Waking Up Laughing - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Martina McBride has long been a champion of music as social consciousness, particularly for abused women ("Independence Day") and children. On Waking Up Laughing, her ninth album and the follow-up to Timeless, her platinum-selling album of country classics, she advances the theme while expanding it. While two songs explore the issue of unwed mothers (particularly the exquisite "Love Land," which closes the album), and another, "Beautiful Again," touches on child sexual abuse, her overall repertoire embraces the wholeness of family, and of standing strong together in the face of adversity and defeat. Musically, McBride has always proved to be an elegant thorn--her song selection is often inspired (and here, she co-wrote three tunes, including the skyscraping single "Anyway"), but she has tended to use her huge, ride-the-wave soprano full-tilt, without employing the subtle shadings that would make her even more emotionally resonant. On Waking Up Laughing she seems to have worked on the problem, yet in her second foray as solo producer, she still tends to gild the lily instrumentally--inflating string bridges between choruses, for example, or loading the opening country-pop track, "If I Had Your Name," with a Southern-rock guitar break, a listen-to-me fiddle showcase, a Celtic guitar intro, and a close that brings to mind George Harrison's sitar in play-it-backward mode. That said, she makes fine use of what sounds like a black female choir on the uplifting "For These Times," and wisely keeps the haunting break-up ballad "Tryin' to Find a Reason" (with Keith Urban's harmony vocals and guitar solo) lean and affecting. As McBride works to refine her pastiche of creativity, commerciality, and social awareness, she slyly takes more chances than one might think, all the while rallying old fans and making new ones. --Alanna Nash

Album Description
After 16 million in sales and 22 top 10 singles, some artists might be afraid to tinker with success and tempt fate. But not Martina McBride. Following up on her platinum-selling Timeless album, a poignant collection of country classics representing her first effort as solo producer, she's at the production helm again for her ninth studio release, Waking Up Laughing. Since her debut in 1992, McBride has maintained a consistent presence on the country charts, including six number one singles, and has also enjoyed crossover success in the pop and adult contemporary genres. Always striving for new artistic heights, McBride is breaking new ground by serving as producer, writer and artist for her latest album, which includes three songs she co-wrote with the Warren Brothers and other top songwriters.

Customer Reviews: Read 55 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

I suspect that some reviewers didn't actually listen to this CD April 17, 2007
27 out of 28 found this review helpful

So many negative reviews. "Oh, the songs aren't as good as her old songs. Oh, she's too loud. Oh, it's over-produced. Oh, Oh, Oh." Give me a BREAK. It's 41 minutes of a voice belonging to a woman so gifted that I've just got to sit here and laugh at the cheap shots showing up in these reviews. The first track..."If I Had Your Name"...a perfect opener, catchy, perfect windows-rolled-down, volume-turned-up road music. "Cry Cry (Till The Sun Shines)"...sort of a Martina-Meets-Mellencamp heartland rocker. "Tryin' To Find A Reason"...a nice, tranquil track. "For These Times"...another track that balances subtlety with power. She's got a powerful voice, folks, and she uses it. Why wouldn't she? "Anyway"...sweet, sad, heartfelt, one of her originals (written with Brad and Brett Warren), and a word or two for her critics: "You can pour your soul out singin' a song you believe in, that tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang...sing it anyway." Touche. "How I Feel"...OK, maybe this one got a little over-produced. Her recent live performance of it on the April 4th "Imus In The Morning" show (yes, the same day he said the words that ended his career) was more streamlined and organic, but it's still a killer track with vocals and and overall vibe very reminiscent of Rosanne Cash. "I'll Still Be Me"...more fragile emotion and nuance for the people who say that this album is lacking in nuance. Here, Martina brings her voice down to a whisper as she sings about being "a normal girl from Small Town, Nowhere." The next track, "Beautiful Again," gets a little bluegrass-twangy and sounds like it's aiming for heavy radio play. "Everybody Does" is another stylistic nod to Roseanne Cash (it's particularly reminiscent of her electric guitar-driven work with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers on "Rhythm & Romance"). "House Of A Thousand Dreams" lowers the volume again and is another Mellencamp-style "working man with broken dreams" song. The closing track, "Love Land," could have come from the pen of Don Henley. Flip the gender in the lyrics and it's a page right out of his book. So there you have it...I don't know what the fuss is all about. Maybe some people feel disappointed by this album, but I'm not one of them.

4 out of 5 stars

One for the heartstrings April 15, 2007
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

It was a long time coming, but Martina McBride finally puts her previously unutilized song-writing skills to good use for three tracks on album number nine, which she also produced. Two of these tracks are straight-up single material - the already released "Anyway", followed closely on the album by "How I Feel". The third is "Beautiful Again", a real tear jerker of a song, dealing with broken homes, abuse, and single parenthood, but which shows that it's possible to focus on the positive and move on.

Tracks to listen for include the opening song "If I Had Your Name" (listen for the guitars and violins); "Tryin' To Find a Reason", a breaking-up ballad featuring Keith Urban; "I'll Still Be Me", a poignant song about endless love, and "Love Land" the emotional closing track.

The high point of the album is undoubtedly the song "Anyway", with its motivational lyrics, and chorus that brings to mind the Joan Osbourne hit song "What if God Was One of Us". As she sings on the track - "You can pour your soul out singin' / A song you believe in / That tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang / Sing it anyway / Yeah sing it anyway". If she keeps singing them like this, I don't think she'll have to worry about being forgotten in a hurry.

The other single "How I Feel" is also an excellent track, and has the potential to become a new Christmas song, thanks to the one line that mentions snow on Christmas Eve. (It worked for Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You", didn't it?)

Although many of the songs are inherently sad, most of them show some light at the end of the tunnel, so that by the time you reach the end of the song, you get that tingly warm sensation you feel when something tugs at your heartstrings, and that's a good thing.

Amanda Richards, April 14, 2007

4 out of 5 stars

WHAT DOES THE TITLE HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING? April 3, 2007
12 out of 27 found this review helpful

After the first two songs on Martina McBride's new CD "Waking Up Laughing" I was sorely disappointed. If I had wanted a poppy Faith Hill CD I would have bought one of those.

But beginning with her duet with Keith Urban "Tryin' To Find A Reason" ("If you're tryin' to find a reason to leave/Stay") Martina becomes Martina again and except for one more misstep ("Everybody Does") delivers more of the types of songs for which she is cherished.

The overriding theme here is perserverance in the face of adversity whether in the instant classic "Anyway" ("God is great/but sometimes life ain't good"), the song about child sexual abuse and teenage pregnancy "Beautiful Again" ("She knows that in the end life gets beautiful/Beautiful again), "House Of A Thousand Dreams" with it's theme of overcoming poverty with love and the brilliant CD closer "Love Land" with it's tale of out of wedlock pregnancy and subsequent Vegas nuptials ("Anywhere I hold your hand is love land").

Add to these the deeply personal "How I Feel," the simple and simply wonderful "I'll Still Be Me" and the optimistic "For These Times" with its bluegrass and gospel influences.

So remember, don't bail out during the first two songs saying Martina's sold out and this ain't country. The wait for the good stuff will be worth it.

5 out of 5 stars

Just Great!!!! April 3, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Once again, Martina has made a great album!!!!....Suprisingly, the first single really doesn't show what the entire album is like...to me, this album has a very organic sound....it's one of those cd's that is perfect for riding in the car with...Every track is good.....My fav's are "If I had Your Name", "Tryin' To Find A Reason, "For These Times", "Anyway", "How I feel", "Everybody Does" and "House Of A Thousand Dreams"....that is not to say the reamining tracks are not good..they are all awesome...I read another review asking where the powerhouse vocals were?!?!...they are still here...just in moderation...i'll be the first to admit i love to hear Martina belt it out on songs like "Broken Wing" and "How Far" which is my fav martina song....but everybody knows that the girl has pipes..she doesn't have to show it on every song...It's also nice to see a different side to her voice..but the power house is still there throughout....just not going as high on notes as she does on others...but again, the album is great...Major kudos to her on solo producing the album...Martina is truly gifted in many aspects of her music..from the vocals, obviously, to the writing and producing..."Waking Up Laughing" is to me the most creative and inventive album she's done and well worth buying!

5 out of 5 stars

Finally She's Back! April 9, 2007
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

While I know many fans enjoyed "Timeless", I thought that was a huge waste of Martina's talents. Not to mention, I hate that old formulaic same-same stuff they did back in the day. She made it tolerable to hear, but I'm glad to have her back doing what Martina does best and I enjoy most. I know there are a lot of idiots that come on and trash people just for the sake of trashing people, and normally I don't let it get to me. But one recent reviewer actually had the gall to call this a snoozefest. And I'm skeptical as to whether that reviewer has even heard the album after complaining that Martina screams. Martina has a beautiful voice with an incredible range that she uses both powerfully and softly on this album. In fact, this is her most tender album with beautiful maturity and emotion. The vocals are mastered with terrific warmth and clarity. Anyone reading the review who has ever heard Martina knows to dismiss that review completely. Hopefully someone reading these reviews who isn't as familiar with Martina will see the vast number of positive reviews and also ignore an idiotic review like that.

I recommend listening to this loud enough that you can really hear the vocals, since Martina did a great job with production. She extracts every ounce of emotion in these songs. My favorite track is one that normally I wouldn't like because I don't usually enjoy songs with an irregular tempo. The last track, Love Land, is just beautifully done. It doesn't really rhyme for most of it, and as I mentioned the tempo is very irregular. It's almost like a freestyle poem with music playing in the background. But it's a bittersweet story with an ultimately uplifting message, sung with control and passion. "Anyway" is pure Martina, and is also one of my favorites. There are so many good songs (though at only 11 tracks it's a bit short) that it's easier to pick my LEAST favorite. "Beautiful Again" is still a decent performance, but the music is so not my style, more bluegrass and a little singsongy for my taste. She sings it well, I just can't give it more than 7 out of 10. Every other track for me is 9.5 to 10 out of 10. On her "Martina" album the clunker song was "Reluctant Daughter". Seems even a gifted artist and song selector like Martina takes a misstep once on each album. But this is still a five star album from a 5.5 star performer. Way to go Martina! I hope we get lots of singles from this one.

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