2004	Capitol Nashville
United States[15]
Australia[16]	30 November 2004

References

1. Allmusic review
2. review
3. Be Here (CD booklet). Keith Urban. Capitol Records. 2004. 77489.
4. "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
5. "Chart Watch Extra: The Top 20 New Acts Of The 2000s". Chart Watch. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
6. "australian-charts.com - Keith Urban - Be Here". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
7. "Keith Urban – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Keith Urban.
8. "Keith Urban – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Keith Urban.
9. "Keith Urban – Chart history" Billboard Top Country Albums for Keith Urban.
10. "Issue 1123" (PDF, reprint). ARIA report (ARIA) (1123): 4. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
11. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
12. "Canadian album certifications – Keith Urban – Be Here". Music Canada.
13. "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
14. "Be Here by Keith Urban". iTunes Store (CA). Apple Inc. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
15. "Be Here by Keith Urban". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
16. "Amazon.com: Keith Urban: Be Here: Music". Amazon Music. Amazon.com. Retrieved 7 May 2015.