Mosaics

While 1984's Ashes and Light was Mark Heard's acoustic crowning achievement to date, Mosaics was the most consistent of his rock-oriented recordings. Unfortunately, his gift for creating intelligent lyrics and coupling them with irresistible melodies never caught on with radio programmers or the record-buying public. His lyric from a 1981 song "Stuck in the Middle" sums up the response he received upon the release of Mosaics: "I'm too sacred for the sinners and the saints wish I would leave." His faith-infused lyrics weren't direct enough for the Christian music industry (who released his material) and the mainstream market was never quite comfortable with Heard's acknowledgment of faith, so this fine recording met an unwarranted death shortly after its release. With a voice, career, and circle of acquaintances that seems to parallel T-Bone Burnett's, it's only natural that he should cover a Burnett tune. From 1980's Truth Decay, Heard borrows one of Burnett's acoustic classics, "The Power of Love," increasing the tempo and adding a Jerry Donahue-like, string-bending electric guitar line and presto! it fits in perfectly amid the remaining Heard songs both thematically and musically.