McGraw Machine Hits: 2013-2019

Tim McGraw left Curb for Big Machine in 2013, nearly two decades deep into his career. He stayed with the label into the 2020s, releasing Here on Earth the first year of that decade, but McGraw Machine Hits covers his 2010s, rounding up ten hits in its basic version, adding Truck Yeah to the digital incarnation, and adding three covers to its deluxe edition: a version of the Cars Drive, a duet with Florida Georgia Line on May We All, and a cover of the Bellamy Brothers Redneck Girl cut with Midland. These are nice additions to a solid set that finds McGraw digging deeper into his mellow tendencies, emphasizing his empathetic side on Humble and Kind and Meanwhile Back at Mamas, nodding at R&B on Diamond Rings and Old Barstools and bringing in Taylor Swift for bittersweet harmonies on The Highway Dont Care. Collectively, these singles veer toward the smooth side, but they do showcase a mature McGraw who seems very comfortable in his own skin. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine