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 Amazon.com

INSPIRATIONAL NO MATTER WHAT'S HAPPPENING

In your life. The words in this album got me through some of the roughest times of my life, and I mean rough! After being attacked and brutally beaten just prior to 9/11. I was terrified of people and everything on the other side of my front door. I retreated from the world completely and decided this world no longer deserved me. After the attacks my doctor refused to release me back to the job which was high paying and what I like to do. I lost many friends that I had on the job. Then I lost my self esteem, lost the job, lost the friends, and almost lost my life until I listened to this album with songs like "Ashes" and I came through. God bless her and the writers on that album I know they save people, they saved me. Every song speaks to and inspires me! You won't be disappointed even if you don't like country! (which I never listened to before, other than Patsy Cline!) September 14, 2006

Surprisingly entertaining

Martina McBride first caught my ear on "I Love You" but I never expected Emotion to be as uptempo and light as it is. Of course, like any typical listener, I set the song I liked (the aforementioned "I Love You") on repeat so I didn't really listen to the remaining tracks until I pretty much bored myself over the song I'd been listening to. "Do What You Do," "Anything, "Make Me Believe" and "There You Are" all sounded as terrific as "I Love You"--little pop-py for Country music (I'd never been a HUGE Country fan, but had a phase of Country in junior high) but still Country (a la the presence of steel guitar in almost every song). 1999's Emotion by Martina McBride surprised me with an extremely delectable combination of the perfect Country-Pop. Definitely a suggested buy for any Country fan. January 7, 2006

A great pop album

I became a fan of Martina's music following the release of her very first album. It wasn't a huge success but subsequent albums generated ever-bigger sales as the public realized what a great singer Martina is. With this album of pop music, Martina almost abandoned her country roots (they show here and there) and was rewarded with a major American pop hit (I love you, which also spent a month at number one on the country charts), giving her plenty of new fans while retaining many of the fans that she already had. I don't mind what kind of music people record as long as the quality is there and this is definitely a quality album.

The outstanding song (to my ears) is a country song - This uncivil war, written by Gretchen Peters about a family suffering hard times. Gretchen has written many great songs, not only for Martina (including her breakthrough song Independence day) but also for Trisha Yearwood and many others, as well as recording three of her own albums. Another excellent song, written by country tunesmiths Matraca Berg and Randy Scruggs, is Anything's better than feeling the blues.

There are plenty of other great songs here, especially among the ballads. My favourites include I love you, Love's the only house, Anything and everything and For the love of a woman.

Martina is a class act who proved with this album that she can sing pop music as well as country music. This is not my favorite among her albums (that honor goes to Wild angels) but if you love Martina's voice, you will probably enjoy this album. July 15, 2005

Martina does it again with "Emotion"!!!

Martina McBride's "Emotion" album contains many pop country elements, but is still nonetheless a great album. Here's how I rate each song. (out of a 5 star scale)

1) Do What You Do- good song, but takes a little to get used to.
(4 stars)

2) Anything's Better than Feeling the Blues- good songs, good lyrics. (4 stars)

3) I Love You- great song, Martina's most successful song on the country charts, spending 5 weeks in the top spot. (5 stars)

4) Make Me Believe- great song about whether one's love is true or not.... i love the lyric "but it's hard to start a fire without a spark (5 stars)

5) Love's the Only House- this song will draw a strong connection to your heart. The song is spectacular and speaks the truth... love is TRULY the only house big enough for all the world's pain. The video to this song is very touching as well. Go Martina! (5 stars)

6) There You Are- a perfect wedding song... She hold the "are" note for at least 12+ seconds near the end. (5 stars) If you hear this song LIVE, she holds the note 15 seconds!!!! (so LIVE this song will be 6 stars/5 stars!!!!)

7) It's My Time- the first song that I ever heard Martina perform live in the AMA awards... she rocked the house down with this song... She also holds a 10 second note at this song. Love that range of hers. (5 stars)

8) I Ain't Goin' Nowhere- I like this song and its message about being there for a significant other. (5 stars)

9) Anything and Everything- the lyrics and Martina's gentle vocal performance on this song are perfection. (5 stars)

10)From the Ashes- another standout song on this album. She holds some high notes in this one too. (5 stars)

11) Goodbye- a solid performance, I llike how Martina goes lower and softer in some parts of the song. (4 stars)

12) This Uncivil War- the best song on the album!!!! AMAZING!!!! Written by Gretchen Peters, the writer of Martina's career hit "Indepedence Day." A very emotional song, which defines the title of the album. The ending is a real treat as well. (6 stars!)

This album is definitely worth purchasing!!! It helps complete my collection of Martina's albums! October 16, 2004

Not one of her best

When i bought this album i expected it to be a lot better. There are only couple of songs that i liked. Martina usually puts out great albums but this one just didnt quite work for me. May 8, 2004

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