Faith Hill: Cry : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

A distillation of Celine Dion, Shania Twain and Amy Grant, minus their eccentricities and humor, Faith Hill sings most songs as if she's aiming to win American Idol. Still, she's an expert in the yelps and sighs that signify pop passion, and what she lacks in personality she makes up for with power, professionalism and unfailing hooks. Mrs. Tim McGraw conveys drama without embodying it.

Cry aims to keep the hits coming while widening her range even further beyond her Nashville beginnings. Between the Bon Jovi-ish ballads and Britney-esque beats are studio quirks that ma-terialize for a few hip moments before getting out of the way of Hill's smooth bellow. "I Think I Will" begins with Middle Eastern percussion and string instruments, while "Beautiful" encircles a slow-burning guitar solo evocative of classic Pink Floyd. Yet Cry remains contrived, an album of crocodile tears from an entertainer who can sing anything but often means nothing.