Tim McGraw: Set This Circus Down : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

For an artist like Tim McGraw, who doesn't write his own material, choosing the right songs is key. On his intensely personal and introspective sixth album, Set This Circus Down, McGraw proves once again that he sure can pick 'em. His song choices, drenched in hooks, push the country envelope to its limit, while his production is progressive, even startling at times -- just listen to "Angel Boy," a fantastic, alt-rock-flavored tale of sin and redemption. McGraw's vocals are stellar, as he veers from Springsteen-esque ("Forget About Us"), to taut and exhausted ("Angry All the Time"), from lovelorn ("Why We Said Goodbye") to jubilant ("Unbroken"), but still unmistakably country. He also has a light touch -- where other singers would've turned a gem of a ballad like "Grown Men Don't Cry" into an exercise in histrionics, McGraw tugs at the heartstrings without being mawkish. McGraw's even got an answer for critics who scorn him and his wife Faith Hill for being too "pop" -- "Things Change," which cleverly charts country's progression by invoking Hank Sr., Elvis, and Willie and Waylon. Fittingly, the track was the first country hit ever to chart as a result of exposure on Napster. Things change indeed.