Ah, Faith Hill. If she were any more transparent, you'd be able to watch her spleen vibrate while she sings.

Back in 2002, when divas like Mariah and Celine ruled the world, Hill put out Cry, a slick set of soul-pop balladry about as country as a half-caf latte.

And now that Gretchen Wilson and Big & Rich have made hillbillies safe for the masses again, well, guess what? All of a sudden Faith is a little ole aw-shucks country gal again, yessirree.

And Fireflies is the downhome millionaire's much-publicized return to country. Which means that she wears jeans, decorates every song with a twangy banjo, fiddle, dobro, slide guitar or mandolin, and hires John Rich to write her some songs about how she still likes wearin' her old ballcap and givin' her kids piggyback rides.

If it all sounds a little hard to swallow, you're not alone. Even Faith can't keep up the act for the duration of the album. After three poppy, radio-friendly tracks (including the single Mississippi Girl) that have been front-loaded onto the disc, Fireflies quickly bogs down in a stream of syrupy weepers and overwrought power ballads.

Not that it matters -- as always a couple of those poppy tracks will be huge singles and this album will sell more than enough copies to keep Faith in diamond-encrusted ballcaps for the foreseeable future.

As for what she'll do next time, well, you'll just have to wait a couple of years for the new country music trend.

Track Listing:

1. Sunshine & Summertime
2. Mississippi Girl
3. Dearly Beloved
4. Ain't Gonna Take It
5. Stealing Kisses
6. I'm Not Lisa
7. Fireflies
8. Like We Never Loved It All
9. I Want You
10. Lucky One
11. If You Ask
12. Good Ole USA
13. You Stay With Me
14. Wish For You
15. Paris