Martina McBride Album: “The Time Has Come”

I bought this on tape immediately after it came out--Martina's from my home state, and she was going to be opening for Garth (who still put out decent music at the time). If you are a fan of more traditional-sounding country, this is a near-perfect album. "I Can't Sleep" and "True Blue Fool" are wonderful songs, and her performance of them on record is amazing. "Cheap Whiskey" is a great honky-tonker, yet one with a message--and Martina's one of the few country singers today who can do so many "message" songs, without sounding self-righteous. "That's Me" is a lovely ballad, as is the Gretchen ("Independence Day") Peters-penned "When You Are Old." True, her later work is probably more "her," if that makes sense. She's definitely come into her own as a performer. In concert, she's greatly progressed from the singer I saw for free at the Wichita River Festival in early 1992 to the amazingly self-assured belter I saw last year at Lilith Fair. If you like real country, Martina, or both, give this one a try. It didn't sell too well, but honestly, it was probably just too different at the time for country radio (which generally sucks anymore, as a rule).

Martina made a classic record with songs like "Cheap Whiskey", "True Blue Fool" and my favorite "When You Are Old". Her voice is unparalleled in country, and I feel she could sing any type of music.