Caught in the Middle

A few weeks ago, as the series finale of the TV sitcom Mad About You reached its climactic ending, a well-crafted pop song rose from the soundtrack. The tune started with a reflective, melancholy tone, then built to a chorus brimming with optimism. That chorus—“You give me love”—rang out repeatedly, conveyed with rapturous delight by a sweet, soaring female voice.

Since the song wasn’t a familiar radio hit, it no doubt left millions of viewers wondering who the performer was. Many were likely surprised to find out that it was a country singer, Faith Hill. Written by Matraca Berg, Harry Stinson, and Jim Photoglo, and performed with convincing compassion by Hill, “You Give Me Love” proved to be a wonderful choice: Driven by ringing guitars and a buoyant melody, the song’s uplifting message acknowledges that life can be difficult, but enduring love can provide comfort and encouragement in the darkness.

In a way, the sitcom’s musical choice also offers a telling lesson about country music today. Mad About You was about a yuppie couple in Manhattan—an independent filmmaker and a publicist struggling to juggle career goals and personal lives. That’s probably about as far from the stereotypical country audience as you can get; after all, just a decade ago, such a couple would more likely have been listening to African high-life music or a Bulgarian women’s choir.

But as the Nashville music industry struggles to find its identity in the aftermath of Garth Brooks and Shania Twain, Hill offers the clearest example of what works. She and husband Tim McGraw, along with Trisha Yearwood, have been about the only true products of the Nashville system to navigate their careers successfully from pre-Shania to post-Shania. Nearly every other million-selling artist from the early- to mid-’90s has seen sales slip in the last few years.

Hill, in particular, has taken the energy and attitude of Twain’s music while balancing it with the best aspects of what Nashville has to sell: a wholesome, attractive image; well-crafted tunes; and a sense of belief in the world, in other people, and in family.

True, the sound isn’t particularly country, not in the traditional sense. But it’s different from anything coming out of Los Angeles and New York. Right now, Nashville’s best hope at maintaining, or regaining, the attention it had in the mid-’90s is to provide the kind of music the producers of Mad About You wanted but couldn’t find elsewhere. They wanted a pop song with heart and depth, a catchy song that connected with people. They wanted the kind of song that writers like Matraca Berg, Beth Neilsen Chapman, Annie Roboff, Gretchen Peters, Kim Richey, and others regularly provide to Music Row performers.

Already, it’s becoming clear that country forfeited part of what it gained in recent years because it lost its heart. In the early ’90s, the music of Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Trisha Yearwood, and others started out strong but then slipped into bombast and silliness. It wasn’t the increasing influence of pop music that made Nashville lose its character—it was the emphasis of catchiness over catharsis.

Right now, though, Nashville is making better music than it did three or four years ago. The line-dance ditties have been ditched, as have the superficial rural signifiers about trucks and boots. But will listeners and record buyers return to country music? This much is certain: It will take more breakthroughs like Hill’s “This Kiss” for that to happen. The music is there: Up-and-coming performers like Chely Wright, Julie Reeves, Brad Paisley, Claudia Church, and James Prosser have offered commendable new albums, while vets like Mark Chesnutt, Tim McGraw, John Michael Montgomery, and Kenny Chesney are investing their records with an attention to quality that wasn’t there a few years ago. Even more promising is the quick success of a kick-ass act like Montgomery Gentry, who are even more commendable for combining brains and brawn.

But the current focus on pop-country doesn’t mean that traditional country should be left behind. There will always be a niche market for people craving solid country songs, be they steel-driven ballads, engaging shuffles, or good-time swing tunes. And judging from this year’s record releases, traditional country is as strong as it has ever been in the ’90s, thanks to onetime radio favorites like Marty Stuart and Ricky Skaggs, longtime champions like Asleep at the Wheel and Rosie Flores, and regional favorites like Chris Wall and Dirk Powell.

In fact, it seems like traditionalism has the potential to flourish right now: Judging from the pop charts, listeners are turned on by rhythm these days, and traditional country music is packed with sprightly, engaging tempos. Unfortunately, Music Row seems anchored to robotic arena-rock rhythms—it’s as if every country producer heard Journey, Bon Jovi, and Boston, and thought, “Now, that’s how drums should sound!” But the world isn’t as white or as rigid as the click-track beats rolling off Music Row suggest.