Kim McLean is a songwriter first,...artist second.  She has had over 200 songs recorded by people like Tim McGraw, Shana Morrison, Trisha Yearwood, Billy Gilman, Lee Ann Womack, and more.  She's won awards from ASCAP, The Dove's, NSAI, and been nominated for a Grammy.  Most songwriters create songs that 'the whole world sings' but miss the spotlight.  Kim McLean steps into the artist spotlight because some of her songs, she had to sing herself.  You'll notice that the songwriter sings the song differently than an artist, perhaps because she's lived every note.  Please stay and listen, and if you like what you hear, join the team.  We need you. 

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Here are what a few others have said about Kim McLean:

Kim McLean Review – Happy Face – by ApeQuake on Blogspot:

There was a good minute that the country gals of Nashville intoxicated me. Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn incorporated their incomparable souls to the sounds of trendy production assembled by that city's commercial-aping country controllers. The struggle, in hindsight, was that in the late '60's and '70's was that producers actually held back from the sickening gleam by keeping it based in traditional country music. It wasn't until the early 1980's that country and pop became indistinguishable.

Kim Mclean's Happy Face compares favorably as an extension of mid-period Countrypolitan (Nashville Sound). Her set of musicians are well-heeled, but lack the outpouring of character bleeding from the cats that spend decades playing bluegrass at festivals or honky-tonk in dives. Regardless, it effectively works as a Mclean expression.

The artist's songs match the theme and tone of bluegrass. They are somber, personal, religious and observational expressions -- words and vocals are comfortable and refrain from any obnoxious showiness. Happy Face collects moments and relates them via song. When a guest to listens to Kim, they become part of her world. The only eyebrow raiser lifts with an exceptionally harmonic "Angels and Eagles" [with Dolly Parton!!].

The hook is the absolute lack of catch or the abhorrent tendencies acts have to promote their music. Kim's voice and songs are comfortably confident. Happy Face appreciates curiosity and draws its window curtain open for any witness to view from a safe distance. Admire at will.

Kim McLean Review: Wood & Steel/Taylor Guitars

Kim McLean’s new CD, Happy Face, is a major milestone on McLean’s journey to develop her own artistic vision. The North Carolina native and now Nashville-based singer and instrumentalist is a seasoned writer whose songs have been recorded by Tim McGraw, Shana Morrison, Trisha Yearwood, and the Judds, among others. She has made a reputation as a writer and producer for other artists, but her own sound has continued to evolve over the course of several albums, one prior solo effort, and a return to her maiden name (she previously recorded under Kim Patton-Johnston).

The new CD finds McLean in a groove, with a strong batch of songs, lovely vocals, competent guitar chops, and the expert backing of players (Eddie Bayers, John Willis, Dave Hungate, Russ Pahl) who have been with her long enough to share the same skin. The empathy shows, and it’s a tight musical ride from the first track, “Cryin’ Days,” co-penned with Mark Narmore, which stays with you as much for the upbeat sonics as the simple, cut-to-the chase lyrics (“I had a bad idea but I dropped it. Let there be no more Cryin’ Days.”).

The remainder of the CD has a sprinkling of soft, country/pop stories (including harmonies with Dolly Parton on “Angels and Eagles”), and some harder-edged rockers laced with electric and acoustic guitars, fiddle, and the occasional woodwind, flute, and horn. The vocals and instrumentation maintain interest on every cut and never bury the inspiration, aided by engineer George Tutco, who kept the tracks open and alive.

McLean is opening up to a broader audience by gently crossing musical boundaries on this album. She talks about having a “twang factor” (she hails from North Carolina and has written a lot of country music), but her writing exhibits the diversity of her admitted influences, including rockabilly, gospel, Rufus Wainwright, Sting, and Bonnie Raitt. McLean’s spiritualism also weaves through this CD, but the songs are grounded in her life, as exemplified by “Life in a Frame”, McLean’s personal favorite.

Although McLean was a piano composition major, guitar has become her primary instrument; her main studio and live guitars are two of her five Taylors, which McLean played on every track of the album.

— Julie Bergman