Martina - McBride, Martina (CD 2003)

Martina McBride is this year s winner for CMA Female Vocalist of the Year. If you remember one thing from this review is that Martina s voice is powerful, beautiful, and one of country music s most precious resources. I mention this because for a couple of songs on her latest album, Martina, it s her voice that makes corny songs tolerable and then there are some that her amazing vocals just can t save.

After releasing her Greatest Hits album and doing more than exceptionally well with that, you can imagine how high people s hope were for her follow-up album. The four new songs on her Greatest Hits album all because huge hits, so we all thought she would be releasing the best album ever. However, as another reviewer mentioned, Martina has been known to release a great album, then a mediocre album, then a great album, and so on. Martina is not a great album, but it s not a mediocre one either. I just wish she d pick songs that best connected with her, not just songs she thinks are pretty. By going through her past albums, you can t really tell anything about what Martina McBride was going through or anything like that that s something that s always bugged me a little bit.

The GREAT stuff
The album starts off with So Magical, a pretty upbeat song resembling I Love You (only not as annoyingly peppy). The song is uplifting in that she sings about enjoying the little things and trying not to worry so much about everything. The song is a great way to kick off the album because it s like a typical Martina song with a fresher sound. The bridge is perfect. How Far is Martina s best Mariah-esque song that puts the biggest smile on my face. Lyrically and vocally, it has a Where Would You Be formula to it, but the belting chorus is so much more Mariah; especially how she sings the line Keep on giving, go on living with the way things are . This song definitely has to be a single. Reluctant Daughter is a beautiful bluegrass song that shows more of Martina s vocal versatility. The religious song actually doesn t seem out of place either it does sound like something Dolly Parton would sing though.

The absolute best song on the album is In My Daughter s Eyes, which I pray will be her next single. I got teary-eyed the first time I listened to it. Any mothers out there need to hear it because I guarantee they ll want to breakdown crying. The piano, the strings, Martina s voice I cannot begin to explain how perfect this song is. It reminds me a little of Faith Hill s If I m Not In Love With You, but everyone please, listen to this song, it s perfect for this time of year.

In my daughter s eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter s eyes

God s Will is just as heartbreaking as Concrete Angel. The ballad sounds a lot like Trisha Yearwood s Walkaway Joe and is about boy named Will who wore braces on his legs and seems to have a lot of health problems. The song just really tugs at your heart, At dinner he d ask to pray / And then he d pray for everybody in the world but him . There is about a minute instrumental that goes on after the song, but it doesn t annoy me because it really takes me a while to let the song sink in definitely a highlight. The album ends with a live version of Over The Rainbow (which I already had) and Martina does a wonderful job. However, as much as I dislike Faith Hill nowadays, her version of this song beats anyone else s hands down.

The GOOD stuff
City of Love is the perfect song for a soundtrack for a romantic comedy. The chorus to this upbeat track really puts me in a good mood, it s just a song I d love to listen to while driving around one afternoon. The girl power song is the first single, This One s For The Girls. I love the song, as a gay guy, I find this song just as empowering for me as it is for the girls. However, as great as the song is, the video killed it for me. It s got to be one of the worst/corniest videos Martina has come up with.

She s A Butterfly is good, but it s too cheesy. Even the way she sings it is a bit too much for me. Learning To Fall is a really good song, but the chorus is sung s a little too loud. It reminds me of something Sara Evans would sing.

What was she thinking?!
I understand that Martina wants to sing songs that have a good message, but Wearing White really rubbed me the wrong way. Despite the fact that she sings it in one of the most annoyingly peppy tones, the lyrics really bug me. The song is about a woman who used to get around but is now getting married and decides to wear a white dress. At the end she says that her husband sees her for who she really is and that he loves her so much. However, Martina makes a big fuss about it and it just annoys me because it s almost as if she s looking down on these people and saying you shouldn t be doing that but I guess I approve . When You Love Me is probably the worst song on the album because it s all over the place. The verses don t mesh well because the musical and vocal arrangements change halfway. The chorus is worse because she s belting which throws the song off even more. Lyrically, it s cheesy, but we all know Martina can pull off cheesy this song is just a big mess.

Overall Grade: A-
One thing I would tell Martina is that while she considers the soft verse/big chorus to be her signature sound , it doesn t work with every song. I am not disappointed in the album though, while it did have its flaws, the filler is tolerable. Vocally, she s perfect. Musically, I think she should experiment a little bit more the bluegrass addition was a great change of pace. If you liked the songs she released off her Greatest Hits, I don t think you ll be disappointed.