White Heart was a name that was on every Christian rock shortlist in the 80’s and 90’s. Despite only being active for around fifteen years, they left an extensive body of work and enough classic hits to fill several Greatest Hits collections.

Yet, it seems like history hasn’t really done them their due. While they may have always had to sort of thrive in the shadow of Petra and fight for every success, I find that their presence isn’t as dominant as it should be among media reflecting on the history of Christian music. I’d like to remedy this. 

My History With White Heart
I myself grew up with a rather specific exposure to White Heart, in the forum of their Nothing But The Best: Radio Classics collection. And I literally heard almost nothing else from them until the past year or two. That said, I grew to treasure that collection of songs. Even as a bit of a “modern music snob,” it stood out as some of the few “classic” songs I’d regularly revisit. “Fly Eagle Fly” was one of my childhood favorite songs and remains a contender for my Top 10 to this day. About a year or so ago, during what was a particularly dry spell for me in terms of new music I was gravitating towards, I began to explore the rest of White Heart’s discography outside of that one collection. I found songs that propelled them to among my favorite bands.

Certainly, their first few albums before Rick Florian joined as their permanent lead vocalist are mostly not my cup of tea. And a few cuts here and there don’t resonate with me as much as others. But I haven’t found myself this enamored with a band in quite some time. And for this to be a long-retired classic band, it’s fairly astounding to me.

Enter Freedom
One of the last albums of theirs I properly delved into is a record that is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year (2019): Freedom. Rick Florian, Mark Gersmehl, and Gordon Kennedy even reunited this summer for a once in a lifetime anniversary concert. For many, Freedom marked a turning point in the quality of White Heart’s music. Certainly, Florian joining two albums earlier began to turn the tide and increase the output of hits. But Freedom started a definite four-album winning streak that found White Heart putting out cover to cover albums of songs that would become classics.

For its part, Freedom carries a fair mix of upbeat 80’s rock and ballads that both sound somewhat dated and yet timeless. Songs like “Over Me” and “Let It Go” showcase the best of Rick Florian’s soaring vocals against a mid-tempo radio rock hit. These songs promoted the best of White Heart’s strengths, great harmonies and some of the most memorable melodies of the decade. Other cuts like “Bye Bye Babylon” and “Power Tools” showed that White Heart wasn’t afraid to pound out blistering rock with the best of them. Or to slow it down to touching ballads with “Eighth Wonder” or “I’ll Meet You There.”

Perhaps the best known and most classic of the bunch is the sole Mark Gersmehl led cut on the album, “The River Will Flow.” With a catchy guitar line and an ethereal synth hook, it’s easy to fall in love with this song before the vocals even start. Gersmehl’s deep and soft voice often found itself a compliment to Florian’s hair rock bombast. Here, they carry the song’s soaring chorus to heights that soar high enough on their own. Thematically, the song feels even more relevant in today’s day when so many are looking for refreshment in all the wrong places. Musically and lyrically, this feels like a song U2 wishes they thought of. It swings for the heavens and gets pretty darn close.