After three years, country-crossover superstar Faith Hill is back again with a new album, "Cry." Here, Hill continues the transformation she began on her last album "Breathe," effectively leaving any remaining traces of country music in the dust and turning her focus to a much more soulful sound.
For all those girls out there who have been burned by love, Hill lets you know you're not alone. We all have faced the emotional roller coaster of a dying love -- from crying over a pint of Ben & Jerry's while watching "Sleepless in Seattle" to burning his pictures and blackening the teeth on those of his new fling, to finally belting out "I Will Survive" into your hairbrush in front of your bathroom mirror -- Faith gives you something to relate to, no matter what stage you're in.
"Cry" tends to give a more personal statement than Hill's past efforts, beginning with the first track "Free," an emancipation tune that carries a deep groove and percussion track that would make even Jennifer Lopez proud.
The themes of most of Hill's tracks "cry" of personal hang-ups and relational handicaps, but generally only those that ultimately lead to self-discovery and transformation. Hill is able to give off a graceful sense of humility, making even the drama-queen theatrics of some of these songs surprisingly down-to-earth.
In "This is Me," she attempts to step down from her superstar pedestal to say that she's "just like everybody else
all of my impurities are right here on my sleeve, this is me." Occasionally the inspirational tone gets to be a bit much. It is at these times that you really appreciate songs like the title track (my personal favorite), which provides a touch of vindictiveness alongside Hill's expressive vocals. This tone also is present on "You're Still Here," an emotional ballad that's sure to leave you misty-eyed. Although there are tell-tale signs of over-production -- unnecessary orchestration, lines and lines of production and engineering credits -- this is definitely a singer's record, as Hill gives full range to her soaring and soulful vocals.
Don't get me wrong -- while I'm definitely a lover of emotional and tear-jerking ballads, I do wish that Hill would have left a little bit of her emotional baggage behind and given us some of the optimism we saw in past hits such as "This Kiss" and "The Way You Love Me." While at first listen you might feel that all the songs tend to blend together, I found the more I listened, the more each one grew on me.
On a side note, I also found it interesting that "If You're Going to Fly Away" was co-written by Alicia B. Moore -- better known to most of us as Pink!
One thing you have to give Hill credit for is her fearlessness. She steps out and takes a stab at soul in an album that presents a "take it or leave it" attitude, making no stylistic concessions to genre standards.
There's not a fiddle in earshot (not counting the ones in the orchestra). Even on a power ballad like "When the Lights Go Down," during which it would have been easy to slip in a subliminal steel guitar midway -- just to keep traditionalists in pocket -- she resists the temptation.
Of course, this is sure to bring on the predictable onslaught of critics who believe Hill is selling out her country roots for the glamour of pop.
Still, while what they say is true (Hill has definitely stripped off all remnants of country), it is a direction that seems to fit both musically and emotionally for Hill, as she is able to give a performance more passionate and powerful than the majority of pop recordings.
In my opinion, good music is good music -- no matter what genre you wrap it in. And with a power-packed voice like Hill's, even "Old McDonald" could smash the Billboard charts. But as a fan of country music, I do wish she had not neglected the old familiar twang entirely, and she could have left out the gospel choir in at least a few of her tracks. Still, the talented singer presents a great album, proving yet again that you still can have faith in Faith.
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