Firmly in his comfort zone,
Tim McGraw
doesn't stray from the expected on
Standing Room Only
. Working once again with
Byron Gallimore
, his producer since the beginning,
McGraw
sticks to the middle of the road, turning out ballads as well as love tunes and inspirational pop numbers that feel like ballads thanks to their immaculate polish. The smooth approach is the appeal of
-- it glides easily, it sounds as familiar and cozy as home -- but it's also something of a detriment. Not only do all the songs blend together on the album itself, the line separating
and
Here on Earth
-- or
The Rest of Our Life
, for that matter -- blurs easily: they all provide grist for an easy-listening mill, offering seamless comfortable entertainment on an endless
playlist. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine