Often songwriters aren’t appreciated for their artistry and the singers are the ones who get all the attention. Lori McKenna, the mastermind behind Tim McGraw’s ‘Humble and Kind’ among other hits, proves that she deserves to be in the spotlight with her latest album ‘The Balladeer’, released Friday. Almost the entire album is driven by an acoustic guitar and gives an intimate look inside her life with her husband and children.
The lack of attention placed on songwriters is the exact premise of title track ‘The Balladeer’. She sings about how image and production value are deemed most important, while vocals, lyrics and true artistry sometimes are discarded. But, if you work hard enough and don’t deviate from what you genuinely believe in, success will eventually come. A lack of deviation is something she stands by because every song on this album sounds like her. She lets the music and lyrics speak for themselves without too many vocal dynamics to try and show off how talented she is. Depending on how you like to listen to and analyze your music, that can either be a good thing or a bad thing for you.
More than half of this album feels like she has let listeners in on private conversations she has had with her husband or her kids. ‘The Dream’ is a standout track amongst these similarly themed songs. It is a heartbreaking account of a moment where her father meets her kids, only to find out that it isn’t possible because he died before they were born. What follows is an account of her informing her children what their grandfather was like and how similar they are. Only the mind of a songwriter could’ve delivered the performance of this song with such sincerity that lets the audience know that there is a deep personal connection here.
There are two collaborations in this collection, and the guest artists do a fantastic job of supporting McKenna on each song, but not overpowering her. The first is lead track ‘This Town is a Woman’ with guest vocals by the ladies of Little Big Town, Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman. One of the more interesting metaphors on this album, this song details how a woman in a relationship, whether it be familial or romantic, can serve as a means of support and a safe place, like a hometown, but often goes underappreciated. The second has guest vocals from her frequent songwriting partners Hilary Lindsay and Liz Rose. The only piano-driven song on the album, ‘When You’re My Age’ is an ode to her children and how they should learn to appreciate life as it comes so they don’t look back with regrets. This is the type of song that McKenna shines on and has led to her becoming the only female to win the Songwriter of the Year ACM Award in 2017.
Lori McKenna doesn’t need the credit, but she certainly deserves it. Nashville and country music wouldn’t be where it is without her. She has paid her dues and she has earned the respect she has as a songwriter. With ‘The Balladeer’, it’s time that we finally give her respect as an artist as well. To listen to ‘The Balladeer’ click here.
