Album Reviews: Martina McBride and “Live at Texas Stadium”

I saved reviews of the week’s two best releases for last.

Martina McBride, Waking Up Laughing
I had low expectations for this project after hearing “Anyway,” the over-produced and over-sung lead single, but Martina’s efforts as a producer have now generated two consecutive worthwhile albums. Indeed, on much of the album, Martina sounds like the artist of old who had an undeniably athletic voice but let the lyrics speak for themselves instead of making recordings that amounted to little more than vocal calisthenics. The change is refreshing, and while the project is not a bastion of lyrical complexity, it contains a pleasant selection of Martina’s typical inspirationals performed with an elegance that has been missing from her recent endeavors.

“Everybody Does” and “Cry Cry (Til The Sun Shines)” are typical Martina “if you fall, get back up again” anthems, but other tracks on the album have more attitude. “If I Had Your Name” never develops beyond the hook (”If I had your name, I’d be changing it by now”) but makes for an enjoyable, spunky album opener. “Tryin’ to Find a Reason” is the stark self-examination of a woman mired in a troubled relationship. “House of a Thousand Dreams” is the moving narrative of a family that perseveres despite economic hardship, told in succession from the perspectives of the hard-working father, his faithful wife and their gracious son.

Martina possesses puzzling ability to make profoundly dark subjects seem positive and radio-friendly, but “Beautiful Again,” with instrumentation that seems much too bright for a song about sexual abuse, may be the oddest example yet. The final track and highlight of the album “Love Land,” is built around the familiar story of a young and foolish couple that marries too early but makes it anyway. However, the writing and delivery are sufficiently strong to make this re-tread song an enjoyable listen that could prove a radio hit.

George Strait, Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett, Live At Texas Stadium
George Strait must have enough trouble making the set list for his solo shows, but how do you possibly include all the hits when three legends like George Strait, Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett collide? At this 2004 concert, the superstars decided there was no use in even trying. The result is a refreshing live album that includes the intersections among the three legends’ careers (”Murder on Music Row,” “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere”) while proving that artists with a dizzying number of chart-toppers among them can still make a Texas stadium crowd go crazy with classic covers and deep catalog offerings.

The album opens with Strait’s “Honk if You Honky Tonk,” a song that barely cracked the top-50 but was George’s current single at the time of the recording. Jackson joins Strait for “Murder on Music Row,” and Strait and Jackson are such pure vocalists and the band is so tight that it practically sounds like a studio recording.

Things loosen up when Buffett completes the trio. “Margaritaville” is the album’s only disappointment, as Buffett engages in goofy lyrical transpositions and his backup vocalists add a ridiculous and annoying chant of “salt, salt.”

However, the album is a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. George Strait sounds liberated as he navigates a unique playlist without such standards as “Amarillo by Morning.” Jackson, a notoriously stoic performer, loosens up as he closes the show with a locally-flavored rendition of “Where I Come From.”

The concert’s best cuts are the unexpected ones. Buffett and Jackson collaborate on a wholesome cover of Guy Clark’s “Boats to Build.” Jackson and Strait’s “Designated Drinker” proves that some of their best music barely charted. A bluegrass-tinged “Seven Bridges Road” vies with the trio’s rendition of “Hey Good Lookin’” for the honor of the show’s highlight.