Review: Faith

Written By Rick Ellis

When it comes to music, I'm a soft touch. I'll listen to almost anything, and right now my MP3 player is stuffed with everything from bluegrass to The Ramones. But I'm a bit tougher when it comes to spending good money on a concert. I think every music fan has had the experience of hearing a couple of great tunes on the radio, then discovering (after blowing fifty bucks a ticket), that your new favorite act is an empty suit.

There's nothing wrong with being a singer who sounds best in the studio. Frankly, I love a good hit single as much as the next guy. But that doesn't mean I'll won't whine if the live show sucks.

And thus we come to Faith!, the first television special from country pop singer Faith Hill. She's riding a long line of hit singles and I'm honestly happy for her success. She's worked hard, she loves her kids and husband (fellow singer Tim McGraw), and seems by accounts to be a wonderful person.

But she is, to be kind, a mediocre live performer. In an industry filled with booming voices such as Martina McBride, Hill's singing abilities don't begin to hold up.

And this probably isn't much of a surprise to even casual country music fans. Her performances on the various country music awards programs are generally lackluster, with her thin voice near collapse at any moment.

So doing a music special with Faith Hill is a risky business. She's certainly lanky and photogenic. But more than once during this hour-long special her voice teters on cracking--especially during her recent hit "Breathe."

Producers do a good job of beefing up the show with the prerequisite backstage footage. Viewers get to see her playing basketball with her husband, and laughing it up with her background singers. And she's damn likeable in all of this.

And yet, the musical sequences aren't any better than something you might see on "Your Big Break." And that makes the hour drag on a lot longer than you might expect.

Fans may enjoy the experience, particularly since they get a chance to see her on stage, solo and with husband Tim McGraw. But for those of us who just love the music...we'll stick to the CD's

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