White Heart

P{ower House White Heart - Power House (214 Records) 1991

1. "Independence Day" (5:38)
2. "Powerhouse" (4:32)
3. "Desert Rose" (4:42)
4. "Lovers and Dreams" (4:37)
5. "Nailed Down" (5:11)
6. "Messiah" (5:20)
7. "A Love Calling" (6:25)
8. "Answer the Call" (4:45)
9. "Storyline" (4:23)
10. "Lay It Down" (4:59)

Undoubtable "Power House" is among White Heart's finest moments. I'd compare this CD to Petra's hugely successful "Beyond Belief." It's not that "Power House" is a copy of "Beyond Belief" but that it has a similar flow to it, with a nice blend of hard rockers, radio hits, sentimental ballads, and faith building lyrics. Both CDs are filled with CCM favorites and crossover radio hits, but both CDs rock pretty hard. "Independence Day" opens things up on a spiritual and musical high note. This is a fine example of a good melodic, AOR song. The title cut comes next and keeps things rockin' pretty hard. Rick Florian pipes are in fine form on both these songs. "Desert Rose" is an emotional ballad that was a big hit for the band. If the album had been made up of those three tracks alone, this would have been a good CD, however, the entire CD is good. "Lovers and Dreams" is yet another radio-ready AOR song with a smokin' guitar break in the middle. "Nailed Down" is another hard rocking anthem. "Messiah" is another melodic rock song. This song starts off as a soft, ballad before breaking into the big, powerful sing-along chorus. "A Love Calling" is another ballad. (Do you see a pattern here?) Frankly, the entire album is filled with songs that easily could have been radio singles. That may be a bad thing for some people, but for me, I find this to be a very enjoyable disc if I am in the mood for this sort of light fare.

Tales of Wonder White Heart - Tales of Wonder (Star Song) 1992

1. "Raging Of The Moon" (5:15)
2. "His Heart Was Always In It" (4:12)
3. "Unchain" (4:56)
4. "Say The Word" (3:55)
5. "Who Owns You" (4:42)
6. "Where The Thunder Roars" (4:57)
7. "Silhouette" (4:38)
8. "Vendetta" (3:53)
9. "Gabriela" (4:38)
10. "Light A Candle" (6:02)
11. "Morningstar" (1:45)

I've always had a problem with Christian AOR bands like Petra and Whiteheart as they always seemed to be more a product of "the Christian industry" than they did real original rock-n-roll. Both bands tend to follow trends rather than trying to be innovators or originals. As with Petra, since their very inception, White Heart has always had a revolving door of band members. By this point in the band's ever changing line-up Mark Gersmehl and Billy Smiley are the groups only original members. Still, "Tales of Wonder" is one of the bands best and most popular albums. The music is not real heavy, yet contains some solid songwriting and hooks that would probably gain the band the AOR or arena rock label. Of course what makes there sound is the production which features layers of vocals on top of slickly produced rock that has the keys and the guitars fighting for dominance. There are also some hints of progressive rock bands like Kansas and even Yes mixed into their sound. "His Heart Was Always In It," "Unchain" and "Say The Word" were all big CCM radio hits for the band.

Attack! White Heart - Attack! (Star Song) 1995

1. "His Heart Was Always In It" (4:14)
2. "Powerhouse" (4:31)
3. "Unchain" (4:58)
4. "Indpendence Day" (4:34)
5. "Say the Word" (3:55)
6. "Nothing But the Best" (3:44)
7. "Once and For All" (5:02)
8. "Silhouette" (4:41)
9. "Change the Way" (4:49)
10. "Desert Rose" (4:44)

Excellent best of package featuring most of the band's hardest AOR radio hits. Funny thing is my favorite track is the ballad "Desert Rose." Picked up this disc for $1.

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