Rating: 5/10
Okay, I’m not coming at this as some purist who has a problem with 90% of Faith Hill’s catalogue because it’s more pop/adult contemporary than country. I’ve enjoyed a good chunk of music by both these singers, and they’ve made some excellent songs together. For proof beyond my word, I suggest “Like we Never Loved at All,” “I Need You,” “Angry All the Time,” and “Meanwhile, Back at Mama’s.” That’s not even mentioning the two they’re probably most known for, “It’s Your Love and Let’s Make Love.” So the news that they’re releasing a duets album could potentially mean we’re getting some great music, and if Hill’s inclusion inherently means a more pop sound, I would think that is expected by now. So let’s just establish the fact this is a pop song, judge it accordingly–or not–and move on.
The song itself is about all the things a man should do in order to make a woman fall in love with him. The song explains she doesn’t care about money; she wants a man who respects his mother and treats her right. A pretty cool line is “she wants you to say what you mean and mean everything that you’re saying.” all in all, it’s a nice message and if it does well on radio at all, it will be a blessed contrast from the way radio hits normally speak about women. The two, as always, sing well together.
Still, even though it’s a good message, it feels underdeveloped. it could have been more specific, less generic. The lyrics are a little shallow in places, and I have no idea why sometimes the writers chose “she just want” instead of “she just wants” because it just sounds ridiculous. I guess it’s trying to sound urban or cool, but it really got on my nerves. IN the end, it balances out to just be kind of forgettable which means it will probably be a massive hit in today’s radio climate. Then again, there is a female, and the words are about respecting females, so that’s two strikes against it.
I really wanted to like this song, but it’s just there and really doesn’t do much for me either way. I hope the album will be better.
The thing that immediately stood out for me is Tim’s vocals. That sounds nothing like him! He completely dropped the twang in his delivery for some inexplicable reason, even though that’s one of the most endearing qualities of his music. That and the production give this an adult contemporary feel, less a country feel, and that’s the trend for the past year or so. Very disappointing. It’s not terrible, just disappointing. And, yes, the lyrics are so-so. On the plus side, Faith sounds fantastic. It’s great to have her back recording.
You’re absolutely right, I noticed that about Tim too. Faith at least sounded like herself. It could have been so much better than this. Hopefully the album will be.
I just listened to the song again, and I cannot get over how different Tim sounds. If I had heard this song on the radio without any introduction, I would have assumed that Faith is singing with someone else…someone I didn’t know. I really hope that this is not a sign of things to come for both this album and Tim’s future work. He has been doing amazing stuff with his recent singles, like “Diamond Rings and Old Bar Stools.” He sounds uninspired, bored, and mediocre in this song. It’s like he’s trying to explore new sonic territory with his vocals, but it fails miserably. Faith’s performance, by contrast, is what carries this song and makes it tolerable.
The song is terrible…faith is struggling to stay in key. The lyrics sound like Ebonics.real Country music is dead. I don’t know why we have to have r&b influence in country. I am scared for the future of country.
I think we’re all scared for the future of country. The good news is that there’s still quite a lot of it to be enjoyed outside the mainstream, and it’s certainly not dead, even if it is as a mainstream format. Thanks for your comment, Ed!