Description
Mercy is the sixth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Bryan Duncan, formerly lead singer of Sweet Comfort Band, released on Myrrh Records in November 1992, a division of Word. Also manufactured and distributed by Epic, a division of Sony Music. The album was produced by Dan Posthuma and arranged by Michael Omartian.
I’m sorry but in the circles I run in, it’s impossible to discuss Bryan Duncan, soloist, without mentioning his old hangout, the Sweet Comfort Band, a true benchmark in the maturity of contemporary Christian music. It’s hard to find people who accept – much less enjoy – both sides of Bryan Duncan, the darker musings of SCB and the lighter, Pentecostal pop of his solo records. People often forget that it’s apples and oranges; SCB was good apples, and Duncan’s solo records have often been good oranges.
Well, ‘Mercy’ may be the album that brings us all together. Up to now, I would imagine Duncan has been consciously trying to break from his past, musically. It seems like there’s enough distance now that he can comfortably draw elements from SCB, but still hang onto that hot adult contemporary/pop with R&B leanings that he’s come to be known for. Lyrically, the process of self-examination that started in ‘Lunatic Confessions‘ continues in ‘Mercy’, less hidden behind a mask of sarcasm.
«Mercy Me (Love is My Responsibility)» kicks things off with the idea that real love takes work, an idea connected thematically with «Step By Step» (with a great Jermaine Jackson groove, a la «I Think It’s Love») and «Into My Heart», both of which realize it’s not enough to contemplate faith, we have to use it.
Establishing that, Duncan then sings about why we need our faith, starting with «Don’t Leave Me Lonely», a song about an 8-year-old’s death that says, yes, through Christ we can go on – but it’s okay to grieve, too.
The two songs that seems to best fuse together the two public, musical personas of Duncan are «Faithful to You» and «I’ll Not Forget You». The latter is about the torture of waiting and doubting; as Abraham and Sarah waited and doubted: “Every day in pain I wait/ I can’t help but wonder why/ You promise me your love and say goodbye.” But the refrain always comes back from the Lord, “I’ll not forget you.”
«Faitful to You», on the other hand, says we can also find hope in each other, fragile and fallible as we are: “No one can ever tell ya that they know how you feel/ Understanding is far from here… Doesn’t matter what you’re going through/ When I can’t help myself, I’ll stay faithful to you.”
‘Mercy’ ends on a lighter note with «Five Smooth Stones», a look at how we can beat the odds with God’s help. It’s a bouncy duet with Crystal Lewis, which means two artists known for their small stature and huge voices are singing about a boy of small stature who killed a huge giant (irony?).
With ‘Mercy’, Duncan seems to have gotten the best of both worlds: Producer Dan Posthuma and arranger Michael Omartian have given Duncan a clean, pop sound to work with, as on his past solo albums; but the moods and lyrics recognize our humanity, a trait that’s made SCB’s music timeless. So if it’s apples and oranges, maybe ‘Mercy’ is fruit salad. I could learn to like this. [Chris Well, CCM, November 1992]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/mercy/1507718355)
CD tracklist:
01. Mercy Me (Love Is My Responsibility) – 3:17
02. Step By Step – 4:41
03. Into My Heart – 3:55
04. You Don’t Leave Me Lonely – 3:59
05. When It Comes To Love – 5:58
06. Looks A Lot Like Me – 3:45
07. Love Takes Time – 3:51
08. Faithful To You – 5:04
09. I’ll Not Forget You – 4:27
10. Five Smooth Stones – 3:31
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Myrrh Records.
A full-page advertisement for the, up-coming Bryan Duncan album Mercy was featured on the back cover of the October 1992 issue of CCM Magazine.
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