success is part and parcel of his Everyman status, of his ability to be known as husband and father as well as singer and actor, as citizen and friend as well as superstar. It is his believability, his knack for connecting with his audiences, whether he is singing a classic like Live Like You Were Dying or portraying the troubled father in Friday Night Lights, that have made his hard-won triumphs possible.Now, McGraw carries that legacy forward with the release of his latest CD, Let It Go, a collection with all the passion and vitality his legions of fans have come to expect from him.Let It Go, co-produced by McGraw with Byron Gallimore and Darran Smith, longtime lead guitarist and bandleader for McGraw's band, the Dancehall Doctors, showcases both his believability and the talent and charisma that have parlayed him into superstar status. Its themes are life and love, pain and joy, and the universal human striving for betterment, for rising above our surroundings and ourselves. The width of its 13 track spectrum can be gauged from two songs about freedom, Last Dollar, the album 's debut single, with its light touch on the subject, and the title cut, a soul-searing look at the process of carrying on in the wake of the baggage the past can hang on us. It deals with the pain of regret in Whiskey And You and Kristofferson, I'm Workin' and Comin' Home, suspicion in the song of the same name, and even revenge, in The River And Me. Faith Hill joins Tim on two of the album's tracks, I Need You, a bit of passion and power in the tradition of their widely acclaimed duets, and Shotgun Rider, which channels Desperado, offering some of the hope and solace that the Eagles classic only hinted at. Tim also offers fans a rare glimpse at his songwriting skills, with the album's tenth track, Train #10, a bit of classic country indecision in the face of a bad relationship.Throughout, Tim reaffirms his position and triumphs as one of country music's premiere talents, a man with the ability both to select and to fully inhabit meaningful and compelling songs.  (less)