Disco de Tim McGraw: “Let It Go [Original Release]”

Tim McGraw didn't get to be a country superstar by having the best voice in Nashville. He did it by having the best ear in town. Every Tim McGraw CD has been marked by the impeccable selection of songs. And "Let Go" continues the family tradition. It's another collection of powerful songs including "Train No. 10," "Shotgun Rider," "Put Your Lovin' On Me" and "Comin' Home." These alone would be enough to make this CD a success but wouldn't earn it 5 Stars. For that you need a little bit more and different.

And Tim gives us the extra effort with a kids' chorus on "Last Dollar," a Metallica-like break on the brilliant "Between The River And Me" and by overturning our expectations of the usual duet with Mrs. McGraw by not giving us another syrupy love song but by choosing a meditation on the addictive nature of love, "I Need You" (I need you like a needle needs a vein) in which even Faith sings with a desperate gravitas we don't expect from her.

Now don't think my saying Tim doesn't have the best voice in Nashville means he isn't a masterful singer, able to comfortably handle anything from the uptempo cowboy songs to the agonizingly honest ballads like this CD's brilliant "Nothing To Die For." As his songs show more maturity so do his vocals. He is no longer just a singer but a first class interpreter. His vocals take these high quality songs and elevates them further. He has handled the jump from superstar to artist with complete success. His creative vision and ability to wonderfully convey it is a rarity in music, especially country music with its pretty boys in hats and Shania wannabes.

The new Tim McGraw CD is a complete success that doesn't let it go after the music stops. It stays with you and leaves you wanting more.

I seem to be in the minority here, but I really preferred Tim McGraw with more fun catchy tunes. I loved "I Like It I Love It" andd such similar soongs. If you prefer that side of Tim McGraw, this cd may not be for you either.

Tim McGraw's music peek was hit with Live Like You Were Dying. That was such a profound lyric, especially with what he'd just been through with his own father. That is a serious song of his that I really like. This cd does not have a track that even comes close to Live Like You Were Dying.

Maybe it's growing up and getting older, but this cd seems to be too blah. The songs are slow tempo and some are WAY TOO country. Tim McGraw was a master of the catch phrase songs. He and Kenny Chesney have made a career out of those. Last Dollar is the only catch phrase songs on the cd. And I really miss the fun side of Tim. So this cd is not my favorite at all.

I'd say the cd is half good and half bad (6 good and 7 bad for me).

There are some great songs:

1. Last Dollar

2. Let It Go

3. Nothin' to Die For

4. Suspicions

5. Train #10

6. Comin Home

There are also some that I will habitually skip because they are too gloomy and depressing:

1. Kristofferson

2. The Whiskey and Me

3. Put Your Lovin on Me

4. I'm Workin

5. Between the River and Me

6. I Need You with FAith Hill (Oh for the love of Mary, we get it, you guys love each other but stop torchering us with it!)

7. Shotgun Rider

For me, Tim McGraw's best overall cd was Everywhere. There was a great balance of fun and sweet songs. Live Like You Were Dying and Set This Circus Down were also great, as was Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors. This one just doesn't measure up.

Of course, music is subjective, and you're certainly allowed to disagree. But if you're one of those people who has fun with the catchy Tim hits of the past, you might also be disappointed with this long awaited cd.

I have every one of McGraw's CD's, and I always look forward to his new releases. I am sorry to say that on first listen, this CD was a bit disappointing. The message of many of the songs is just too heavy. Where is the fun? Where is the lighheartedness? "Last Dollar" is the most up-tempo song on the CD, and unfortunately, it does not measure up to past favorites like , "I Like It,I Love It" "Something Like That," Real Good Man," "Down on the Farm," or "Do You Want Frries With That."

Tim McGraw can do great with a tear jerker, like "Please Remember Me" and "Live Like You Were Dying," but none of the songs on this CD quite grab hold of me like those monster hits. Even his duet with Faith Hill is weak-- they never actually sing together on the song, they just take turns singing solos to each other.

The best tracks on the CD are "Let It Go," a powerful song with a great message and a catchy, repetitious chorus. And "Between the River and Me" is a great story song that you feel just a bit guilty for liking, given the subject matter and the message. He sings it with such intensity that it is frighteningly believable!

Most of his recent hits have been really slow, moving songs-- "If You're Reading This," "I Need You", "My Little Girl", "Like We Never Loved At All," "When the Stars Go Blue," "My Old Friend," "Drugs or Jesus." Even "Over and Over" with Nelly was rather mellow.

Enough already! You're great with the love songs, the sad songs, and the meaningful message songs. But c'mon! It's time to cut loose and have some fun! We want to stomp our feet and clap our hands!

There are several gems on Tim McGraw's new Let It Go. My personal favorites are Suspicions and Shotgun Rider. There are several other solid songs on this CD. The trouble with rating a Tim McGraw CD is that you have to hold it up against the rest of his collection. This one falls into the middle of the pack, which will leave many fans disappointed. I have grown to appreciate the CD more after repeated listenings. I think the professional reviewer got it right when describing Shotgun Rider as McGraw's Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys. I thought the same thing when I first heard the song. It is a solid Country song that would be good in the 70's, 80's 90's, and into this decade.

The duet with Faith Hill is pretty good, I just am having trouble getting over the "like a needle needs a vein" verse.

This is a solid, but not spectacular album, that is much less ambitious than many of the other popular male country artists like Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. Four stars.

After being surprised by the weightier material on

, I found myself thinking perhaps I'd underestimated McGraw and he might be on the cusp of a classic. This album, sadly, has me thinking it was a nice one-off that probably won't be repeated. There's not much to match the reflection of "Can't Tell Me Nothin'", "Drugs or Jesus" and certainly not "Live Like You Were Dying" to be found here.

There are the occasional high points that rise above the bland fare so often churned out of the Nashville hit machine (the wrenching confession of "Whiskey and You" or the stark murder fantasy of "Between the River and Me" no doubt triggered by the abuse of Tim's past at the hands of his 1st father figure) but there's plenty of ho-hum material in between and some outright stinkers (the oh-so-cliched "Last Dollar (Fly Away)" sounds like it was made to fill the "happy country pop hit" slot and Tim sounds strained chasing the higher notes in his cover of Eddie Rabbitt hit "Suspicions").

HIGHLIGHTS:

The "drinking song" is a country staple and Tim turns in a nice one here with "Whiskey and You". ("One's a liar that helps hide me from my pain/And one's a long hard bitter truth/And that's the difference between the whiskey and you") "Between the River and Me" finds a 15 year old taking revenge on the man who was beating his mom in a creekside confrontation. ("I might have had a knife in my back pocket/I might have pulled it out before he saw it/That's all between the river and me") Besides a good story, it's also musically interesting, nearly bordering on punk aggression in spots.

LOWS:

"Suspicions" doesn't sound like it fits Tim's vocal range despite a nice musical arrangement that gives the tune a snaky, relaxed groove. I'll stick with the Rabbitt original on this one. "Last Dollar" could be any of the dime-a-dozen hat acts.

BOTTOM LINE:

Mediocre. Perhaps he'll go back to challenging himself a bit on the next disc.