Here on Earth (Big Machine, 2020)
Tim McGraw
Reviewed by Dan MacIntosh
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
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