Tim McGraw

Tim McGraw is a kind of fluke — he’s got movie-star looks and a big old hat, and to the casual browser he might seem like a post-Garth clone, especially considering that so much of his public presentation is tied to his marriage to country pop diva and video glamour babe Faith Hill. But the truth is, McGraw is earnest and honest, and his music, which is part pop, part honky-tonk and part Southern rock, is true and well-produced and not shoddy in the least. McGraw has a heart and real talent, and his work is solid and, above all, smart. His new CD, Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors, moves close to the bone, recorded in house, so to speak, with his touring band, and it has a gutsier feeling that indicates that McGraw knows what he wants, how to get it, and gets it right. And miracle of miracles, McGraw has managed to avoid jumping on the patriotic jingle bandwagon. The lad and his on-disc band deliver a clean, hard cut variety no-frills country stomp — not a bad deal.