Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Faith Ain't Country Anymore
Well, let's be honest, Faith Hill hasn't made a country album since 1995, so this really shouldn't be a surprise. Anybody who was expecting a country album from this lady (who've probably been sleeping through her career for the past 5 years) will be sorely disappointed. However, if you've noticed Faith's musical evolution, this is a natural step. Faith is not a country singer--not in the traditional sense. (Well, who is nowadays, anyway.) Faith has been a closeted soulful gospel singer, and with this album, she's busting out. So if there aren't any false expectations, one might find some really good stuff on this album.The opener "Free" is a radical departure for Faith, one that works. (I imagine she associates this song with her new musical freedom.) "One" is funky and soulful, "When The Lights Go Down" and "You're Still Here" are fantastic ballads. The best tracks on this album are ones that combine gospel, R&B, and soul: "Stronger" (hands down the best track), "Unsaveable," "If You're Gonna Fly Away." That said, there are a few flaws that keep this record from being the defining album Faith wants it to be. 1) TOO MANY POWER BALLADS. The title track is nice and catchy--unfortunately it's predictably like "Breathe" is nothing more than radio fodder. The others aren't god-awful bad, it's just that after so many power ballads, I started wishing for an acoustic number. (I kind of got one with the final track "You're Still Here.") 2)Faith doesn't have to go full throttle all the time--the girl can sing, no doubt about it. But sometimes nuance and restraint can be lot more affecting, although she isn't nearly as bad as Mariah, Whitney, or Celine. And 3)after a while, the songs become repetitive and all run together. The production focuses on 80's guitars and keyboards, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. (It's just funny that Nashville producers aim for new technologically hip sounds and always, ALWAYS end up in the 80's.) And sometimes the production can be a bit tiring. After 14 songs of screaming guitars, thumping drum beats, huge choir-like backing vocals, I felt tired by the end of it--not emotionally, I was just exhausted from being bombarded all the time. That said, "Beautiful" and "You're Still Here" are welcome changes of pace. Overall, it's a good solid record, one that shows Faith finding her true voice. No, it's not a country record by any means, b/c it's not full of country songs. And here's where I applaud Faith: she gave the songs the treatments they needed. (Not like Shania, who dresses her dance-floor pop with faux fiddles and steel.) Just b/c you stick a fiddle or steel on a song doesn't make it a country song, despite what current artists in the genre are doing. I imagine Hill is going to get ripped to shreds by critics and fans, and truly I don't understand why. Even the initial single should tell them what they're getting into. "Cry" isn't a country ballad--it's a Heart power ballad. There's nothing country about it, and neither is anything else on the record. But that's alright--she makes the music she wants to make, full of pseudo-gospel, R&B, soul. What will be interesting is the next record she makes. Will she go even farther musically? I hope she goes completely all the way next time--leave the predictable singles behind and make an album that would earn respect from Aretha and Gladis Knight, and turn the heads of Al Green and good ole Marvin.
Rating:  - Unbelievable
I have been a Faith fan since Wild One, and I have been with Faith through all of her albums and I have to say this is by far the best ever! I have seen her grow from country newcomer to international star and I've loved every minute of it. CRY is the best yet from Faith, although I do have one complaint...only 14 songs!!! I know that sounds so selfish, but I can't help it when you love something and someone as much as I love Faith, you can't help but want more of this great artist/person. This is an artist who isn't abandoning anything, just growing as an artist and spreading her wings into new musical directions. I would be very disappointed if all of her albums sounded the same. It would be like listening to the same thing over and over again. I haven't stopped listening to this CD since the day it came out. My favorites are Baby You Belong, Unsaveable, and FLY. The more I listen to it , the more I enjoy it! I hope this album introduces more music fans to her work, as well as please her longtime fans. Hats off to Faith, she has truly pleased this longtime fan with her latest and greatest yet!
Rating: - Good CD...Pop sound, defintely not Country
I like Faith Hill's music and this CD is good for the most part. It is mostly ballads/slower songs but it is different than any other CD she has produced. If you are looking for country, this is certainly not it. I wouldn't even put it in a contemporary country category...it is very much pop/easy listening like Celine Dion. The title song that she just realeased, "Cry", is as close to country as it gets in relation to the whole CD. If you liked the album "Breathe" better than any of her earlier albums, then you will like this CD. There is no steel guitar, no fiddle, no twang. Some of the songs almost sound like a light jazz. So...if you are diehard country...forget it. But if you like her music over the past 3-4 years, then you will not be disappointed because this is a further step in that same direction. To put it in Loretta Lynn's words, "They pushed her pop".
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