On My Way to You

Critics have noted that Daniel Lee Martin headed up an advertising agency before launching his country music career. Maybe that’s why he knows not to oversell the songs on his second album, 2007’s On My Way to You. Martin comes across as earnest and genuine, without the rebel posing so many male country acts indulge in. As a singer, he invites comparisons with Tracy Lawrence; his musical sensibilities often recall ‘80s-style country-pop. He leaps into upbeat tunes like “Stark Ravin’ Crazy In Love,” “It’s All How You Look At It” and a likeably loose cover of the Georgia Satellites’ “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” with gusto. He’s even better on thoughtfully romantic songs like “That’s Where I’ll Be” and “You Know Me.” Martin enjoys offering common-sense homilies about daily life — “That’s What God Made Rivers For” and “You Can’t Be Everything to Everybody” stand up well along these lines. The wholesome feel in Martin’s music is underscored by his heartfelt reading of John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads.” By keeping things real in these tracks, Martin makes his country star aspirations sound more than believable.