Greatest Hits

Performer: Martina McBride
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: The last 4 tracks on GREATEST HITS are newly recorded songs for this CD. Personnel includes: Martina McBride (vocals); Biff Watson, James B. Lowry (acoustic guitar); Jerry McPherson (electric guitar); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Larry Franklin (fiddle); Steve Nathan (piano); Glenn Worf (bass); Matt Chamberlain (drums); Dan Tyminiski, Troy Johnson (background vocals). Compilation producers: Martina McBride, Paul Worley. Includes liner notes by Martina McBride and Paul Worley. "Blessed" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Cynics might suggest that pop-country star Martina McBride's greatest assets are here pearly whites and piercing blue eyes. Those who've followed the trajectory of McBride's career (a decade and six albums at the time of this compilation's release) know that the real reasons for her success are a set of super-strong pipes and a knack for picking material from some of Nashville's most hit-bound songwriters. One of those writers, Gretchen Peters, provided McBride with a signature song early on, in the form of "Independence Day," a bold narrative that deals unflinchingly with spousal abuse. To her credit, McBride didn't try to repeat that song's success by becoming Nashville's poster girl for social causes. The rest of the songs on GREATEST HITS cover a variety of topics, but mostly center around the timeless biggies like celebration of love ("My Baby Loves Me"), glory of God (the previously unreleased "Blessed"), and surviving doomed relationships ("Broken Wing"). With its all-encompassing coverage of McBride's career highlights and its bevy of never-before-heard songs, GREATEST HITS is the definitive introduction to McBride's career.

Q (11/01, p.140) - 4 out of 5 stars - "...Confirms her as an interpreter of depth as well as drive..."

With her incredible vocal prowess and talent for choosing meaningful songs, Martina McBride became one of the top female country stars of the mid-'90s. After Garth Brooks hired the still-unknown McBride as his opening act, the beautiful singer got lots of attention, but her first commercial success came with her second album, THE WAY THAT I AM. Critical success followed soon after. McBride became the go-to gal for songs of female empowerment. In the late '90s, she crossed over to the pop charts, first by collaborating with Jim Brickman and Bob Seger, and then on her own.

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