Review

by Jeff Tamarkin

All of 16 when she recorded this debut album, country-pop singer Taylor Swift's considerably strong voice straddles that precarious edge that both suggests experience far beyond her years and simultaneously leaves no doubt that she's still got a lot of life to live. It's a fresh, still girlish voice, full of hope and naïveté, but it's also a confident and mature one. That Swift is a talent to be reckoned with is never in doubt: her delivery on tracks like the uptempo "The Outside," the spare acoustic ballad "Mary's Song (Oh My My My)," and especially the leadoff track, "Tim McGraw," which was the first single from the album, is that of a seasoned pro, despite Swift's newcomer status. "Tim McGraw" may also be the album's highlight -- not a teenager's tribute to the country superstar, it instead uses McGraw as a marker in a lover's time line: "When you think Tim McGraw/I hope you …  » Read more

Tracks

				Title	Composer	Time
		1		Tim McGraw	Rose, Swift	3:54
		2		Picture to Burn	Rose, Swift	2:55
		3		Teardrops on My Guitar	Rose, Swift	3:35
		4		A Place in This World	Angelo, Orrall, Swift	3:22
		5		Cold as You	Rose, Swift	4:01
		6		The Outside	Swift	3:28
		7		Tied Together with a Smile	Rose, Swift	4:11
		8		Stay Beautiful	Rose, Swift	3:58
		9		Should've Said No	Swift	4:04
		10		Mary's Song (Oh My My My)	Maher, Rose, Swift	3:35
		11		Our Song	Swift	5:54
		12		Tim McGraw	Rose, Swift

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