Martina McBride Album: “The Way That I Am”

Though Martina McBride's debut was a solid enough collection of country pop, it failed to get her noticed on country radio, with the exception being the limited success of the album's title track. That wasn't a problem with this album, which just happened to better her debut and establish her as one of the best female vocalists of any genre to come down the pike in the last decade. First single 'My Baby Loves Me', though somewhat lightweight, was just one of many styles McBride gravitated towards, though she did and continues to do so masterfully. There were several other uptempo gems here, specifically 'Goin To Work' and 'Life #9', and her anthem 'Independence Day' remains a watershed for her, and marked her as one of the few country artists(the only other female that springs to mind is Reba) not afraid to tackle weighty social matters, a platform she continues to uphold to this day. Though that song established her, it's her command of the album's ballads that really show what McBride was capable of both artistically and vocally--

'Where I Used To Have A Heart', 'That Wasn't Me',and 'She Ain't Seen Nothing Yet' are as good as anything she's ever done and were the true overlooked highlights of the album. A sterling example of how well an artist can marriage radio expectations with artistic credibility.

This is an album that I can actually play on the fourth of July. The reason why is because of the song 'Independence Day' by Martina McBride. The song 'Life #9' is very upbeat as far as how the rhythm of that song is concerned. The above songs should be on her 'Greatest hits' cd sometime soon.