Cry (Warner, 2002)

Now that she has achieved superstar status, Faith Hill follows in the same musical path of such country sisters like Martina McBride, LeAnn Rimes and to a lesser extent Lee Ann Womack. Meaning that Hill has really left her country roots far behind for the bigger musical picture of the pop world. That is evident from the opening strains of the first song, "Free."

Hill certainly has the vocal prowess to succeed with a voice that usually is commanding, like the title track and the soulful "One." Hill is especially on target on the bluesy ballad, "Stronger." She does the power ballad thing on "Cry" where she oversings a bit. Hill nails many a song - ballads, more rock oriented songs, which get a bit overpowering - here, but the only reason that any of these songs may end up on country radio is simply because her name happens to be Faith Hill. This simply isn't country though many of the songs were penned by country writers.

Country fans may cry more than a little because the country quotient is about zero, but Hill ought to be all smiles.