Group Name: Hearts Of Faith
Website: www.hearts-of-faith.com
Album Title: “Mercy, Grace, Love”
Song Titles:
1. Mercy’s Gift
2. Run To The Blood
3. Let The Healing Begin
4. I Could Tell You Had Forgotten
5. Susie’s Eyes
6. God Of Salvation
7. Break The Bread
8. Good To Go
9. Feed My Sheep
10. Fly Away From Here
Hearts Of Faith is the group formerly known as The Gospel Foundation. (They
underwent a name change earlier this year.) Currently, Hearts Of Faith is a duet consisting of sisters Donna Strong and Brenda Messaros. From 1982-2001, they traveled as a family group with their parents, Bill & Eva Brock. After their parents decided to retire from singing, Donna and Brenda continued on with the ministry. They are currently based out of Waynesville, OH.
“Mercy, Grace, Love” is their latest album. It contains 10 songs penned by such songwriters as Greg Day, Phil Johnson, Gerald Crabb, John Darin Rowsey, and Rebecca Peck. While they are a duet, a third vocal can be heard on many of the album’s songs. This seems to be a common practice of the few duets out there today. However, I would really like to see what a duet could do with just the two voices. I think that there are some interesting possibilities.
The cover of the album is pretty straightforward. You see a beach scene with a bridge in the back ground. At the top right, you see a clear picture of Donna and Brenda, and the album name is written in white across the front middle. I was a bit disappointed to see that the song lyrics weren’t included in the album cover.
Now, let’s take a look at each of the songs on the album.
The first song on the album is called “Mercy’s Gift”. It is a slower, ballad-like song that features Donna’s alto voice on the verses. Donna has a very low range, and she seems to be more comfortable on the lower end of that range. It also provides a very evident contrast to Brenda’s higher-range soprano voice. It always interests me a little bit when siblings have that much of a disparity in their singing voices. The blend of voices on this song is probably the best out of all the songs on this album.
Song #2 is called “Run To The Blood”. This is a medium-tempo song that also features Donna on the higher end of her alto range. As I said earlier, she seems more comfortable- and is smoother- on the lower end of her range. I really like the words to this song- they have a wonderful message.
Song #3 slows the tempo back down as Donna once again takes the lead on “Let The Healing Begin”. The tempo stays the same for the 4th song, “I Could Tell You Had Forgotten”. Here we get our first taste of Brenda’s solo voice as the takes the lead throughout the song. She is definitely a second soprano in range. She has a nice tone, but she occasionally wavers a bit on her pitches. Also, her higher notes sound a bit “pinched”, or forced.
The fifth song is the medium-tempo “Susie’s Eyes”. Brenda once again takes the lead, and her vocals are smoother overall than in the previous song. This is also another song where the blend of voices is good. This is followed by the 6th song, “The God Of Salvation”. This one also falls into the medium-tempo category. This also seems to be the first song on the album where there is no third vocal- all you hear is Brenda and Donna. To me, this is a plus. Both ladies are comfortable in the ranges in which they sing, and that “family blend” is able to be showcased.
Song #7 keeps the tempo on the slower end. It’s a ballad entitled “Break The Bread”. This is followed by the first truly up-tempo song on the album, “Good To Go”. Brenda takes the lead on this song. There are a few pitch problems, but this is also one of my favorite songs on the album.
The tempo stays the same for the 9th song, “Feed My Sheep”. It has a bluegrass feel to it, which is a treat for me. This is another opportunity for Brenda to take the lead. The album ends with Song #10, another up-tempo song entitled “Fly Away From Here”. Donna takes the lead once again to close out the album.
I must make a few comments of “constructive criticism” if I am to be totally honest in this review. First of all, the order of songs on the album could have been improved by not saving all of the up-tempo songs until the end. After listening to 3-4 slow or medium songs in a row, things start to drag a little bit. Having an up-tempo song earlier in the album helps keep things fresh to the listener. Also, I think that these ladies need to really watch the arrangements of the songs that they sing. Songs that push either of them into the extreme upper ends of their respective registers seem to give them some pitch problems, and that was the one thing that plagued some of the songs on this album. Songs where Brenda and Donna can both sing in the middle to low end of their ranges produce smoother vocals and tighter harmony for them.
All things considered, I feel that this album rates 2 ½ out of a possible 5 microphones!
Personal Favorites: “Run To The Blood”, “The God Of Salvation”, “Good To Go”, and “Fly Away From Here”