Checking back in on the McGraw-Hill residence…
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[6.12]
Alfred Soto: It’s no surprise that McGraw and Hill sound excellent — they may be the least smug singing country couples since Wynette and Jones. On “The Rest of Our Life,” Hill provides harmonic support for a we’re-gettin’-old anthem that just avoids being saccharine thanks to McGraw’s remarkable vocal: I can’t remember his hitting high notes so clearly, unaffectedly.
[7]
Edward Okulicz: Wow, I knew Tim McGraw could sing like that, but I didn’t expect him to. And Faith Hill sounds, if anything, younger than she did in the ’90s. Somehow, these two veterans in music sing this Ed Sheeran and crew song like they’re nineteen and looking forward to what they’ve already gone through in reality. The odd clunky lyrical couplet (well, it is Ed Sheeran) aside, this is a first-class first dance song; I mean, I wouldn’t have it at my wedding but I might tear up if it were at a friend’s. I wonder if these two could sing like this and make me like “Thinking Out Loud” and I suspect the answer is a yes.
[8]
Jessica Doyle: They are cute. The song doesn’t quite fit for me, though: it’s clearly based in the fact that this is not two generic singers inhabiting two generic characters, but Tim-and-Faith, and Tim-and-Faith got married in 1996, and if their marriage is half as strong as their selling of it then they got past worrying about waistlines and gray hairs a long time ago. After a certain amount of time the pressure decreases because, paradoxically, the stakes are higher, and a passing reference to time taking its toll doesn’t quite get that across.
[5]
Thomas Inskeep: I never tire of hearing the first couple of country music sing together, and amazingly, I’ve yet to hear a bad duet from them. I was admittedly worried about this one, as a certain E. Sheeran has a co-writing credit, but it appears that a) the other three co-writers help mitigate his impact, and b) Tim and Faith > their material. “The Rest of Our Life” is a stately, mannered romantic ballad which sounds absolutely genuine coming from these two, singing to each other. Like most pizza, as the saying goes, even bad Tim and Faith is still pretty good — and while this isn’t their best, it ain’t bad.
[7]
Jonathan Bradley: They’re better singing to one another than to the rest of us, and “The Rest of Our Life” glows with the warm familiarity of 21 years of marriage. It’s that comfort that carries the track; even if Hill’s verse about picking out baby names places this couple earlier in life than she and McGraw really are, the pair sings of gray hairs and waistlines as if already well acquainted with them. We could imagine these characters to be much younger, but Tim and Faith sing not with the complacency of a happily-ever-after, but with the steady assurance that something comes next.
[7]
Ramzi Awn: The heart behind “The Rest of Our Life” is inspiring, and Faith’s verse is a breath of fresh air. The jangled production underscores the simplicity of the recording, yet the sweetness of the single undermines its currency.
[6]
Josh Langhoff: And lo, every crackle of the fire does not shorten but lengthens their eternity, and apparently gooses Tim’s high notes too. He and Faith throw themselves into [checks credits, sighs] Ed Sheeran’s blue-eyed soul romance by deliberating over each note like they’re picking out wallpaper. Faith does her best with a verse more casually tossed off than the Laffer curve. Still, they pull some rhythmic tug from the endless march of syllables.
[6]
Stephen Eisermann: It seems that no genre is free of the pesky Ed Sheeran cowrite: much like the other ballad cowrites by Sheeran, this one relies heavily on schmaltz and the delivery of Tim and Faith. Both artists are terrific vocalists and hearing them together feels like listening to mom and dad duet, but when they’re delivering clunkers like “I’ll be fine if my waistline goes” it’s really hard to do anything other than roll your eyes!
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