Tim McGraw

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Single Review: Tim McGraw, "Better Than I Used to Be"

December 23, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 10

Flipping through an old country magazine, I read a review of Tim McGraw’s then-new album, Everywhere.

The journalist noted his surprise at the title track, which demonstrated more subtlety and gravitas than he’d previously thought McGraw was capable of.

That was so many years ago that it’s hard to remember that McGraw was something of a novelty singer back in the day, a step or two above Billy Ray Cyrus but not quite up there with Joe Diffie.

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Retro Single Review: Tim McGraw, “Maybe We Should Just Sleep On It”

November 30, 2011 Dan Milliken 2

1996 | Peak: #4

A sound sentiment stuffed in a sound-impaired package.

The generic “moody” 90’s production does some of the damage, as does a patchwork melody that can’t seem to connect its phrases. But you can also  hear McGraw still ironing out his vocal technique, as his likably nervous tremor in the verses meets a series of clumsy trills and some pitchy “baby”s and “maybe”s.

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Veterans Day Six Pack

November 11, 2011 Kevin John Coyne 6

If history had played out the way Woodrow Wilson planned, we’d be celebrating the 92nd Armistice Day today. When first proclaimed a national holiday, Wilson declared the following:

To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.

If the Great War had been the last war, we wouldn’t be celebrating what is now known as Veterans Day. We also wouldn’t have an incredible legacy of songs about soldiers in the annals of country music.

Here are five classics that celebrate those who have served our country and the ones who love them, along with one tale that has a returned soldier that’s not being loved quite enough.

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