Tim McGraw - Here on Earth
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Here on Earth (Big Machine, 2020)

Tim McGraw

Reviewed by Dan MacIntosh

Tim McGraw's collection, "Here on Earth," finds the country star sounding peaceful and down to Earth. He's more meditative than overly active, throughout. It's very much an adult album in that McGraw is speaking from the perspective of maturity, rather than pretending he's still a young man. If he's got any barbecue statins on his white t-shirt, he's not letting on here.

McGraw burns through five mellow tracks before he gets to anything with a discernable beat. "Good Taste in Women" chugs along nicely. (Of course, anybody married to the stunningly beautiful Faith Hill will never have their taste in females seriously questioned). Beginning with "L.A.," which does little more than run through a series of clichés about SoCal life, and closing with "Doggone," a song about missing a girl, McGraw sounds about as laidback as a '70s soft rock star.

Of course, McGraw sings well all the way through this album. He is one of country music's most consistent mainstream voices. And there's nothing wrong with being relaxed; pandemic conditions call for a little more relaxation, after all. However, McGraw may be just a little too relaxed, with a little too little new to tell us. One called "Sheryl Crow" stands out, because its lyric compares meeting a girl to the first time he heard Sheryl Crow on the radio. That's an intriguing side-by-side comparison. Nevertheless, too much of this album comes off inconsequential. There's no "Live Like You Were Dying" or "Humble and Kind" here, and the listener wishes there was something even close to that good to hang a hat on.

"Chevy Spaceship," applies space travel considerations to its lyrics, but for the most part, "Here on Earth" never really gets off the ground.


CDs by Tim McGraw

Here on Earth, 2020 Damn Country Music, 2015 Sundown Heaven Town, 2014 Two Lanes of Freedom, 2013 Emotional Traffic, 2012 Number One Hits, 2010 Southern Voice, 2009 Let It Go, 2007 Greatest Hits Vol. 2, 2006


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