Monday, August 29, 2016

FAITH


Faith Hill’s first two albums were TAKE ME AS I AM (1993) and IT MATTERS TO ME (1996).  She married Tim McGraw on October 6, 1996.  They have three daughters, born in 1997, 1998, and 2001 respectively.  Hill’s third album was simply titled FAITH (1998, Warner Bros).  It was produced by Byron Gallimore, Faith, and Dan Huff. 

The album’s lead single, ‘This Kiss’, was penned by Robin Lerner, Annie Roboff, and Beth Nielsen Chapman.  Chapman and Chris Rodriguez provide backing vocals.  This song hit #1 on the US and Canadian Country charts and reached the Top 10 on the US pop and adult contemporary charts.  In addition, it was a hit in Australia and the UK and was nominated for 2 Grammy`s.  It`s a terrific song, though admittedly on the saccharine side of things lyrically: ``It`s the way you love me/It’s a feeling like this/It’s centrifugal motion/It’s perpetual bliss/It’s that pivotal moment/It’s, ah, unthinkable/This kiss, this kiss, unsinkable/This kiss, this kiss/You can kiss me in the moonlight/On the rooftop under the sky, oh/You can kiss me with the windows open/While the rain comes pouring inside, oh/Kiss me in sweet slow motion/Let’s let everything slide/You got me floating/You got me floating/You got me flying”.  ‘You Give Me Love’ includes sentiments I wish all humans could honestly utter: “When the world is cold and I need a friend to hold/You give me love (2X)/And when my hope is gone/And it feels I can’t go on/You pick me up/You give me love, you give me everything my heart desires/Morning sun and midnight fires/Someone there to share my dreams/With you I have everything”.

‘Let Me Let Go’ is a moving country and western ballad written by Steve Diamond and Dennis Morgan.  Vince Gill does a great job on background vocals, and violins, violas, cellos, and steel guitar are among the instruments used.  This song speaks of how difficult it is to move on after a breakup: “I thought it was over, baby/We said our goodbyes/But I can’t go a day without your face goin’ through my mind/In fact, not a single minute passes without you in it/Your voice, your touch, memories of your love/Are with me all of the time/Let me let go, baby/Let me let go/If this is for the best why are you still in my heart, are you still in my soul?/Let me let go”.  ‘Love Ain’t Like That’ includes these words of truth: “Love ain’t that easy to define/You can’t build it by design/It takes its own sweet time/It don’t fall from the sky/Like a tiny drop of rain/That hits you right between the eyes one day/No love, love ain’t like that”.

Bekka Bramlett, Billy Burnette, and Annie Roboff wrote `Better Days`.  It was first recorded by Bekka & Billy on their 1997 debut album.  Both artists are formerly of Fleetwood Mac.  This is a pleasant, warm country song of encouragement: “Better days are comin’ around/I know you feel like the whole world’s gone and let you down/But better days they’re comin’ for you/I know they will/Cause I’ll be right here makin’ sure they do/I know what it’s like to have to face the fight/But I won’t let you stand alone...”.  ‘My Wild Frontier’ is a story song: “Harvested peaches in a small border town/Saved all our wages, put ten percent down/I never thought I’d see the world through a child’s eyes/Until early December/Then one Calgary morning, still as glass/While my baby lay sleeping, an angel slipped past/And with one breath said ‘I’m taking him back to his Father in Heaven’/Through gravel and ice and new fallen snow/I held him through my tears/Because I was his lonesome prairie and he was my wild frontier”.

Glen Duncan and Aubrey Haynie play fiddle on ‘The Secret of Life’, the album’s fifth and last single, written by Gretchen Peters.  Here are some of the words: “The secret of life is in Sam’s martinis/The secret of life is in Marilyn’s eyes/The secret of life is in Monday night football/Rolling Stones records and Mom’s apple pies.../The secret of life is gettin’ up early/The secret of life is stayin’ up late/The secret of life is to try not to hurry/But don’t wait, don’t wait/The secret of life is a good cup of coffee/The secret of life is keep your eye on the ball/The secret of life is to find the right woman/The secret of life is nothin’ at all...”.  Diane Warren wrote the wonderful ballad ‘Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me’.  This duet with hubby Tim McGraw is one of romantic desire: “There’s nothing in this world I won’t try/No limit to what I’d do to make you mine/Cause I’d climb right up to the sky/I’d take down the stars just to be in your arms, baby/I’d go and capture the moon/That’s what I would do/Just to hear you say that you love me (2X)”.

‘Me’ celebrates finding a romantic partner one can be totally transparent with: “I can laugh or cry, don’t have to hide the way I feel/Rain or shine/By my side/Proving we’ve got a love that’s real/An old pair of jeans or an evening gown/You still see the same girl that you found/Me, that’s all I have to give/What you get is what you see, yeah/No second guessing, no pretending/With you, all I ever have to be is me”.  ‘I Love You’ was originally recorded by Celine Dion on 1996’s FALLING INTO YOU.  Aldo Nova wrote it.  Here, it has a bit of a doo-wop feel to it.  Trombone, trumpet, and saxophone are used. Hill, Vicki Hampton, Kim Fleming, and Bob Bailey provide backing vocals.  Some of the heartfelt words are: “I love you/Please say you love me too/These three words, they could change our lives forever/And I promise you that we will always be together/’Til the end of time”.

‘The Hard Way’ is an upbeat country song musically, with Larry Franklin providing a fiddle solo.  Many women will relate to these lyrics: “I never will understand why I let you think you can treat me any way you please, baby/I guess I hope someday you’ll settle down and say/Give me all the love I need, baby/Time and time I’ve found/You always let me down/Always ends the same way/You’d think that I could see the way you’re treatin’ me/Won’t ever change”.  Last up is a Sheryl Crow/Todd Wolfe co-write.  It is ‘Somebody Stand By Me’, on which Michael Omartian plays piano and accordion.  It’s quite soulful: “Well, if God’s here tonight/Are You here tonight?/Maybe You could grab me up/Lord, stand me on my feet/Give me strength and set me free/’Cause I’m not giving in until I’ve had enough/Won’t somebody stand by me, stand by me just one time? (2X)~.

Although this record begins with Faith gleefully enjoying love gone right on a pop influenced country number, the majority of the songs are county in genre and find her longing for a lasting love and for healing from lost loves.  Faith sings these 12 songs with much feeling and passion.  The photos of her in the CD packaging are pretty.  Fans of Martina McBride should buy FAITH, which I’m rating 88%.  For more info visit: www.faithhill.com.