A Place in the Sun

by

Tim McGraw

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I was slow to catch on to Tim McGraw's music, because some of his biggest early hits were upbeat novelty songs--for instance, "Indian Outlaw" and "I Like It, I Love It"--and I figured that that was where he was going to be most successful. How wrong I was. In the last two or three years, I think Tim's music has actually gotten better. Maybe it's marriage and fatherhood, or maybe he does a better job of picking songs now than he did five years ago. Whatever the reason, I think A Place In The Sun is a great effort.

"Please Remember Me", the initial hit song from A Place In The Sun, was criticized for being overblown. I think that criticism is wrong. The song's writer, Rodney Crowell, has written a number of great songs over the years. I think this is another gem from Rodney, which Tim was smart enough to recognize as a hit--and the idea of one person's asking the other person to keep a memory of a relationship, even though the relationship is over, is skillfully done. "Carry On", about keeping a positive attitude in the face of adversity, is another great song. Even the drinking songs, "She'll Have You Back" and "Senorita Margarita" show a depth that was lacking in some of Tim's earlier songs. The title song, "A Place In The Sun", about searching for a "place"--meaning, a sense of belonging--is well-crafted. And "My Best Friend" is a positive statement about marriage.

Tim still gets up-tempo here. "Something Like That" is a catchy song about what the first romance feels like (remember the line about the "barbecue stain on my white T-shirt"); "Seventeen" is a rocking number dealing with what it was like to be that age; and "My Next Thirty Years" is a bouncy celebration of life. The difference between these numbers and some of Tim's earlier songs is that, besides being fun, these songs actuslly tell a story. Tim and his co-producers, James Stroud and Byron Gallimore, put a lot of work into this record, and nowhere is it more apparent than in the song selection.

Even though I hadn't bought an album by Tim McGraw before I bought A Place In The Sun, I gained a greater appreciation for his music after listening to the album. As this record shows, Tim is no mere novelty-song singer. He's a talented entertainer who until recently hasn't gotten the recognition he deserves.

All in all it is not a bad CD. With songs like "She'll have you back" Tim goes back into the honky tonk type of music that has made Brooks and Dunn famous. However, there are a few songs that are quite slow and Tim seems to go into that whole gushy, emotional sounding wimp. He has a good country voice and it would be great for him not to do so many soft slow ballads. Although I love "Some things never change" this is one of the best songs on the album. The number 1 song "Please Remember Me" is quite that as well. That's why it was number 1. A little downer but has some good qualities. Hope we can repeat an "Everywhere" next time around Tim. :)