SECOND ALBUM GIVES MCBRIDE BALANCE, RENEWED CONFIEDENCE

Martina McBride takes her work seriously. Sometimes too seriously.

Perhaps that is why the native of Sharon, Kan., decided she needed some balance to get back the self-assurance that enabled her to find a place in the highly competitive country music industry.

He debut album "The Time Has Come" won critical and commercial acclaim, but it didn't bring the same satisfaction of her second album, "The Way That I Am".

"When I was making this second album, I felt more confident," said McBride, who is the main attraction in Saturday night's entertainment venue at the 1994 Riverfest celebration.

"I knew what to expect in the second album," said McBride. "I wasn't so naive. The first time out, I was really concerned with being taken seriously as an artist. I looked for songs that had a lot to say. But I'm not so sure I didn't go over the line with the first album. Maybe it was too serious."

In the second album, McBride decided to mix light-hearted material with serious songs. The range of material includes the up-tempo "Heart Trouble," a song McBride admits was a musical stretch. "My co-producer, Paul Worley, asked me to try this song," she said. "I had no idea how I was going to sing it. I really love melodies that have a wide range, where I can really stretch from high to low notes."

"Heart Trouble" offers a different approach. "Heart Trouble isn't like that," she said. "I'd never sung anything like this before. But with Paul's encouragement I tried it and by singing it through, I found a new area of musical style that I'm comfortable with."

McBride is interested in the emotional issues of women dealing with romantic relationships. She explores this with "The Way That I Am." There is the voice in "That Wasn't Me" that asks her love interest not to confuse her with former loves who have hurt him.

She also ventures into songs inspired by her ability to find a way out of a painful relationship. A woman trapped in an abusive relationship declares her liberation in the troubling, thought-provoking song, "Independence Day."

She reaches another level of reality with the song "Goin' To Work". In this song McBride turns her attention to the working woman who uses work as a way to escape the pain of a broken relationship.

McBride has also ventured into production. "The Way That I Am" enabled McBride to grow more confident and comfortable in her role as co-producer. "In a way I played that role on the first album," she said. "But it was even more of a team effort on this one. I had a lot of input on what it was going to sound like musically, not only the vocal tone but the instrumentation and arrangements; just different ideas here and there. That's the only way I can work."

McBride believes in the hands-on approach to recording music. "That's the only way that I can work," she said. "It's hard for me to understand just coming in and singing the songs, letting somebody else do all the overdubs and not having an input into the end product. I need to have a lot of input so an album will reflect me as an artist. Since I don't write the songs, that's where my creative outlet is."

McBride has been driven by her need to express herself with her music. She was intent on making her musical mark on the country music scene.

Her determination to deliver a respected album, present an entertaining stage show and develop into a performer who will make a difference, has brought McBride into the realm of introspection. "I look back at my first album and realize that I wanted to make the perfect traditional country album," she said. "I was raised on traditional country music and I felt that to be true to that style was the most important thing."

McBride hasn't changed her opinion on that. "It's still very important to me," she said. "With this album, I wanted the core to be traditional becauses that's where I come from."

What she had to realize, however, is that she needed to apply some of the experiences outside of Sharon, Kan. "Along the way I've come to realize that I can use all of my influences, not just the ones I grew up with," she said. "The second album is a declaration of independence for me. When I listen to this album, I hear that in the music. I hear that freedom in my voice, that exploration, that new sense of confidence."

Growing as a singer and being in charge of a new show isn't easy. McBride admits she felt awkward when she first went on stage to open for Garth Brooks' 1992 tour. "I've performed a lot," she said. "I feel at home on stage, but I hadn't been responsible for putting together my own show. The first six or seven shows were really hard."

She finally looked at the situation as a challenge. "I like challenges," she said. "That has been something I've recently recognized about myself." So she worked on building her own show. "I started connecting with the audience, which is the most important thing for me," she said. "I have to feel when the audience leaves they have shared something special with me. We should know each other a little bit better and have connected and begun a friendship."

The same aspiration has enabled McBride to connect with her listener on "The Way That I Am."

"It's important how I feel about a song, but it's more important to me for the song to cause somebody else to feel something," she said.

She added,"I didn't set out to make "The Time Has Come" part two. "There is a real difference in the sound of this album because I have gone through a lot of personal growth. This album reflects where I am right now. It was a real creative process and making this album was a pure joy from beginning to end. Who knows what I'll be like with the next album."