RATING



Country artist Tim McGraw just released his latest album “Southern Comfort.”
As McGraw reaches out to fans with his strong singing voice and touching lines, this album is sure to up his already rising career.

The first track on the album titled “Still” gets the album started off at a calm pace with the lyrics, “I can close my eyes no matter where I am and just be still.” This ballad blends soft rock and country to make for the perfect slow-dance song.

Moving into the next two tracks, McGraw pays tribute to other songwriters as he attempts to pick up their sounds in his music. The track “Ghost Town Train” sounds like an upbeat Randy Travis song as McGraw’s voice belts out in a true southern comfort twang about lost love and moving on, while the piece “Good Girls” combines the vocal sound of Billy Ray Cyrus and Carrie Underwood.

As he belts out about the troubles of keeping up with women and the money it costs, “It’s a Business Doing Pleasure With You,” is a song men can relate to.

Every album has one song that either makes or breaks it. “Southern Voice” is clearly the best song out of the collection and sure to raise quickly on the music hit lists. Adding in a hint of harmonica and southern phrases, this song shouts out to all the artists who made the southern drawl famous.

With the next two songs on the album, McGraw moves away from the southern comfort and gets down to the hard issues. “You Had to Be There” is a song for anyone who has ever had a parent walk out on them. This touching tune about making it alone is not heartbreaking but empowering. “I’m Only Jesus” follows in step, but is as close as country music gets to rap. It’s not a good club song, but if a fight is going down, it’d be the perfect background music.

Following up the dramatic tunes, “Forever Seventeen” appears to be McGraw’s anthem. With the cover on the album showing him in a simple white shirt and black cowboy hat, the title of this song fits. Looking younger on the cover of this album than he did on the cover of his 1993 self-titled album, he appears to be reversing in age but maturing in vocal quality.

Finally, ending the album with “Love You Goodbye,” it seems strange as it ends on a sad note. The song is about a boy who experiences the pain of his parents’ divorce and his father’s alcoholism. It seems McGraw is reaching back to unspoken issues about his childhood pains of being raised in a single-parent home. Although not all single-parent situations turn out rough, it seems as if McGraw still has some scars. Still, the song collection would end smoother if another lighter song was added to the end.

In all, the album’s tracks go well together, but the album may lose a few listeners who are looking for a perkier album. This isn’t a great collection of party favorites, but would be the perfect for a group discussion on issues facing the family.

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