WIDE OPEN SPACES

     FFH is comprised of husband and wife duo Jeromy and Jennifer Deibler.  Their latest non-holiday release is 2009's WIDE OPEN SPACES (62 Records).  Production duties are handled by Jeromy and Mitch Dane.  In the liner notes the Deiblers write these revealing words: "The point to all this is that we've never needed people or seen people come through for us like we have in this season.  We've never seen the Lord like this either.  Like Isaiah, we have seen the Lord and as a result we have become Undone...Released from the old ways and led, like David, into a Wide Open Space."  In 2007 Jeromy was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
     'Undone' is a pleasant adult pop song that Jeromy wrote with Mia Fieldes of Hillsong fame.  It speaks of the emotions and thoughts one battles when fighting a disease: "The cancer inside stealing my sleep/Night after night it keeps haunting me/The secrets I keep/Are tearing me up inside/I try to hide them and I wonder why/Why I'm still running when I know there's no escaping."  'Hold On to Me' is next.  It talks of one's faith journey as a positive experience: "I don't want to go back to the calm and shallow seas/I want to stay here and embrace the mystery/We've come so far now/We can't turn back now."  'Wide Open Spaces', the title track, was written by Jeromy and industry vet Chris Eaton, who wrote 'Breath of Heaven', the modern Christmas classic.  Oddly enough, musically it sounds like a song the Dixie Chicks could do.  Lyrically, it communicates a desire for spiritual growth: "I'm tired of the race, tired of pretending/Tired of the pressure to just stay ahead/Can't take the pace it just seems unending/If this is living I'd rather be dead/I need wide open spaces/I need rivers that flow/I need to find where my faith is/Give me the desert, I'll make it my home."
     'What it Feels like (To be led)' features Andy Hubbard on drums and is the song of one placing all of their faith in God: "So this is what it feels like to just walk away/From everything I thought kept me safe/To depend just on You for every meal/And find it's better this way/Oh, it's better this way/This may not be the road I would choose for me/But it still feels right somehow/And I have never felt You as close to me/As I do right now/Like I do right now."  'I Don't Care Anymore' is a fine adult contemporary song that has Jeromy singing in his falsetto.  The lyrics speak about setting priorities straight: "I don't care anymore-and/I'm not there anyway-so/Go on with your life and I'll go on with mine/We will all be fine/'Cause I don't care anymore/About my name in lights or getting what is mine/You can be the star tonight, oh that would be just fine with me/I don't care (2X), I don't care anymore/I'm not there, I'm long gone, so go on, go on/Go on with your life, don't worry about me/I've found what I need, she's been right here with me."  'What if your Best' was again written by Jeromy and Mia Fieldes.  It is a ballad about realizing that God is God and we are not.  Jennifer Deibler carries the vocal lead: "I'm trying hard to keep from giving You advice/It's like teaching Shakespeare how to write/Or Monet, the way to paint another scene/But there's just something in this amateur that thinks/That my opinion's what You need/On how to work in me/But I am only clay and clay probably shouldn't speak."
     'The Time of my Life' has Greg Hagan on electric guitar and is a playful sounding love song: "Hand in hand/Our feet in the long beach sand/That's the way we spend these days/Falling in love again/We've always been best friends/That's the way we spend these days...I had the time of my life with you/Under the summer moon/I was so consumed/I had the time of my life with you/Acting like a fool/But it was over too soon/Oh I had the time of my life."  'Stop the Bleeding' is about crying out in desperation to the Lord: "How much desert must I cross/'Til I come to the Jordan?/I am thirsty and I'm lost/My heart is weak and emptied out/So come and stop the bleeding/I think I finally understand/So come and stop the bleeding/I've tried to fix this but I can't/So come and stop the bleeding/I know You can."
     'Who I'm gonna Be' would fit nicely on mainstream country radio.  It features Tim Lauer on harmonica and is about reaching one's full potential: "And I wonder how it took me oh so long/Some kind of grace flipped a switch/And the lights are finally comin' on/So much time I've wasted/When will I stop chasin'/Gotta stop lookin' around/And be who I'm gonna be/So much I've not tasted/So many choices to start makin'/Gotta stop lookin' around/And be who I'm gonna be."  Jill Paquette co-writes the song.  'Jesus Give me Rest' would not be out of place on a Gaither video.  It is about the need we have to anchor ourselves in the Lord if we are to have true contentment: "I've been trying to hold/On to things that just slip through my hands/You'd think that by now I'd know/Better than to chase after shifting sands/So let Your peace come to me/Oh Jesus give me rest/Let Your peace come to me/Oh Jesus give me rest/Be still, be still/Be still and know."
     WIDE OPEN SPACES is music that is easy on the ears, much like previous FFH hits such as 'One of these Days' and 'Ready to Fly'.  This album will appeal to a wide variety of age groups.  It is both contemporary and traditional sounding at the same time.  I'm rating it 80%.  For more info visit http://www.ffh.net/ or http://www.62records.com/.

ONE SILENT NIGHT-AN FFH CHRISTMAS

     FFH (Far From Home) is comprised of husband and wife duo Jeromy and Jennifer Deibler.  ONE SILENT NIGHT-AN FFH CHRISTMAS (2011, 62 Records) is a commendable holiday album with a fine mix of traditional Christmas songs and newer fare.  It begins with the playful, flirtatious 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' written by Frank Loesser in 1936: "I simply must go-But baby it's cold outside/The answer is no-But baby it's cold outside/This welcome has been-How lucky that you dropped in/So nice and warm-Look out the window, at the storm/My sister will be suspicious-Gosh, your lips look delicious/My brother will be there at the door-Waves upon a tropical shore/My maiden aunt's mind is vicious-Oh your lips are delicious/Well maybe just a little bit more-Never such a blizzard before."  'Jingle Bell Rock' is happy spirited and dates back to the 1950's: "What a bright time, it's the right time/To rock the night away/Jingle bell time is a swell time/To go ridin' in a one-horse sleigh/Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet/Jingle around the clock."  'One Silent Night' is a wonderful song with pretty instrumentation that marvels at the night Christ was born: "One silent night, one holy night/When all was calm/When all was bright/With no one to kneel and no one to sing/Heaven came down and changed everything/Let all the earth receive her King."  Bing Crosby took the sleepy, sentimental 'I'll be Home for Christmas' to the Top Ten in 1943: "I'll be home for Christmas/You can count on me/Please have snow and mistletoe/And presents under the tree/Christmas Eve will find me/Where the love light gleams/I'll be home for Christmas/If only in my dreams."
     'The Birthday of a King' is a majestic ballad that uses chimes and speaks of the hope Christ brought: "All of creation joins to sing/Throughout the nations anthems ring/Our humble hearts, the gifts we bring/To celebrate the birthday of our King" and "The faithful daughter, the wayward son/All find a place in Him tonight."  'O Come, O Come Emmanuel' was originally written in Latin in the 12th century and was translated into English in 1851.  It has a reverent feel to it and is beautifully orchestrated: "O come Thou Dayspring/Come and cheer/Thy people with Thine advent here/Disperse the gloomy clouds of night/And death's dark shadows put to flight/Rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel/Shall come to Thee O Israel."  'Winter Wonderland' is given a nice, upbeat, contemporary treatment: "In the meadow we can build a snowman/Then pretend that he is Parson Brown/He'll say 'Are you married?'/We'll say 'No man, but you can do the job when you're in town."
     'Glorious Impossible' uses sleigh bells and is a well phrased, grateful song of praise: "He is mercy's incarnation/Marvel at this miracle/For the virgin gently holds the glorious impossible/Love has come to walk on water/Turn the water into wine/Touch the leper, bless the children/Love both human and divine/Praise the wisdom of the Father who has spoken through His Son/Speaking still He calls us to the glorious impossible."  'O Little Town of Bethlehem' was written by an Episcopal priest, Phillips Brooks, and a church organist, Lewis Redner, in 1868 after Brooks had visited Bethlehem three years prior: "How silently, how silently/The wondrous gift is given/So God imparts to human hearts/The blessings of His heaven/No ear may hear His coming/But in this world of sin/Where meek souls will receive Him still/Our dear Christ enters in."  The last track is 'Heaven and Nature Sing', a ballad with these Biblical lyrics: "In Him was life and that life was the Light of men/He came to His own but His own/Would not receive Him/Let earth receive her King/Let every heart prepare Him room" and "Now to those who receive and believe in the name of Jesus/Is given the right to become children born of God."
     Jeromy and Jennifer's voices complement each other very well on this project.  ONE SILENT NIGHT-AN FFH CHRISTMAS will be enjoyed by fans of groups such as Point of Grace, Avalon, 4Him, and Sugarland.  It is a peaceful, relaxing pop album to enjoy while you're sitting in front of the fire watching your children play around the Christmas tree with their new toys.  I'm rating it 85%.  For more info visit http://www.ffh.net/ or http://www.62records.com/.