Hit after hit after hit

Of all the major male country artists, I think the one guaranteed not to embarrass you in front of your friends is Tim McGraw. With his 70s rock vibe, his excellent band, and top notch production from Byron Gallimore, Tim McGraw can give hours of pleasure (and, as Andrew says, for all the family, too). Whereas Keith Urban's lyrics are shite and Brad Paisley's are cheese, McGraw (or his producer) has such a good ear for a great song - every album is loaded with hits. My kids love his songs, and Andrew's dad loves his songs as well, so that's a fair spread of generations.

Great for summer motoring, too. Honestly. You won't care you're caught in a traffic jam.

In the interests of scientific research, and because I care, I've been experimenting with Tim McGraw CD compos. Call it a "playlist" if you want to be all moderne, but here is Version 3.0, which people are already calling "The Ultimate Tim McGraw Collection".

This could change your life.

1. Something Like That
   - almost a trademark track - upbeat, 70s style rock song with a nostalgic bent.

   I had a barbecue stain on my white t-shirt
   She was killin' me in that mini skirt
   Skippin' rocks on the river by the railroad tracks
   She had a suntan line and red lipstick
   I worked so hard for that first kiss
   And a heart don't forget somethin' like that



2. Forget About Us
   - Ease back, pop a beer, and take in the summer night:

   I'm gonna drive on out to the river tonight
   Find a quiet spot, turn on my parking lights
   I'm gonna drink some beers, try to catch a buzz
   Turn my radio up and forget about us
   



3. Sing Me Home
   - This is a real favourite of mine; so much so that I recorded my own version of it. Excellent acoustic guitar riff at the beginning, and an all-round cracking song:

   I've been out there searching
   For a place where I belong
   And on my way I heard my song
   Let it sing me home



4. Can't Tell Me Nothin
   - A lot of male country stars like to do that "I'm stubborn, you won't change me," schtick. McGraw's version reeks less of right wing politics and has a real warmth to it.

   They say that drinkin'll kill you
   Same thing with rolling smokes
   That's two of the three things
   I like most - can't tell me nothin'



5. Angry All The Time
   - Why is it, when millions of people go through marriage breakups and the aftermath of divorce, that the only good songs about this experience are in the country genre? This is absolutely the best song about D-I-V-O-R-C-E I've heard yet. Ironically, it's also a lovely duet with his wife Faith Hill.

   The reasons that I can't stay don't have a thing to do with being in love
   And I understand that lovin a man shouldn't have to be this rough
   You ain't the only one Who feels like this world left you far behind
   I don't know why you gotta be angry all the time



6. Back When
   - This anthem could be the Hoses of the Holy theme song. It's my favourite at the moment, and I'm playing it every night, with a view to having a go at recording it.

   I love my records
   Black, shiny vinyl
   Clicks and pops
   And white noise
   Man they sounded fine
   I had my favorite stations
   The ones that played them all
   Country, soul and rock-and-roll
   What happened to those times?
   
   I'm readin' Street Slang For Dummies
   Cause they put pop in my country
   I want more for my money
   The way it was back then
   
   Back when a hoe was a hoe
   Coke was a coke
   And crack's what you were doing
   When you were cracking jokes
   Back when a screw was a screw
   The wind was all that blew
   And when you said I'm down with that
   Well it meant you had the flu
   I miss back when



7. Somebody Must Be Prayin' For Me
   - Can't have a country compo without a bit of "counting your blessings" sentimentality. This one is a proper ballad (i.e. tells a story) with a nice turn of phrase

   A boy about twenty climbed out of the truck
   all coverd in grease and dirt
   She said, " hey Charles ,"
   but he just laughed and said," I'm wearin' my daddy's shirt,"
   He stood there lost in her eyes
   and she got lost in his...



8. That's Why God Made Mexico
   - A bluesy, piano-based slow rocker about leavin' it all behind.

   And Betty fixed Joe dinner every night
   At half past six
   Cause that's when he rolled through that door
   For sixteen years and not a thank you from his lips
   She don't fix him dinner no more
   
   And that's why God made Mexico
   A place where we can lay low
   Where the Cuervo goes down nice and slow
   And the warm winds blow
   That's why God made Mexico



9. Senorita Margarita
   - and while we're on the subject of Mexico, this is a drinking song:

   I hope you realize this is a one night stand
   I'm gonna get her back I know I can
   So let's keep this between you, me, the salt and the lime



10. Tiny Dancer
    - His superior version of Elton's song reveals his real affection of 70s rock sounds


11. Everywhere
    - One of the first songs that made me pay attention to McGraw. It's another one about having someone on your mind over many years: something I can really relate to.

    But ever since we said good-bye
    I've been out here on the wind
    Baby you would be surprised
    All the places you have been
    I've seen you in
    
    Albuquerque waitin' out a blizzard
    Arizona dancin' 'cross the desert
    Watchin' the sun set in Monterey
    Girl I swear just the other day you were
    Down in Georgia pickin' them peaches



12. My Next Thirty Years
    - I love this one. I guess it's about turning 30 and thinking about the next 30 years; but it could also be about turning 40 and thinking about the same thing (3 score years and 10 and all that).

    Hey my next thirty years I’m gonna have some fun
    Try to forget about all the crazy things I’ve done
    Maybe now I’ve conquered all my adolescent fears
    And I’ll do it better in my next thirty years



13. Where The Green Grass Grows
    - probably the most country-sounding track here (lots of fiddles, but with a stompy rock backing), it's a fairly easy song to play.

    Six lanes, tail lights
    Red ants marching into the night
    They disappear to the left and right again
    
    Another supper
    From a sack
    A 99 cent heart-attack...



14. Seventeen
    - More nostalgia, and a companion piece to the opening track.

    Legs hangin' off the Bayou Bridge
    Feedin' fish potato chips
    And talkin' about the mysteries of the universe
    Yeah, the world was somewhere else
    We had the Summer all to ourselves
    And the stars went off like fireworks



15. Home
    - Lovely guitars on this one, and brilliant, evocative lyrics. This verse in particular speaks to me because I "planted a tree in '73" - I was a boy of 10, not 9, but nine rhymes better:

    Daffodils are popping up
    Out behind the clothesline
    Underneath that tree I planted
    When I was just a boy of nine
    Man I never can believe
    Just how much it's grown when I go
    
    Home
    Back home



16. Live Like You Were Dying
    - This would be the last track, but in version 2.0 it kept coming on just as I was parking the car and getting out, so I put it next-to-last. There's a reason this was CMA "Song of the Year" in 2004. Quite difficult to play, because all the tabs I've found have C5 and Eb/D and other difficult chords - probably written on piano.

    He said I was finally the husband
    that most the time I wasn't
    and I became a friend a friend would like to have
    and all the sudden going fishin'
    wasn't such an imposition
    and I went three times that year I lost my dad



17. Who Are They?
    - Andrew's favourite, and a better political insight into heartland America than any amount of political blogs out there. Great harmonica on this, makes it sound like a hit straight out of the box.

    They probably own the Village Voice
    The Nashville Scene, The People's Choice
    To me it's all a bunch of noise
    Decided on by funny boys
    They say who does and don't belong
    They say our hair's too short or long
    They say who's right and who is wrong
    As if we'll all just come along
    
    Who are they?
    Yeah you know what they say
    Who are they?
    Someone I gotta pay
    Who are they?
    They're probably living in LA
    And I don't care anyway
    Who are they?

So. C'mon. You know you want to.