Coming after the relative commercial disappointment of 2002's pop-oriented CRY--and, not at all coincidentally, Gretchen Wilson's rise as the new Everygirl of country--Faith Hill's FIREFLIES is a blatant attempt to ditch the singer's glamourpuss image and reassert her country roots, such things having become fashionable again. This isn't a problem, however: Shania Twain-like chart pop wasn't Hill's forte, and FIREFLIES brings her back where she belongs.
The first single, "Mississippi Girl," is Hill's best song in years. A Dixie Chicks-like piece of sweet country-pop with a few bluegrass trimmings, the tune was written by country hitmaker John Rich. Rich also penned some of the other standouts here, like the laid-back "Sunshine and Summertime" and "Like We Never Loved At All," a dramatic, '70s-style duet between Hill and her husband Tim McGraw. Three other songs are from the catalogue of alt-country singer/songwriter Lori McKenna, taking Hill into a folkish vein similar to Mary-Chapin Carpenter. The overall lack of bombast suits Hill's girl-next-door delivery perfectly, making FIREFLIES a much-needed artistic comeback after a dubious detour.
Personnel: Dann Huff (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, gut-string guitar); Mike Henderson (electric guitar); Bruce Bouton (steel guitar, dobro); Dan Dugmore (dobro, banjo, percussion); John Wittenberg, Anatoly Rosinsky, Robert Matsuda, Michael Markman, Berj Garabedian, Mario Diaz de Leon (violin); Denyse Buffum (viola); Dan Tobin Smith, Suzie Katayama, Stephen Erdody, Dan Smith, Carl Gorodetzky, Steve Erdody (cello); Steve Cohn (accordion); Eric Darken (bass guitar, percussion); Glenn Worf, Paul Bushnell (bass guitar); Shannon Forrest (drums, percussion); Shannon Forest (drums); Brett E. Warren, Gene Miller, Lisa Cochran, Liana Manis (background vocals); Jay Joyce, Tom Bukovac (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Darrell Scott (acoustic guitar, mandolin); Bryan Sutton (acoustic guitar); Kenny Greenberg (electric guitar, electric mandolin); Byron Gallimore (electric guitar, organ, keyboards); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Aubrey Haynie (mandolin, fiddle); Stuart Duncan (mandolin); Roberto Cani, Bruce Dukov, Sara Parkins, Robert Peterson, Armen Garabedian, Darius Campo, Josephina Vergara, Michele Richards, Susan Chatman, Charlie Bisharat, Endre Granat (violin); Roland Kato, Evan Wilson, Bob Becker (viola); Paula Hochhalter, John Catchings, Larry Corbett, Steve Richards (cello); Jimmy Nichols (accordion, piano, organ, keyboards); Tim Lauer (accordion); Gordon Mote (piano); Charles Judge (organ, keyboards, string synthesizer); Chris McHugh, Matt Chamberlain, Vinnie Colaiuta (drums); Javier Solís (percussion); Crystal Taliefero, Greg Barnhill, Kelly Willis, Rhonda Vincent, Tim McGraw, Wes Hightower, Bekka Bramlett, Perry Coleman (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Byron Gallimore; David Thoener; Greg Droman; Justin Niebank.
Dann Huff; Faith Hill; Byron Gallimore; Byron Gallimore; Dann Huff; Faith Hill
Engineer
Jason Gantt; Sara Lesher; Erik Lutkins; Derek Bason; Jesse Chrisman; James Calloway; John Paterno; Julian King; Justin Niebank; Mark Hagen; Steve Churchyard; Steve Marcantonio; David Bryant; Brady Barnett
Great This Cd is everything I hoped it would be and Faith Hill was great in it as she is with all her Cd. Submitted by wnh12 (ALABAMA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful.
Fire-flies but not far ! From what I can see so far she has 4 hits out of 14 tracks, not a good ratio. As for her "Hits" coming out this summer, it is a "Poor Money-Making Drag Her Feet" sampling. Nothing like what her husband has done by putting out a Greatest Hits-Vol. I & II, which shows more respect towards the fans waiting for exactly that after she has put out 6 albums. My list is as follows: Take Me As I Am, Wild One, Piece Of My Heart, Let's Go To Vegas, It Matters To Me, You Can't Lose Me, I Can't Do That Anymore, Bed Of Roses, Breathe, Let's Make Love, The Way You Love Me, If My Heart Had Wings, This Kiss, Let Me-Let Go, The Secret Of Life, Just To Hear You Say-You Love Me, There You'll Be, Somewhere Down The Road, Over The Rainbow, Mississippi Girl, Sunshine & Summertime, Like We Never Loved At All, The Lucky One, Cry, When The Lights Go Down. 25 Hits and counting, why not put out "The Hits" package with live music later and give the fans what they want NOW! Submitted by gtsiebert (Palm Springs, CA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful.
awesome awesome Submitted by plw (ky,ky) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
EXCELLENT! I LOVE IT! EVERY TRACK IS EXCELLENT! THE MORE I LISTEN TO IT! THE MORE I LOVE IT! LOVE AND BEAUTIFULLY COMPOSED. Submitted by STEPHANIE (NEW JERSEY) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
HUH???? I mean, come on Faith... what is THIS??? This CD hasn't given me any emotion so far. What a disappointment. Just a few good tracks on it. TOO MUCH COUNTRY. Country can be boring at times, since most of country songs sound kinda alike. I don't think Faith is trying to keep up with Shania - it seems like 'cause they've both sung country. And once again, country music kills music - to all the country musicians out there, try to update your music a bit and find something new!! Submitted by MissMusic (Florence, Italy) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Great
Fire-flies but not far !
awesome
Share this Product