Music Review: Far From Home - The FFH Collection

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Some good songs

Cons: Nothing new; missing some of their best

The Bottom Line:

Radio focused

Not all my favorites here

Still very good songs

The Radio Hits of FFH

When it comes to Christian music group FFH, there is no middle group. Either you love them, or you hate them. Their supporters will point out their worshipful lyrics and unique pop/rock/folk sound. Their detractors will point out that the lyrics are shallow.

While I will immediately acknowledge that their lyrics rarely go below the surface, I must confess I like them. I can go months without listening to a single one of their songs, then I pull out all their CDs and go on a binge. Every time I do, I find again those gems that keep me coming back. So, as I always do, I decided to get their best of when it came out.

Unfortunately, this CD has two major flaws. First, there are no new tracks. Is it that I have become spoiled by every other best of I have? I was rather surprised when I realized that this CD offered me nothing new. The second flaw didn't surprise me as much. All of these songs are the group's radio hits. While they are a fine collection, they aren't the songs I love best.

Now that's not to say I don't like what is here. I got a smile on my face as I always do with the opening notes of "Big Fish." This percussion heavy song gives a unique take on Jonah. With the majority of the band humming the background music, lead vocalist Jeromy Deibler sings the fun lines challenging us to obey God.

And the CD does include my all time favorite FFH song. "I Want to Be Like You" is a prayer to be more like God. The guitar led music is a beautiful background to the beautiful melody.

One recurring theme on their discs is dreams of Heaven. Several of these songs made the disc. "One of These Days" talks about all the things they can't wait to do. "Fly Away" is about the longing to get there, as is "Ready to Fly."

Jeromy has most of the lead vocal duties, but on each CD his wife sings three or four of the songs. Here, Jennifer's contribution is limited to one solo on "Fly Away" and her normal backup singing.

As I indicated in my intro, they are a hard band to pin down stylistically. They use lots of drum and guitar, but later releases have featured more piano. One overarching pattern is the minimalism of the music. Yes, it's there, but it never comes close to overpowering the lyrics or your senses. They almost sound acoustic. That's probably why most of the time they are categorized as folk at first listen. When you pay attention, you'll notice bits of pop and rock creeping their way into the songs as well. They could use a bit more variety between tracks, but they certainly have a style all their own.

What's here is good and most FFH fans will like it. But I am knocking a star off for the lack of new material and the fact that several of their best songs are missing. I'll probably skip Far From Home: The FFH Collection most of the time and go straight to their individual CDs.

CD Length: 41:15

Tracks:

1. Big Fish

2. One of These Days

3. Found a Place

4. I Want to be Like You

5. Fly Away

6. Open up the Sky

7. You Found Me

8. Ready to Fly

9. Still the Cross

10. Worth is All