Tim "Outlaw" McGraw
has been one of the most consistent of the late-'90s
country
superstars. Never content to reply on his reputation, he continually pushed at the pillars of the hall that created him, namely Nash Vegas.
McGraw
's particular gift as an interpreter of other songwriters' works is almost singular among his generation of singers. Not relying solely on production,
uses numerous voices to get to the heart of a song. On this album,
convinced his label and co-producers,
Byron Gallimore
and
Darran Smith
, to use his road band,
the Dancehall Doctors
, to make a more organic and immediate sounding record. It worked. From the stunning opener,
"Comfort Me,"
by
Craig Wiseman
Don Poythress
, an ancient military sounding snare drum and a bleeding guitar note usher in a tune that is the only non-cloying patriotic song that was recorded after September 11, 2001. It's a hymn equal parts
Celtic
that is an homage to all of those who entered this country by going past the Statue of Liberty and entered the American experience. When he reaches the end, "I am the tired, I am your poor in spirit/yearnin' to breathe, breathe free...," the listener is caught up in the "us" of the song; it's inclusive, and captures in
's prayer for comfort, for deliverance not from something else but to the space that freedom is -- defined both individually and collectively -- is unique among the
songs that came up after the disaster struck. Interestingly enough, it sets the tone for a record full of romantic archetypes, not only the icon of Lady Liberty, but family (
"Home"
); the reliving of experience unconsciously (
"Red Ragtop"
); escape and recreation of oneself (
"That's Why God Made Mexico"
); the idealization of love as a force in and of itself (
"Watch the Wind Blow By"
, a killer
soul
-oriented track by
Anders Osborne
, and
sings the hell out of it); dislocation and the realization that home isn't such a bad place to be (
"Sing Me Home"
); and others.
closes the record with
Elton John
's and
Bernie Taupin
's
"Tiny Dancer,"
and for a verse or so, you'd swear it was the same recording. It's frightening how close to the original it is. Why would anyone try to recreate a song so close to its original version; simple, because they love it. And
's version is gorgeous, soulful, and deep like the rest of
And the Dance Hall Kings
. ~ Thom Jurek