Tim McGraw & Faith Hill - The Rest of Our Life Album Review

Story posted November 22, 2017 in Arts & Entertainment by Lauren Smith.

Country music’s favorite couple, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, have finally put out an album together, The Rest of Our Life. The two have been featured on numerous songs of each other’s in the past, but this is their first duet album together. The power couple have been married for 20 years and have three kids together. The Rest of Our Life shows that their love for each other and their family just keeps getting stronger.

The two had just finished their Soul2Soul tour where they played some of their new songs for their fans. McGraw and Hill balance each other well. Their voices blend perfectly together and their harmonies make for country music gold, but it lacks the intensity you’d expect from two of country’s biggest voices.

The 11 new tracks on the album have the two singing in unison on most of the songs, but McGraw gets more singing time and has a stronger presence on the songs. That may have to do with him being more in the spotlight with his touring and acting in recent years. Hill took a break from music to focus on raising their daughters.

The Rest of Our Life is mostly ballads. The title track has McGraw singing the first verse, sounding very vulnerable. He stretches his voice to new limits as he sings in falsetto, a sound we usually don’t hear from him. The two harmonize on the chorus and Hill takes over the second verse. They go back and forth throughout the song to meet up again in the chorus. Hill’s voice has a larger range than McGraw’s and she pushed his notes to be higher. The song is accompanied by mostly a piano.

The first single released from the album, “Speak to a Girl,” came out in March and had fans not so patiently waiting for their joint album. They called it a, “special song about truth, honesty and respect.” It is an important song for the country music community because the lyrics are about respecting a woman and the right way a man should speak to a woman, where most country songs lately have lacked that. McGraw noted how extremely special this song is for him because he is the father of three daughters. “That’s how you talk to a woman/ That’s how you speak to a girl/ That’s how you get with a lady who's worth more than anything in your whole world,” the two sing together in the chorus.

“Speak to a Girl” was the first song we heard from Hill since 2014 and she proved she was ready to comeback by letting her vocals take lead on the final chorus. All though the song just made it into the top 20 on Billboard's U.S. Country Airplay chart, coming in at No. 19, McGraw and Hill made enough of an impact with it that hopefully fellow country stars will follow in their footsteps to write songs with deeper meanings.

They steer away from the traditional country sound in “Roll the Dice.” The song has a ‘70s style sound to it mixed with soul. This is McGraw and Hill at their best because you can tell they are having fun while they show off their party side. “The Bed We Made” has a sexier sound to it. They sing about how perfect their life is together while they complete their “honey do” list during the day so at night they can “make a mess of the bed we made this morning.”

The wild at heart energy song “Telluride” is the most upbeat track. It’s a nice break in between the ballads. Their passion shines through on this track and is paired with an upbeat piano. The lyrics can relate to their touring life since they get to travel together. “It don’t matter, as long as we’re together/ It all feels like home.”

“Cowboy Lullaby” is mainly just McGraw singing. The soft ballad is slow and full of romance as it paints a picture of two lovers in the beauty of the countryside with wild horses, as any song with the word “Cowboy” in it always mentions. Hill gets to mostly sing on “Lie to Me” and lets her powerful vocals soar to high ranges as McGraw takes a seat to sing the backup vocals quietly. Even though the song is about a failing relationship, it is clear that is not the case for McGraw and Hills relationship.

The album takes a turn for an edgier sound with “Devil Callin’ Me Back.” The two have a haunting effect in their voices on this track. The production is powerful and a bit heavy at times, but it’s a nice change up from the slower songs focusing mainly on relationships. “Damn Good At Holding On” is a toast to their longstanding marriage. The lyrics display how through the ups and downs they have so much love for each other. “The only thing that keeps us from being gone is that we’re damn good at holding on.”

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are lucky in love in The Rest of Our Life, but the album did not meet expectations. They are two of the biggest acts in country music with a pocket full of hit songs between the both of them, but most of the songs on this album are forgettable and won’t be hits. All though the album wasn’t the success fans were hoping for, McGraw and Hill prove their love is a success.

Rating: 5/10

 

Lauren Smith is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email lks5244@psu.edu.