Martina McBride - Greatest Hits
In the abstract, there are two Martina McBrides heard in this ample collection, which features 14 hits from the Kansas-born singer's studio albums, along with four inspired new cuts. At one extreme there's the demure cover-girl-pretty warbler who serves up fervent and endearing love pledges like "Wild Angels," "Safe in the Arms of Love," and "I Love You." Then there's the mature, poised, socially conscious mother of two who grapples with darker topics like poverty and inequality ("Love's the Only House") and child and spousal abuse (the wrathful "Independence Day" and the ineffably sad "Concrete Angel"). There are certainly impressive samples of both Martinas on this anthology. On other cuts--like the bluesy, naughty new track "When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues" and the angry "Life #9"--the forces of light and darkness, anger and felicity, commingle in a manner that's no less intriguing and provocative.--Bob Allen