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 result is the kind of glitzy fireworks normally associated with Star Search or American Idol, in which the lyric takes a distant backseat to raw exhibitionism and only the most cursory nod is made toward country lyrical convention.

A 3-CD set, “Looking Through A Glass Onion” assembles these disparate strands into one cohesive package, with the studio day trippers, the cultural pranksters, the genre-benders, the folk club stalwarts and the hair-down-to-his-knees prog-rock brigade all grooving up slowly to the starting line.

Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass for the Endangered, with a libretto by poet/writer Nathaniel Bellows, is a celebration of, and an elegy for, the natural world—animals, plants, insects, the planet itself—an appeal for greater awareness, urgency, and action. Originally commissioned by Trinity Church Wall Street, this recording features the English vocal ensemble Gallicantus conducted by Gabriel Crouch.

The two choirs of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge return to Resonus Classics to collaborate once more on a new recording of contemporary works for Advent and Christmas. Featuring many world premiere recordings, the programme includes works written specially for the two college choirs including Diana Burrell’s exuberant carol, Green groweth the holly; Christopher Fox’s major new setting of the O Anitphons, insterpersed with the original plainchant, and Jeremy Thurlow’s Magnificat for upper voices, organ and tape, that blazes with the intensity of a new vision of the world.

Carrie Underwood will release her first ever Christmas album, My Gift, via Capitol Nashville. The album will include Classic Christmas standards plus a few original tracks! Underwood emerged from the promise of her 2005 American Idol win to become a true multimedia superstar, spanning achievements in music, television and film. A 7X GRAMMY® winner, she’s sold over 64 million records worldwide and recorded 27 #1 hits, 14 of which she co-wrote.

Possessing a smoky, somewhat soulful voice, Katrine Madsen is likely to be a new name to jazz fans in North America, though she evidently has been active on the European jazz scene for an extended period. This session starts off with interpretation of the Beatles' "I'll Keep You Satisfied" (though guitarist Ulf Wakenius' fluid licks are enjoyable) and the drippy pop original "Supernatural Love" (sung as a duet with Caecile Norby).

Born on August 26, 1958 in a small town in northern Israel, Mordy Ferber began his musical journey as a singer at the age of 10. He formed a trio and performed at school events and small concerts in his hometown. At the age of 12, after picking up a guitar at the home of a family friend, he decided to take some formal guitar lessons; that lasted almost a year.This album of the guitarist with a textural jazz style, featuring Bob Mintzer on sax, flute, and bass clarinet.

In November 2007, Daniel Barenboim completed a cycle of Beethoven's piano concertos. Recorded live at the prestigious Klavier-Festival Ruhr in May 2007, this DVD recording reflects both a very individual and special reading of Beethoven’s music and the artist’s life-long dedication to the composer. Daniel Barenboim is one of the most prolific and high-profile artists performing on international stages today and Beethoven’s masterpieces have been a key part of his repertoire throughout his career, both as conductor and as pianist. Beethoven himself was a keyboard virtuoso of almost awesome abilities who created a sensation wherever he played. It is no wonder, therefore, that the piano was central to Beethoven’s overall output.

Danza Ritual is the debute album of La Fundicion, released by Infinity Records, a clear example of fusion music. There are many influences, basically a jazz/rock album but no exactly jazz.

In 1988, Roberta Flack made a comeback after a long hiatus away from the recording studios with a new album of songs in the adult contemporary vein. Using a vast array of top session musicians whose names would easily fill a page and crowd out liner notes, "Oasis" was released to public indifference, even though the title track did hit #1 on the R & B charts.