Comments on: Say What? Classic – Tim McGraw

By: Hentie

Hentie — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 19:37:58 +0000

Mike says:

“My trouble with McGraw’s improvement is that while quality might be good, the country isn’t.”

I agree with that but I think that while artists tend to change or develop, their fans may not or their taste change in a different direction.

So the original question “Can you think of any artist with a decently long career that has consistently improved from album to album?” can only really be answered on a technical or general popularity level

By: Jeff Morgan

Jeff Morgan — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 18:42:49 +0000

Hi Kevin,

I think it does become quiet hard after a few albums to maintain a certain standard or quality in the music you produce let alone the growth. However, it’s true that if it’s a good artist, after gaining certain experience with music, the standard should improve. I really love Tim McGraw and all his albums have been great so far so he surely meant what he said.

By: Soul Miners Daughter

Soul Miners Daughter — Mon, 31 May 2010 02:05:53 +0000

Tim McGraw seems almost “ashamed” of his country music following/roots. He does sound like he wants to appeal more to the LA/Hollywood/Rock music scene instead of having both feet firmly planted in Nashville. It was just this past year with the DREADFUL song he performed at the CMA’s where he comes pandering back to his country audience. He would rather have Hollyweird on his arm but doesn’t hesitate to crawl back to Nashville waiting for him at home.

By: Danny

Danny — Fri, 28 May 2010 21:49:03 +0000

I’d agree with Mike about Tim McGraw’s sound changing. The last great album he had was Set This Circus Down. Once I got to the cover of Tiny Dancer on Dancehall Doctors, it’s been very hit or miss with his albums. I still love certain songs of the newer ones, but I don’t play the whole thing start to finish like I do with his earlier work. As far as artists improving album to album, Nickel Creek comes to mind first, but they only had 3 releases commercially (not including the GH album). But if you account for Little Cowpoke and Here to There, they were better each time out.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 27 May 2010 13:57:01 +0000

My trouble with McGraw’s improvement is that while quality might be good, the country isn’t. He was at his best when he was releasing 90′s hits that sounded country like Everywhere, Not a Moment Too Soon, Down on the Farm, Don’t Take the Girl, etc… With each album he has lost his country sound a little bit. So yes, you can say there has been improvement, but at the same time realize that unlike guys like Brad Paisley, Josh Turner or Joe Nichols he hasn’t stood up for country music by playing it and instead chosen to be another pop star in the mix with his albums.

By: Erik North

Erik North — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:47:10 +0000

I agree with J.R. Journey that Trisha did grow considerably over her first five albums; then she flattened out with WHERE YOUR ROAD LEADS (which I thought was unusually weak for her), and improved again in 2000 with REAL LIVE WOMAN. It’s just very hard, however, simply to maintain a high level of artistic success from album to album, let alone improve on them (IMHO).

By: J.R. Journey

J.R. Journey — Mon, 24 May 2010 00:10:11 +0000

I would say Trisha Yearwood with her first 5 studio albums. Definitely Garth Brooks with his first 6 studio albums too, though most people wouldn’t agree with that. George Strait also had periods where his albums got better and better, then kind of plateaued. Reba also has the same sort of up and down trend if you look at a timeline of her discography. You’d think that almost every artist would continue to improve with time, but that’s hardly ever the case. Randy Travis could never top his debut album, for instance.

By: Zack

Zack — Sun, 23 May 2010 22:16:03 +0000

Dixie Chicks & Trisha Yearwood

By: K

Sun, 23 May 2010 04:04:46 +0000

Some Others:

Dixie Chicks
Shedaisy
Toby Keith (earlier work)

I know everyone will blast me for this (*ducks*)
but I think some of the earlier Rascal Flatts records were pretty strong. Their self-tittled album, Melt, Feels Like Today and even Me And My Gang were solid albums, in my opinion.

Although I was lost at “Still Feels Good,” I would argue there is some decent material among it as well (although a pretty weak album as a whole.)

This is sort of unrelated, but I’ll be interested to see where Carrie Underwood ends up in terms of solid albums when she has been recording a few more years. “Some Hearts was undoubtdly solid, Carmival Ride was stronger vocally but weaker lyrically, and I think Play On lands somewhere in between, in that Carrie takes risks with her voice and shows her songwriting, but the songs are entirely hit or miss.

By: Soul Miners Daughter

Soul Miners Daughter — Sun, 23 May 2010 02:10:27 +0000

Interesting you chose Kathy Mattea as I’m sitting here listening to her on the Grand Ole Opry. She just sang “Love at the Five and Dime” and I was thinking how much I LOVED her early work. The albums mentioned as “growth” are honestly where she lost me. Give me Kathy’s ’80s/ early ’90s work any day.