=    Cry from the Soul…

"I believe that you need to be the person you are and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. If you want something, go out and get it. Follow your dreams, and never give up!"
- Faith Hill

The powerful start to this album might knock you out of your chair if you have the volume up and your headphones glued to your ears.

Faith Hill sings “I am Free” with a true sense of empowerment. “FREE” is a song that personifies leaving the old behind and taking hold of the new. This is about winning without revenge, about self-empowerment. Taking charge of your life in a new way. Sometimes we do forget we have control over our own lives and there are people out there who will try to yank our chains.

“Took that Rage
Turned that Page”

The first song has A T T I T U D E.

Let's just say the first time I listened to this CD, I was not sure if I liked it. Frankly, it wasn’t what I expected at all. However, the subtle nuances slowly appear until each song becomes meaningful.

Cry is a heartfelt plea for R E S P E C T. Yes, we’d like a little sometimes. She is singing about being lied to and all she wants is for someone to act like they care, to just to make her feel better. I doubt the person she is singing about will cry anytime soon, but it is worth a wish.

“I Gave now I’m wanting
Something in Return”

ONE has a touch o soul and a deep persistent beat. This seems to be about divorce or a relationship in the last stages. “One is breaking into two….” Still the song offers a second chance.

WHEN THE LIGHTS GO DOWN drizzles down a window pain and pools into a small puddle that steams into the hot night air. It is sexy, seductive and gives you the feel of loneliness, of fears realized. The joy of fame and the loneliness of a star falling from the Hollywood hills. The feeling of not being able to make true friends. The shallows of society that drown many fools. That place where people only want to be your friend for what you can give them. It is about being alone, so very alone. What we all need is a friend who loves you just for who you are.

BEAUTIFUL has the touch of Mexico, a guitar in the night, romance brewing. The words of this song are truly beautiful. Faith speaks, she makes each word count.

“Is it a dream, or is it real? All I know if you make me feel so beautiful.”

Yes, you might cry, this song is amazing.

UNSAVEABLE is about love. That cruel type of love that isn’t love at all. A lie. It is too late to say you’re sorry now. “I’m over you” is the message of this song. This relationship is too far gone.

BABY YOU BELONG has an eerie feel as if you were heading out into the stars. Faith’s voice echoes. Lovely song with artistic qualities that add dimension to the mood.

IF YOU’RE GONNA FLY AWAY speaks of not giving up and being needed. It has a subtle message about nothing being as bad as it seems.

STRONGER sets someone free. Similar in mood to Unsaveable. A soul searching song where two people decide to separate so they can be stronger later. “This is the window to my heart….”

IF THIS IS THE END is a delicate song about what love means. How love is everything and yet even this beautiful gift that is the flame, the moon doesn’t seem to be good enough. If this is the end, she doesn’t want to know this time.

Cry

THIS IS ME delves deep into her country roots. This sounds like Faith Hill to me! The words are cute. It is almost like revealing all one’s faults, just being totally honest. Perhaps the most vulnerable song on the album. Perhaps the focus of the whole album. Look, see...this is me. A cry to be heard. To be recognized for having the same human qualities as the rest.

BACK TO YOU – Terribly Romantic. About letting and not fighting hard enough for the person you now miss terribly. Wanting a second chance.

I THINK I WILL – Funky start with a touch of the Orient. Lovely creativity. Another song of empowerment and about doing something good just to make a person’s heartache go away by blessing a life.

YOU’RE STILL HERE – The most beautiful mellow start of all the songs. Slows down to a introspective moment. Has all those emotions of hope, love, longing, regret. Being with someone who is emotionally distant or maybe has moved onto the next world. Deeply emotional. Perhaps about loosing someone you love so terribly much, you try to hang onto any memory, any moment in time that reminds you of the person you loved.

This entire album seems to be a cry from the soul. It is basically saying:

Respect me
Love me
Treat me the way you want to be treated
You are right for me
We belong Together
I’m human just like you

In some songs, she is basically saying: “Hey, back off baby….I’m not taking it anymore. Think about what you are doing to me. I am a valuable soul. I have meaning. I am here for a purpose and I can get over you and find someone new.”

In other songs, she sings about finding the right person to complete you.

Quite the contrast in moods and styles. Give this CD at least three plays to work its way into your heart. All the lyrics are included in the booklet, along with some pictures of Faith on the beach. Looks like she was running through the waves. ;)

This CD really is Drenched with Emotion and Saturated in the most intimate stories of the Soul.