Martina McBride, "I Just Call You Mine"

May 4, 2009 Tara Seetharam Single Reviews 8

martina4Finding a “Martina McBride” among the class of mainstream country artists is rare. When she’s on her game, she effortlessly balances relevance and reverence with timeless material.

That’s why it’s so frustrating to see her dip from this standard, as she does on the lukewarm “I Just Call You Mine.” It’s pleasant and effective, and McBride’s soaring vocals are flawless, even tastefully soaring a little less than usual. But as her signature power ballads go, this one falls just a tad short of stirring emotion.

In theory, I empathize with the subject: most of us know someone, romantic partner or otherwise, who exemplifies the “good” in the human spirit, someone so uniquely special that you’re honored to have him or her in your life. But it’s a tricky thing to realistically describe without feeling weighted down with grandiose professions, and this is especially true when the backdrop is a swelling and not entirely original melody. Perhaps the song would be more interesting if we were given some context: what, specifically, makes this person “a standing ovation after years of waiting”?

To McBride’s credit, she possesses the natural ability of infusing her music with conviction, which compensates a bit for the vagueness of “I Just Call You Mine.” I’ve always been a sucker for great delivery, even when a song lacks lyrical complexity, so I do recognize that the value in this song rests in her impassioned delivery. Few current mainstream country artists have McBride’s potent combination of superior techn

ical proficiency and sincere conviction.

But that brings it full circle – few country artists are “limitless” as McBride has proven to be time and time in the past, and in turn, I expect more from her than a mediocre song like this one.

Written by Jess Cates, Ty Lacy, and Dennis Matkosky

Grade: B

Listen: I Just Call You Mine

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8 Comments

  1. I still really like this song, but I agree with your review completely.

    I think her new album is good, but not her best- “Wrong Baby Wrong Baby Wrong”would have been my choice for a single, but this song sounds like a massive hit.

  2. I really enjoy this song. I hope it does well at radio. I agree with you Chris, I would have picked “Wrong Baby Wrong Baby Wrong” as the next6 single, but oh well. Hopefully it will be the third single.

  3. I thought her last single was incredibly blah and a big disappointment. As much as I appreciate her talent, she can be very “hit or miss”.
    Lately… kinda “missing”.

  4. I disagree…”Ride” was an awesome single and “I just call you mine” has an incredible message. As far as the rest of the “Shine” cd…I think it is great and should have stayed at Number 1 more than a week but its cool. She has great vocal range and maybe could have used it slightly more than she did on this cd but all in all I give all of the songs an A++.Martina has the best voice out there today. JMHO:)

  5. Wow, I just heard this for the first time tonight and just the last lines. I had to come home and get the whole thing. It’s been a long time since a song touched me the way this one did. This song is one that was written for me about the way I feel about the love of my life Melanie. When songwriters and performers speak what’s in our hearts they deserve all the money they can get. Thanks Martina. Hope it screams up the charts to number 1.

  6. The song itself is pretty bad. But I like the picture of Martina sitting on a Mies van der Rohe chair. Maybe these chairs are a bit cliche, but at least there is some attempt at sophistication and quality when you put McBride on one of those.

    I like the fact that a country singer is willing to associate themselves with images of class and sophstication rather than the standard images of drunken rednecks at bonfires, living in small town U.S.A., backwoods or whatever and driving around souped up trucks, cuz thats how they roll.

    The country does have its half lit hicks, but there are also sophisticated and intelligent people in the country. I’d like to see country music ramp up the sophistication level a bit.

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