BE HERE ALBUM

BIOGRAPHY FOUND ON CAPITOL, FOR THE RELEASE OF BE HERE
This is a great read

On BE HERE -- Keith Urban's powerful and deeply felt follow-up to 2002's
double-platinum Golden Road -- his heart and soul as a man and a musician
comes through loud and clear. Where does a guy go after making an album
that's been on the charts for more than 100 weeks? If you're Keith Urban,
you go deep.

As a songwriter, you put more of yourself into your music than ever before.
As a vocalist, you sing with newfound passion and commitment. Already
recognized as a true guitar hero, you play your instrument with even more
fire and skill. "For me, it's just a matter of getting more comfortable in
my own skin," Urban confesses. "I hope that there's more of me coming
through in the music. I think that comes from getting comfortable with
myself as a person and as a musician, but also from getting comfortable in
the studio. In the end, all you can do is live and learn."

BE HERE, co-produced by Dann Huff and Urban himself, is music from a young
man who's lived a little, loved a little and battled a couple of demons
along the way. There are songs here for the good times, such as "You're My
Better Half," "Making Memories of Us" and "God's Been Good To Me." And there
are songs that speak to life's darker patches, like "Tonight I Wanna Cry,"
"The Hard Way" and "Nobody Drinks Alone."

From the driving opening track "Days Go By" (the album's first single) to
the graceful reprise of "These Are The Days," BE HERE offers the sound of a
gifted singer-songwriter and world-class player embracing life and savoring
the chance to play another day.

You expect a great deal from country radio's most played artist of 2003, a
famously crowd-pleasing live performer with a remarkable track record of
four #1 songs and eight Top Five hits - all of this accomplished with just
two solo albums.

And now on BE HERE, Urban delivers more than ever before. While the songs
sound as accessible as ever, BE HERE is Urban's most personal and deeply
felt work to date. This is music for living life in the present tense. "If
there was a theme to this album, it would be the big questions I ask just
like anybody else: What are we doing here? What's life about?" says Urban.
"These days, I think more about the brevity of our time here. So it seems to
me that making the most of every day is really crucial."

Keith Urban grew up loving country music in another country -- Australia.

"We moved around a lot in the city of Brisbane when I was very young," Urban
remembers. "Then my dad decided it was time to get back to his rural
upbringing. He bought a property in a place called Caboolture, a farming
town about an hour north of Brisbane. We moved up there and lived on this
12-acre farm. We had our own cows for milking - well, one cow, singular, to
tell the truth." He just wanted our family to be self-sufficient from the
land.

From the start, Urban took to his parents' country records collection -- Don
Williams, Glen Campbell, and Charlie Pride, among others. And before long,
young Keith was playing along. By age seven, Urban was already thinking
about coming to America and making his mark in Nashville, Tennessee. "I
inherited this kind of love for the American dream," Urban explains. "I fell
in love with the music, the cars and the whole idea of America."

At eight, Urban started winning country music talent shows. By twelve, he
was booking his band in local clubs, and at fifteen, quit school and hit the
road. In 1990, Urban signed with EMI in Australia and recorded his first
solo album, which charted four No. 1 country hits over there. Finally, Urban
decided the time had come to move to Nashville in 1992.

Once in Music City, Urban made some industry buzz with a three-piece group
called The Ranch. But after releasing one album in 1997, Urban was ready to
leave the Ranch and move on as a solo artist.

In 2000, Keith Urban, his self-titled debut in the United States, became a
real breakthrough effort that established Urban as one of country's
brightest talents. The album, co-produced by Matt Rollins and Keith Urban,
featured three Top 5 hits, including the No. 1 hit "But For The Grace of
God". In the wake of that tremendous success, Urban won the Country Music
Association's prestigious Horizon Award in 2001, as well as the Top New Male
Vocalist Award at the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards. As if that
wasn't enough, his highflying instrumental performance on "Rollercoaster"
was nominated for a Grammy Award, and all of this in the midst of two years
of non-stop touring.

When it was released in 2002, Golden Road became another great leap forward.
The album went gold in eight weeks and spawned a wildly impressive run of
hits including "Somebody Like You," "Raining On Sunday," "Who Wouldn't Wanna
Be Me" and "You'll Think of Me." "Somebody Like You" spent eight consecutive
weeks at the top of the charts, remaining at #1 longer than any other
country artist in 2002. The album has now gone at least platinum in every
country where it's been released.

Now with the release of BE HERE, Urban is excited to hit the road and be
wherever the music takes him.

"I can't wait to get on the road and play these songs live," he says.
"There's a lot to be said for having toured so much since Golden Road came
out. I think all that roadwork helped us in making Be Here." And even now,
Urban doesn't mind having to win new fans on the road. "It's a daily
challenge, ya know, you gotta rise to the expectations, those of your own,
of those who've seen you before, and the friends they've brought along,
especially the ones they've dragged along."

With BE HERE, Urban has made the most ambitious and heartfelt music of his
career to date - a song cycle that reflects Urban's great musical range and
personal point of view as never before. But like all great music, in the
end, ultimately it's all about expression and communication for him.

"We want our music to connect with as many people as possible," Urban
explains finally. "That's what it's about for me - giving all I've got to
lift spirits and raise the roof."

STORY ON 'BE HERE"

When you listen to BE HERE, Keith Urban's powerful and deeply felt
follow-up to 2002's double-platinum GOLDEN ROAD, his heart and soul as a man
and a musician comes through loud and clear. Where does a guy go after
making an album that's been on the charts for more than 100 weeks?

As a songwriter, you put more of yourself into your music than ever before.
As a vocalist, you sing with newfound passion and commitment. Already
recognized as a true guitar hero, you play your instrument with even more
fire and skill.

"For me, it's just a matter of getting more comfortable in my own skin,"
Urban confesses. "I hope that
there's more of me coming through in the music.
I think that comes from getting comfortable
with myself as a person and as a musician, but also from getting comfortable
in the studio. In the end,
all you can do is live and learn."

BE HERE, co-produced by Dann Huff and Urban himself, is music from a young
man who's lived a little, loved a little and battled a couple of demons
along the way. There are songs here for the good times, such as "You're My
Better Half," "Making Memories of Us" and "God's Been Good To Me." And there
are songs that speak to life's darker patches, like "Tonight I Wanna Cry,"
"The Hard Way" and "Nobody Drinks Alone."

"We want our music to connect with as many people
as possible," Urban explains finally. "That's what it's about for me -
giving all I've got to lift spirits
and raise the roof.")

BE THERE REVIEW , DONE BY WILLIAM RUHLMANN

All Music Guide
Keith Urban has been a consistent presence in the Top Ten of the country singles charts since 2000, scoring eight consecutive entries as of the release of his third U.S. solo album, Be Here, the eighth being the disc's leadoff track, "Days Go By." And there's plenty more where that came from. Unlike most other country artists, Urban doesn't restrict himself to ten selections from the Nashville songwriting establishment for his albums. This one contains 13 songs at a generous 55-minute running time, and Urban's name is on nine of them as a co-writer. Thus, the collection can be viewed as more of a singer/songwriter effort than the usual Music City product. From that point of view, the album has a distinct storytelling arc, beginning with the carpe diem sentiments of "Days Go By" and continuing into a series of songs that celebrate life and love, notably Rodney Crowell's unabashedly romantic "Making Memories of Us," which finds Urban doing his best Crowell imitation. Suggestions of struggle begin to intrude as of "God's Been Good to Me," however, and eight songs in Urban abruptly changes the sound and the mood with the piano-and-strings weeper "Tonight I Wanna Cry," a song this reformed drinker confesses in his press materials that his sponsor might not approve of. "She's Gotta Be" picks up the pace, if not the mood, and Matraca Berg and Jim Collins' "Nobody Drinks Alone" brings the singer to a sodden rock bottom before he changes the subject by covering Elton John's "Country Comfort" and finally overcomes adversity in "Live to Love Another Day," then rewrites the album's opening song to look forward again on the album-closing "These Are the Days." The album-length story of optimism and perseverance in the face of romantic turmoil and alcoholic temptation is told musically with Urban's usual collection of fast-picked string instruments, including electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, mandolin, and Dobro (the last played by Bruce Bouton). It's a muscular sound indebted at least as much to rock and bluegrass as to traditional country, but it supports his light, flexible tenor and his essentially upbeat message. William Ruhlmann

FIRST SINGLE "DAYS GO BY" IS #1 IN CANADA
Keith Urban has been electrifying audiences since his debut release in 1999. He's sold millions of albums, had five No. 1 singles, eight Top 5 hits and is Nashville's newest superstar. Hot off the heels of receiving a 2004 CMA nomination for "Male Vocalist Of The Year" and a whirlwind promotional tour at home in Australia, Keith will visit Toronto next week in support of the highly anticipated September 21st release of BE HERE, the heir-apparent to 2002's double-platinum Golden Road. On Monday, September 20, fans of Keith can tune into Canada AM (Canada's #1 National Morning Show) for a live 2 song performance. Later the same day, Keith will tape a National Radio Special live from the Hard Rock Cafe downtown Toronto with host Stu Jeffries (Country 95.3 & CMT Canada). Beginning this week, Country 95.3 listeners will have the chance to win the opportunity to be in the audience for the radio special that will include an interview with Keith and a playback of 4-5 album tracks. The radio special will be broadcast live on Country 95.3 and Keith will perform his brand new single from Be Here, "Days Go By" as well as the hit single from Golden Road, "Somebody Like You" - a No. 1 single in Canada for eight weeks and one of the songs that made Urban, Billboard Magazine's most played artist for 2003. The first single from Be Here, "Days Go By," is currently #1 at Country radio in Canada (having just taken over Tim McGraw). A video for the single was shot in Los Angeles and will be delivered this week. One would expect a great deal from country radio's most played artist, a famously crowd-pleasing live performer with a remarkable track record and with Be Here, Keith Urban delivers - exceeding all expectations. From the driving opening track "Days Go By" (the album's first single) to the graceful reprise of "These Are The Days," Be Here offers the sound of a gifted singer-songwriter and world class player embracing life and savoring the chance to play another day. "If there was a theme to this album, it would be the big questions I ask just like anybody else: What are we doing here? What's life about?" says Urban. "These days, I think more about the brevity of our time here. So it seems to me that making the most of every day is really crucial." Be Here, co-produced by Dann Huff and Urban himself, is music from a young man who's lived a little, loved a little and battled a couple of demons along the way. There are songs for the good times, such as "You're My Better Half," "Making Memories Of Us" and "God's Been Good To Me." And, there are songs that speak to life's darker patches, like "Tonight I Wanna Cry," "The Hard Way" and "Nobody Drinks Alone." With the release of Be Here just around the corner, Urban is excited to hit the road and be wherever the music takes him. The CMT On Tour: Keith Urban "Be Here" '04 tour will hit the road beginning October 8, at Emens Auditorium in Muncie, Indiana. And, just before Keith heads out on the road with his band, fans will have an opportunity to see him on National TV beginning September 22 with Good Morning America, September 23 on The Tonight Show and September 28th on the Ellen Degeneres Show. Keith is expected to tour Canada early in '2005. For additional news, updates and more Keith Urban information go to www.keithurban.net or contact:Charlotte ThompsonCapitol/Virgin National Media & Artist RelationsT: (905) 364-3127Email: Charlotte.Thompson@emimusic.ca

KEITH URBAN : SEP 2004
BE HERE INTERVIEW WITH KEITH URBAN - PART ONE

http://www.musichead.com.au/site/news.asp?newsID=15005&txt=keith%20urban
The new album from Keith Urban entitled 'Be Here' is released on Monday (September 20). The Australian only version of the album contains an extra track and includes the hit single 'Days Go By'. Keep your eyes peeled right here for a special track by track run through with Keith Urban himself. Meanwhile here's part one of a recent interview with Keith conducted by Jane Rocca ...

There�s a cool charm that lingers around Keith Urban. Maybe he knows it exists, but he certainly doesn�t act like it does. He is without doubt one of country music�s prettier faces, but image aside, the 37-year-old blond, who was born in New Zealand but grew up in Queensland, Australia and now lives in Nashville, says for him, it�s all about the music.

Urban is the first Australian artist to achieve eight consecutive Top 5 singles in the States, yet he mostly goes unrecognised by the masses here at home. In Nashville he barely has a moment when walking down the street without being recognised and asked for an autograph.

He first signed a record deal with EMI in 1990 in Australia and recorded his first solo album that charted five number one country hits. Enticed by that success he moved to Nashville in 1992 and tried his luck over there.

�At first when I left Australia I thought this would be easy,� explains Urban. �Well, I was younger, a lot younger and if I knew it would take as long as was required maybe I wouldn�t have hung around, but I really wanted to make this happen for me.�

He formed a three piece band called The Ranch and scored himself a label deal with Capitol Nashville after live shows inspired plenty of reaction in the music industry. The band broke up and Urban returned to his solo career.

�Luckily when I packed my bags and headed to the States I went at it with such conviction. By the time it started to feel like it was wearing me down was when we got a label deal, it was like cool, we did it,� he explains.

�I don�t think anybody would stay if they thought it would take ten years. Thank god I didn�t know.�

When it came to working on this new album (Be Here), which follows the hugely success and platinum sales of Golden Road, Urban says it was business as usual in the studio.

�I didn�t really think about the success of my previous albums when I worked on this. I really just went into the studio and made music and it will do what it is going to do,� says Urban. �I had no idea Golden Road would become a success. I never know when I put a record out if it will appeal to radio or not. That�s not my priority but you certainly hope.�

Be Here is a tender record, hooked on that sticky sweet country sound � but also tugged by a pop and rock conviction. The album is fuelled by real life experiences � many of the songs co-written, one with friend and singer and songwriter Richard Marx, called Better Life.

�We have written a lot together before but nothing that suited my albums. We hung out at his house in Chicago when we wrote Better Life. He asked me to come out to the house and I stayed for a weekend. It was loose and casual and there was no pressure. He is a great guy,� says Urban.

He doesn�t describe himself as a prolific songwriter, but Urban enjoys the experience every time he heads into the studio. �I try to put myself in the same headspace each time. If you try and get cerebral about your music you�ll be dead before you know. It�s not about that, it�s about being honest and recording music that really means something to you.� ...

Stay tuned for part two of Jane Rocca's interview with Keith Urban ...

Reviews
Barnes & Noble
Coming off the double-platinum success of 2002's Golden Road, Aussie
country rocker Keith Urban builds on a winning formula with Be Here, one
of the year's strongest mainstream offerings. Well-turned original
songs, a couple of impressive covers, tight band work, expressive
singing, and, of course, some exemplary guitar pickin' on Urban's part
are the essential components here, and when they all mesh it's a
beautiful thing. They do just that on "You're My Better Half," a
sizzling, country-tinged rocker that finds Urban not only singing the
praises of his beloved but stepping out with a joyous, soaring guitar
solo. In a buoyant arrangement suited to a song titled "I Could Fly,"
Urban exults in the strengthening power of true love, backed by a funky
little herky-jerky groove and a wailing slide guitar solo that jets
toward the stratosphere. He conjures a seductive atmosphere, via twangy
guitar playing and a heartfelt vocal, on a cover of Rodney Crowell's
brilliant love song "M! aking
Memories of Us" (hear the original version on the Notorious Cherry
Bombs' debut). Heartbreak gets more than a fair hearing too, on Urban's
wrenching, intimate piano ballad "Tonight I Wanna Cry," on which he
touches some still-raw nerves in his account of a relationship's
demise, his tear-stained vocal sounding close to the bone. He more than
does justice to Elton John and Bernie Taupin's "Country Comfort" -- one
of the strongest songs in EJ's early canon -- on which his boisterous
vocal is set against swirling pedal steel lines and snarling guitar
punctuations. Platinum shortage in America? Blame Keith Urban. He's
gonna be stockpiling it soon. David McGee

Country:

Keith Urban, Be Here (* * * � out of four) Urban's latest is so
obviously commercial, the kind of album that turns a successful act into
a superstar, that surely he sold his creative soul as part of the
bargain, right? Not this time. Urban has found his sweet spot, that
place where he perfectly balances his guitar heroics and his sensitive
pop-star handsomeness, his introspective depth and his in-the-moment
buoyancy. Urban's version of Rodney Crowell's Making Memories of Us is
as lovely as Days Go By is fun, and, on Nobody Drinks Alone, he sings
about closet addiction with the wisdom of a man who has lived the
experience. �Brian Mansfield

From Billboard:

September 20, 2004, 2:00 PM ET
Keith Urban: Ready For The Big Time

By Phyllis Stark

If you had asked people in the country music industry during the past
few years which artist they believe is primed for top-tier success, more
often than not their answer would have been "Keith Urban."

Clear Channel Communications regional VP of programming Clay Hunnicutt
calls Urban "one of the top candidates for the next level of
superstardom. He has the complete package -- looks, style and the music
to go with it."

It's no surprise then that executives at Urban's label, Capitol Records
Nashville, are hoping his new album will finally propel him into the
stratosphere, alongside Toby Keith and Kenny Chesney. The album, "Be
Here," is out Sept. 21.

The past few weeks have been good indicators of Urban's success.

The album's first single, "Days Go By," is in its second week at No. 1
on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. And in August Urban
was nominated for a Country Music Association award for male vocalist of
the year, alongside the format's A-listers.

Urban says he was awestruck by the CMA nomination. "I still somehow feel
like I should be [carrying] a little hand towel and a tray, asking [the
other nominees], 'Can I freshen your drink?'"

The new album follows his double-platinum "Golden Road," which remains
in the top 15 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart 101 weeks after
its release.

"Be Here," produced by Urban and his "Golden Road" collaborator, Dann
Huff, features nine songs written or co-written by Urban, including one
he penned with Richard Marx. The album's choice covers are Rodney
Crowell's "Making Memories of Us" and the Elton John/Bernie Taupin song
"Country Comfort," previously recorded by John and Juice Newton.

The album's title reflects Urban's focus on "the importance of living in
the moment."

Urban will support the album with his first headlining tour. Dubbed CMT
on Tour: Keith Urban Be Here '04, the outing kicks off Oct. 8 in Muncie,
Ind., and will span 20 shows in five weeks, including stops in Dallas,
New York, Detroit, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh.

Universal South newcomer Katrina Elam is also on the bill. Urban plays
electric guitar and ganjo (a guitar/banjo hybrid) on Elam's current
single, "No End in Sight."

Urban has been busy promoting the album in his native Australia, where
it is issued Sept. 20. During stops in Melbourne and Sydney, he packed
36 interviews into five days.

Despite a stellar recent past, Urban says he didn't feel any pressure to
top his previous successes. And he doesn't view himself as a superstar
in waiting. "When I look at myself, I see the guy that's still
struggling," he says.

Noting that he has spent most of his life playing in clubs and trying to
establish himself, Urban says, "When [success] starts happening, you
keep viewing yourself as the guy trying to get there. I don't think that
will ever change, because there will always be new horizons."