Description
Tales of Wonder is the eighth studio album by the American rock band White Heart, released on StarSong Records in 1992. The album was recorded by Ronnie Brookshire at The Bennett House in Franklin and at OmniSound Studios and The Dugout in Nashville, Tennessee; with band members Billy Smiley and Mark Gersmehl producing. Mixed by Brookshire at OmniSound Studios and Woodland Studios in Nashville, with tracks 7 and 10 mixed by Jeff Balding at OmniSound (and track 11 – the CD bonus track – both recorded and mixed by Richie Biggs at Production Group in Spokane, Washington).
The band lineup on this album is Rick “Ricke” Florian (lead and backing vocals), Mark Gersmehl (lead and backing vocals, keyboards, recorder), Billy Smiley (backing vocals, acoustic 12-string guitar and Rickenbacker 12-string guitar), Brian Wooten, formerly of Follower (lead and rhythm guitar), Anthony Sallee (bass), and new member Jon Knox of Adam Again fame (drums). (Former band member Chris McHugh actually played drums on all tracks on the album except track 8 featuring new drummer Jon Knox.)
All 10 songs for Tales of Wonder was issued as singles; three went to No. 1, three went to No. 2, and the rest notched at least Top 40 status.
By the time they got around making ‘Don’t Wait for the Movie‘, White Heart had become a dependable pop/rock band, making music that matched (if at times merely mimicked) the successful sounds of mainstream rock radio. However, last year’s ‘Power House‘ brought the six-piece band to a higher level of artistry and confidence. Not only had the band found its voice in singer Rick Florian, but principle songwriters Billy Smiley and Mark Gersmehl had stretched the envelope of how an evangelistically-minded band could approach its music, both musically and lyrically.
The epilogue of White Heart’s latest album, ‘Tales of Wonder’, reveals in poetry and metaphor just how far White Heart is willing to go to make its crucial point. “Hear the tale of a fallen people destined to wander their broken land/ Their eyes are vacant full of empty meaning/ What they’re missing they just don’t understand/ Beyond the dark horizon/ Out where the people are crying/ A morning star will be risin’/ Risin’ to show us the way.” With this latest album, Gersmehl and Smiley exhibit a broader world context and, necessarily, a bigger message of hope to touch the greater human suffering. Here, with artistic depth and natural ease, White Heart has allowed itself to grow and embrace the larger implications of the Gospel message for a hurting world, rather than shrinking back to safer confines.
Musically, the band has increased in confidence to match the aggressive lyrical movement. On rockers like «Vendetta», «Who Owns You», «His Heart was Always in It», and «Where the Thunder Roars», White Heart has come into its own sound – a unique blend of gentler passages with dynamic shifts into earthy rock ‘n’ roll that shakes the earth, with guitars and voices that split the sky. Newest drummer Jon Knox, of late with Adam Again, and ‘Power House’ entrants, bassist Anthony Sallee and guitarist Brian Wooten, provide world class rock chops and spirited support to the songs of Smiley and Gersmehl, and vocals of Florian.
The record has a greater acoustic guitar presence overall, and while the band continues to make use of high-tech synth sounds, these are downplayed for a more organic rock ‘n’ roll feel troughout. The ballads feel less contrived for Christian radio, and the record has a thread of continuity that’s hard to accomplish if you’re trying to insure airplay in a number of formats. Here, as it should, White Heart is more interested in a complete artistic statement, and ‘Tales of Wonder’ delivers just that.
By matching solid music to lyrics of encouragement as in «Say the Word» and «Light a Candle», ‘Tales of Wonder’ excels in story-telling meant to lift the spirits of rockers, like those «Desert Rose»es they sang to last time, who feel alone against a world that’s under the pull of «The Raging of the Moon». White Heart, again, refuses to rest on the laurels of accomplishments from previous outings, and has set a new standard for itself and other Christian rock bands wanting to make a vital contribution. [Brian Q. Newcomb, CCM, June 1992]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/tales-of-wonder/715519560)
CD tracklist:
01. Raging Of The Moon – 5:15
02. His Heart Was Always In It – 4:12
03. Unchain – 4:56
04. Say The Word – 3:55
05. Who Owns You – 4:42
06. Where The Thunder Roars – 4:57
07. Silhouette – 4:38
08. Vendetta – 3:53
09. Gabriela – 4:38
10. Light A Candle – 6:02
11. Morningstar (Bonus Track) – 1:45
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by StarSong Records.
A full-page advertisement for White Heart’s Tales of Wonder Tour was featured in the March 1993 issue of CCM Magazine.
“Unchain” (MUSIC VIDEO)
Radio Promo for Tales of Wonder
TV Promo for Tales of Wonder
All of us in Whiteheart felt Tales Of Wonder deserved a special touch to launch the live concert. I thought it might be interesting to pay homage to the traditional Broadway musical where the opening song often was a medley of themes from the various tunes in the show. I sketched out a sonic plan and then did the very smartest thing I could do – I called Richie Biggs, the engineer on the Tales recording sessions as well as our live show. Richie is a dreamer and has always been absolutely fearless in exploring new sonic frontiers. Together we built a fifteen minute sequence of themes designed to lead into the first song of the live set.
What made this really special was we enlisted some of you! At our request, Thomas, a Cree Indian from northern Quebec, Fiona from Australia, Gree from Bergen, Norway, and Lasse from Sweden each sent us a tape saying hello in their native language. Then they announced in English that the Tales Of Wonder would begin in x number of minutes. We were greatly aided by Brian Wooten’s spectacular guitar work as the music crescendoed to its conclusion. Lassa Olsen did the honors of counting down the last minute, especially the final ten seconds.
That was when the gifts of lighting director Mark Meana took over. Mark created some dazzling effects while the first verse of «Raging Of The Moon» played on tape. As he was working his magic, the band walked out on stage. When Raging hit the first chorus, the band took over live and we were off to the races. So fun! [A note from gersh posted at Whiteheart’s Facebook page, April 2015]
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