Martina Mcbride Timeless CD

 Martina's Voice As Lovely As Her Face
I decided to get the German import version of this CD since it has four additional tracks not found on the American version, making a generous total of 22 songs. I honestly did not know what to expect. I am a big fan of Martina McBride and have all her other albums. But with this apparent homage to the yesteryears of country hits, I wasn't sure Martina would be progressing or regressing. But with that fabulous voice of hers, I decided to take the gamble. I needn't have worried. Martina can do no wrong with that voice, that sparkling, clear voice. She breathes new life into these old country chestnuts while at the same time paying her respects to the stars who have built country music and who paved the way for the new faces like hers. I get the impression Martina grew up on these songs, has lived with them and sung them for decades. They formed and shaped her musical landscape and they are an indelible part of her. Yet she manages to make them sound brand new--and in her pretty hands, they are. What is so amazing about this gifted vocalist is her voice and the way she uses it. She is tiny but has some awesome lung power! Full of youthful intelligence, Martina's voice has the ability to capture and captivate any listener, not just a country audience. Listen to her enunciation. Every syllable, every word, is enunciated with a clear, crisp diction worthy of a college English professor. Her pronunciation is crystal-clear precise. Martina never mumbles or slurs her words. You never have to figure out what she's singing. There is a dignity to this lady. Young and modern in her stylings, she can make a hillbilly gem like Loretta Lynn's "You Ain't Woman Enough" glow with new respectability. She pays tribute to many of country's greats: Hank Williams, Hank Snow, Webb Pierce, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings. And Martina tips her musical hat to the ladies who have gone before her: Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Connie Smith, Lynn Anderson, Gail Davies, Jeannie Pruett, Sammi Smith. And she does it with respectability and class. The instrumentation here is pure country. Fiddles, dobros, and steel guitars abound. But there are lush, softer moments with piano and violins that truly show the depth and range of McBride's pop leanings. Her voice is nothing short of beautifully angelic, feminine-pretty, and sweet. With the recent death of Buck Owens, her renditions of "Love's Gonna Live Here" and "Crying Time" take on a whole new depth of meaning as heartfelt tributes. Dwight Yoakam does a stellar job providing harmony vocals on the Harlan Howard/Buck Owens classic "Heartaches By The Number." Martina does a superb job capturing the infectious honky tonk shuffle beat of that song as well as Harlan and Buck's "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down." Nice to hear her with fiddles and steel guitar. Martina will take your breath away on the haunting Waylon tribute "Dreaming My Dreams." And what she does for Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through The Night" is reinvent his classic with a whole new meaning with her heartbreaking voice. There just is no stopping her intelligent, beautiful voice. I hope she does more albums in the vein of Timeless. A few years back pop stations started playing Martina McBride music because her soft voice is so well suited to 21st century easy listening. For a time Martina was their "pretty darling girl" with the classy name. But I suppose they will all turn away from her now because this album is "too country" for their modern sensibilities. In their eyes she has gone down home to the farm. Too bad. Their loss. It seems as each year passes Martina just somehow gets lovelier and lovelier with time. Her decision to go with the longer hair has made her utterly stunning and one of country's true beautiful young ladies. For the male listener, her startling beauty goes hand in hand with her sweet, angelic voice to truly enhance the listening pleasure. If you love old country classics and want to hear them refreshed and modernized, get this album. If you fear it will be "too country" for you and you are a more "pop-oriented" fan of Martina's, take the chance. Her voice will win you over and make you glad you bought this CD. In the end, what matters is Martina's voice. All across America, high schools are putting on talent contests. Many are televised. I am amazed that every time I watch one, some teenage girl is belting out a Martina McBride song among all that rock and roll offered by their classmates. Martina has made a true connection with the young girls and young women of today. They idolize her. I hope they will not fall away because this album is a departure from the "pop glitter" they crave. I love this articulate, intelligent, beautiful lady. You will too. If you already don't, you will. Buy this CD and fall in love with the lady with a voice as pretty as her face. Whether you love country or pop, you will love this voice. Because THIS LADY HAS A VOICE!!
Submitted by hiflyingphoenix (Butler, PA, USA) 
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