Lavishly produced and packaged, Cry marks the continued ascent of Faith Hill from the lowlands of down-home authenticity to the heights of pop superstardom. Though plenty of Nashville A-team players back her up, the sound they churn out has almost nothing to do with country music. Riding a tide of massed synthesizer textures, sweeping orchestral strings, thundering drums, rock guitar licks, and melodramatic dynamics, Hill strives for the biggest possible gestures in her performance. The results are the kind of glitzy fireworks normally associated with Star Search or American Idol, in which the lyrics take a backseat to raw exhibitionism, and only the most cursory nod is made toward country lyrical convention.