Martina Mcbride - Emotion

Liquid-eyed Martina McBride finds herself in a holding pattern after 1997's Evolution, unable to break completely free of country radio's indistinguishably bombastic mandates but also perceptibly champing at the bit to disobey them. The arena-ready country-rock ditties lead her to overreach badly (did it really take three writers to invent the hackneyed "I Love You"?), and the trite power ballads just push her bluster buttons, but when McBride's got good material, she's capable of making music that's quite nearly memorable. "Anything's Better Than Feelin' the Blues" (by Matraca Berg and Randy Scruggs) could be an exciting country single, and the two final tunes, Patty Griffin's "Good Bye" and Gretchen Peters's "This Uncivil War," clearly advance McBride's pop-ballad tendencies with some believable lyrical introspection. Such moments, however, are only brief respites from the overbearing Nashville formula. --Roy Kasten