Record Rack

Like his buddies in Hootie & the Blowfish, McCain is an expert at crafting the sort of superficially gritty, thoroughly digestible guitar-pop that ingratiates itself to both adult-contemporary pop fans and certain album-oriented-rock enthusiasts. McCain’s new album even features a Diane Warren-penned power ballad, “I Could Not Ask for More,” which he delivers with a dramatic earnestness worthy of Hootie’s Darius Rucker--or Celine Dion, for that matter.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.