EMOL Sandra's Country Music Site
CD REVIEW OF
FAITH HILL'S "IT MATTERS TO ME"
(Warner Bros. Records, 1995)
by Sandra L. Toney
Besides being one of the most beautiful women in the country music
business, Faith Hill is also quickly becoming one of the most
talented. Her latest release, "It Matters to Me," is
causing quite a stir in the country music industry. The album
has already produced several hits and promises to yield many more.
The first selection on the album became a big hit for Hill because
it touches something in most of us as the title suggests, "Living
in Someone Else's Dream." Hill sings in her chorus, "She
was Daddy's little girl/Momma's little angel/Teacher's Pet, Pageant
Queen/She said, 'All my life, I've been pleasin' everyone but
me/Waking up in someone else's dream.'" Those words strike
a chord in almost anyone who listens to this song.
Although Hill is probably at her best singing meaningful ballads,
she holds her on as such upbeat tunes as the radio-hit, "Let's
Go to Vegas," the sure-to-become-a-hit attitude song, "Bed
of Roses," the longing for love single, "You Will Be
Mine." A nice surprise on the album is a foot tappin' gospel
tune that sounds like it's coming straight from the halls of a
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baptist church, "Keep Walkin' On."
Even if you're not a fan of gospel music, Faith Hill just might
convert the most skeptical music critic.
As stated earlier, Hill's clear, angelic voice is at its best
when singing ballads because she seems to become one with the
song as if she speaking from experience. Such sad strains on the
album include "A Man's Home is His Castle," the title
song, "It Matters to Me," and "A Room in My Heart."
Probably one of the best songs on the album was penned by talented
songwriter/superstar, Alan Jackson. The ballad entitled "I
Can't Do That Anymore" tells the story of a woman who has
lived her life around her husband and how she doesn't want to
or, as the title claims, can't do that anymore. The opening lines
of the song says it all, "Cut my hair the way you wanted/Watched
you become important/Quit my job to make our new home far away/Now
you're Mr. Successful and I'm queen of the treadmill/Trying to
stay the size you think that I should stay . . ."
Hopefully, this meaningful song will become a big hit for Faith
Hill and inspire women who are caught in the web of "living
in someone else's dream" to do something about it. Of course,
"I Can't Do That Anymore" was written by a man, and
not just any man, but Alan Jackson. Hats off to Hill the singer
and Jackson the songwriter for a beautiful song destined to become
a hit!
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