“Angry All the Time”
Tim McGraw
Written by Bruce Robison
Radio & Records
#1 (3 weeks)
October 26 – November 9, 2001
Billboard
#1 (2 weeks)
November 10 – November 17, 2001
I can’t give an A for effort, but if I could, I would reward Tim McGraw’s exceptionally good taste here.
“Angry All the Time” is an all time favorite for nineties kids like me who used CMT as their stand in for country radio. The original recording needed more Kelly Willis, but was still a damn right perfect record anyway.
McGraw missed the boat here by not leaning on Faith more, who gets an uncredited harmony vocal that should’ve been a full blown duet. That second verse would’ve cut like a knife if she sang lead on it: “Our boys are strong now. The spitting image of you when you were young. I hope one day they can see past what you have become.” That would’ve made this a killer breakup duet for the ages, a bit like “Someone You Used to Know” ended up being for GOTYE and Kimbra.
As is, it’s just a solid cover of a ,much better original recording.
“Angry All the Time” gets a B.
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I am not a big fan of Tim but I just love this song. I did not realize it was not an original so I will need to check out the other version. I love country music when it expresses an emotion that is hardly acknowledged. What a great written song. Grade “A”
Tim was really covering great emotional terrain in the late 1990s and early 2000s with songs like this, “Please Remember Me,” “Grown Men Don’t Cry,” and even the self-reflection of “The Cowboy in Me.” I respected it then, yet still took it for granted.
This has always been my favorite Tim & Faith collaboration and you are 100% right that it would be improved by being a full blown duet. Their performance of it on their 2017 tour was particularly good.
I’ve always wondered why this wasn’t a duet with Faith as well. Not only would it have been the best tactical move, it would have helped the second verse make logistical sense regarding who the boys were “the spitting image” of. It works fine with a single narrator I guess but neither the lyric nor the vocal performance catch me where I live in the way that so many of Tim’s late 90s and early 2000s singles did.
I miss this kind of thoughtful and plaintive lyric on country radio today, but they were more plentiful in 2001 and I’m not surprised that time has largely forgotten this one. As Jason said, we took this kind of thing for granted at our own peril before commercial country got so thoroughly dumbed down. “Angry All the Time” is a solid entry but never felt like it expanded McGraw’s musical universe the way that so many of its predecessors did.
Grade: B
The early 2000s saw a lot mainstream stars mine some excellent material from the Texas/independent country scene. Even radio embraced Jack Ingram and Pat Green some. Great song choice by Tim McGraw here, and I agree a duet with Faith Hill would’ve elevated the performance even more.
I’ve never liked how Tim and Faith sound together. Their voices just always clash to my ears.
This song is a great lyric with a maturity that 2001-me didn’t have. I love the “boys are strong now” verse. The only thing that bugs me is “have came and went”. I’m not usually that picky on song grammar unless it’s horribly wrong (such as the opening line of “The Way You Love Me”), but it just bugs me because there was no reason not to use “have come and gone.”
I remember reading where both Tim and Faith wanted to record this, but he persuaded her to let him do it. I’m glad she agreed to sing harmony on it with him. Beautiful song performed perfectly by them.
Grade A for me.
I agree – this would be better as a full-blown duet. I have Bruce Robison’s original, and it is better than Tim McGraw’s recording. Bruce’s recording could have used more Kelly Willis but even as it was, it tops this recording
This is a C+ – with more Faith Hill this would be a B+
…one of the most (quietly) devastating country (relationship) songs. right up there with patty loveless’ “you don’t even know who i am. i think, faith hill’s background vocals, that are actually quietly echoing the blame of being angry all the time right back, are nothing short of brillant and provide another layer of devastation to this failed marriage that fell so much short of what it could have been perhaps. the songwriting is excellent, mcgraws delivery is formidable and the producer just got it right when it comes to faith hill’s role there. what is the highest grade in the u.s.? mark it with that one and in bold too, please.
McGraw’s limitations as a vocalist are front and centre here when compared to Robison singing his own stunning composition. Robison’s version aches with hurt and confusion. So much so, it is hard to listen to.
McGraw chose a great song but just was not up to the task as a singer to fully serve the lyrics.
Nonetheless, I appreciate and respect his reach exceeding his grasp.
Remember when great songs just found a way?
It wasn’t until years later that I realized just how sad and heartbreaking this song really is lyrically. It’s just truly sad how time and circumstance can make some people who were once happy and full of life, including once happy couples, bitter and well…angry all the time. Some of my favorite lines that really get me are “You ain’t the only one who feels like this world’s left you far behind,” “What I can’t live with is memories of the way you used to be,” and “Sometimes I don’t know why this old world can’t leave well enough alone.” That last line especially always gets me. Sometimes I wonder that myself.
I remember right before “Angry All The Time” came out, everyone was hyping that Tim and Faith were coming back with another collaboration. The first few times I’d hear it on the radio, including a couple of times with my dad in his car, I’d always be surprised at how much more mature and less twangy Tim’s vocals had gotten as he sang the first verse. To me, he did sound like he was “gettin’ a whole lot older everyday.”
And since it was another Tim and Faith collaboration, one of the DJ’s on WFLS would always joke right before playing the song: “First it was “It’s Your Love,” then it was “Let’s Make Love,” and now they’re…Angry All The Time?
Sonically, I always loved the use of the accordion throughout, especially in between the verses. It made the song so cool to hear on the radio during the Fall of 2001, especially when we were driving around town at night. I’d especially always have those accordion parts stuck in my head while my step dad and I ate at the food court in Springfield Mall in Springfield, VA during the early 2000s. The Tim and Faith version of “Angry All The Time” definitely has more of urban feel to it, and I can picture it surrounding a suburban couple. The original by Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, though, with it’s more stripped down and grittier arrangement, definitely has me picturing the story happening in either a rural area or West Texas like desert location.
And speaking of that original version, I didn’t hear it until GAC played the video for Bruce Robison’s version one night after Tim’s had been out for a while. That was also when I got my first exposure to Kelly Willis, despite her only singing harmony on the song. The Robison version is also excellent, and I do agree with Peter that he does a better job of nailing the weariness and sadness of a man who has been in an unhappy, struggling marriage for many years. I also love the steel guitar and guitar solo on the original. For me, both versions are enjoyable for different reasons: Tim’s for the slick urban feel and early 2000s nostalgia, and Bruce’s for a grittier, more country sounding version with great instrumentation and having Kelly Willis.
While I do agree with others that it would’ve been interesting if “Angry All The Time” was done as an actual duet between Tim and Faith, I also think it works fine enough as it is. For me, it’s kind of unique in that Tim is the narrator during the second verse, as well, and I like that the boys are being compared to their mom instead of their dad, which I feel is less typical. Tim singing lead all the way through makes it unique too in that it’s usually the men who are the “bad guys” in these kind of songs, but here it’s the woman who is “angry all the time.” Similar to how Dan Seals’ “Everything That Glitters” is still unique today as a post break up/divorce song. I also like Tom’s interpretation above that Faith’s harmony vocals are actually her echoing the same feelings the male narrator has, making both parties “angry all the time” and to be blamed for their failed relationship.
It’s just a great song, either way, imho. It’s just amazing to look back and marvel that a song like this could even still go to number one back then. And that it was done by one of the then hottest young male superstars of the genre seems unthinkable today. Tim sure did have great taste in songs and songwriters from around the late 90s and early 2000s!