Comments on: Single Review: Tim McGraw, “Better Than I Used to Be”

By: RowdyRed

RowdyRed — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:05:27 +0000

Huh. Thanks a lot, google! Some ambiguous wording in some of those hits I got…I wuz confused!

(I looked again and you’re right. You’re also right about Sammy’s performance, which is why I believed it was “his baby” in the first place.)

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:23:36 +0000

Rowdy – Kershaw didn’t write this song, so he won’t be making any money off of McGraw’s version. However, it’s such a heartfelt performance that it seems like he did.

By: RowdyRed

RowdyRed — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:51:17 +0000

Forgot to add, many thanks Keith, for posting the link to Sammy’s version. Now you can ALL wonder why radio didn’t bit on this one!

(No, I’m not still bitter!)

By: RowdyRed

RowdyRed — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:40:16 +0000

Thank you, Keith and Ben, for acknowledging songwriter Sammy Kershaw’s own beautiful rendition of this song. As much as Tim’s is pretty faithful, Sammy’s version is even more emotionally raw and real. I absolutely love it, and kind of protectively dismissed Tim’s on first hearing. Still, I must admit it’s faithfully presented and very likely to move folks to love it.

I agree with you Ben, about radio access. Heck,last year when Sammy’s came out, I only heard it here in Louisiana on the Lafayette stations, and not once on the Lake Charles ones. Now that’s a regional market, and not in a good way. :(.

I know Sammy will get some nice coin for this surefire hit (but I still wish he’d had that success with it himself). At any rate, I’ll give Tim high points for for excellent taste and a very good job.

By: Sweetcheeks

Sweetcheeks — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:04:11 +0000

I believe McGraw has stated that he will be releasing his own single shortly. It will be interesting to see what happens if two McGraw singles are competing on the charts at the same time.

By: Devin

Devin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:13:33 +0000

I like the song a good bit. I just have a hard time supporting it under the circumstances it was released. It just seems wrong that Curb would stand to profit from a song like this when they’re likely responsible for a good bit of the lesser music we’ve gotten from McGraw in recent years.

By: Ben Foster

Ben Foster — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 02:59:36 +0000

I agree that Kershaw’s version is superior, though McGraw’s is solid in its own right. It is a shame that Kershaw released the song at a point in his career at which he no longer had the commercial clout to make it a hit.

By: Keith

Keith — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 02:29:32 +0000

I think that McGraw’s version is just okay. I’d say that Sammy Kershaw’s version of the song is much better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPwAKwwu1m0

Unfortunately, Kershaw doesn’t still have the radio presence that McGraw does.

By: Sweetcheeks

Sweetcheeks — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 22:27:10 +0000

I thought “Felt Good On My Lips” was a great, fun song and much better than prior stuff like “Southern Voice.”

I think Tim has really improved though since the days of “Indian Outlaw” and “Refried Dreams.” Those songs sound so corny, and quite frankly, so country, that they are hard to listen to. I appreciate the more mainstream and more sophisticated McGraw that emerged in the 2000s rather than the early McGraw.

By: Ben Foster

Ben Foster — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:20:36 +0000

I agree entirely. It doesn’t out-do the best reflective moments of McGraw’s career, but it’s easily one of his best singles of the past few years. And it certainly is a relief to hear a record that’s easy on the ears!