New Faith Hill release finally hits the market

Tunes of the week

Faith Hill has been a dominant figure on both the country and pop fronts, having sold more than 30 million albums and earned four Grammy, three Country Music Association and 12 Academy of Country Music Awards during her career. But Hill hasn't issued a new full-length recording for more than three years, a drought that ends this week with the release of her sixth studio effort Fireflies (Warner Bros). The CD's lead single "Mississippi Girl," an expressive and celebratory work that chronicles Hill's heritage and background, has already resulted in her 14th top five country single and was also the highest debut charting song she'd ever released. But it's only one of several potential hits on a session that once more features her working with longtime producers Bryon Gallimore and Dann Huff. Depending on one's preference, there's seasonal fare ("Sunshine and Summertime"), inspirational/sentimental material ("Lucky One," "Fireflies"), a humorous piece ("Dearly Beloved") and more sobering tunes ("Stealing Kisses"). All 14 tracks highlight Hill's demonstrative vocals, expert production and arrangements and should result in yet another major success for a singer whose first five releases were all multi-platinum smashes.

Though the CD won't officially be available until this week, there's already been plenty of discussion and debate via the Internet and in other arenas regarding Alice Cooper's latest Dirty Diamonds (New West). The single "Woman of Mass Distraction" signals no loss of vocal intensity or power in a stylist that's now approaching 60. There's also a couple of trademark Cooper numbers like "Steal That Car" and "Under My Wheels" that recall the type of lyrically irreverent, musically fiery works from his heyday in the '70s. Still, the songs that are generating plenty of reaction are his adventures into less expected musical territory. He covers "Pretty Ballerina," a number from the Left Banke that includes both lush orchestration and harpsichord interludes, a country-flavored number "The Saga of Jesse James" and one with prominent rap/hip-hop influences ("Stand"). Neither of these is among his most memorable works, but the willingness to even try something different at least deserves notice. Overall, this is a respectable, though erratic, effort but one that's far better than some of the other items that Cooper has issued over the last decade.

Flick of the week

Terry Zwigoff's Bad Santa proved the rare dark comedy that seemed to work with all types of audiences, despite its twisted characters and foul language. Billy Bob Thornton's Willie T. Stokes was one of 2003's funniest and least sympathetic (at least on the surface) characters, a chain-smoking alcoholic who used the guise of being a department store Santa Claus to better peruse and set up the stores for robberies. This week the DVD Bad-der Santa (Miramax) adds five minutes of footage that wasn't included in the original as well as a behind-the-scenes feature, deleted and alternate scenes and outtakes. But none of that is as important as the performances of Thornton, Tony Cox, Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, Cloris Leachman and John Ritter, in his final film. They transformed what could have been merely a loathsome work into a genuinely hilarious and enjoyable movie.