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Faith of the Heart

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"Faith of the Heart"
Song
A-side"Faith of the Heart"
B-sidePatch Adams "Main Title"

"Faith of the Heart" is a song written by Diane Warren and originally performed by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack to the 1998 film, Patch Adams. Stewart's version charted at number 3 on the US Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks and at number 60 on the UK Singles Chart. It was warmly received by critics. The song was later covered in 1999 by Susan Ashton for her album Closer and released as her first single in the country music genre. Although it was expected to do well, it was outperformed by her subsequent single.

It was also recorded by English tenor Russell Watson as "Where My Heart Will Take Me" in order to be used as a theme to the 2001 television series Star Trek: Enterprise, but was received poorly by fans in its use for that purpose. This version of the single was used on four occasions as wake-up calls onboard Space Shuttle missions, and performed by Watson at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Watson also recorded a special version of the song to be played for the final wake up of the New Horizons exploration spacecraft on December 6, 2014.[1]

Development and release

"Faith of the Heart" appeared on the soundtrack to the 1998 film Patch Adams.[2] It was released on the Universal Records label and produced by Guy Roche.[3] The B-side of the release was the main title theme to the film.[4] The song was released less than a month after his a separation from wife Rachel Hunter.[5]

Reception

The song was most successful in the Billboard Adult Contemporary within the United States, reaching third place in the chart.[6] The performance of the single placed it in twentieth spot on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for the year end 1999.[7]

William Ruhlmann at the website Allmusic described "Faith of the Heart" as a power ballad which is "a standard effort for its genre".[2] Chuck Taylor, reviewed the song for Billboard and said that it was one of Stewart's "more enjoyable performances in the last couple of years",[3] and thought that the song could have just as easily been sung by Celine Dion or LeAnn Rimes.[3]

Susan Ashton cover version

"Faith of the Heart"
Song

Susan Ashton was previously known for being a singer of contemporary Christian music, but decided to move into the country music genre after signing a deal with Columbia Records. She developed the album Closer, which featured a cover of the Rod Stewart single "Faith of the Heart". It was the first release from the album, but was not as successful as the following single, "You're Lucky I Love You".[8] She considered between 800 to 1000 songs to appear on the album, reducing the number down to ten.[8]

Reception

Tim Anderson, writing in his Country Beat column for Yakima Herald-Republic described Susan Ashton's "Faith of the Heart" as "a definite winner" but that it more than a "couple listens to really hook" him.[9] The release of the single by Ashton was predicted by Brian Mansfield for USA Today as being the first of a career that would increase sales for the country music genre following Aston's previous success with Christan music.[10]

Russell Watson cover version

"Faith of the Heart"
Song

"Where My Heart Will Take Me" is a reworked version of "Faith of the Heart", which was performed by English tenor Russell Watson as the theme song to the 2001 television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It was also used on four occasions as wake-up calls on Space Shuttle missions, and was performed by Watson at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. It was poorly received by Star Trek fans who created petitions and protested against the use of the song as a theme.

Development and release

It was the first time that an actual vocal theme was used in a Star Trek series.[11] Watson had been approached by the producers of Enterprise and the song's writer, Diane Warren. As he was a fan of Star Trek and as Warren had already written a song for his second album, he agreed to the proposal.[12] The song was featured on the soundtrack to Enterprise and Watson's 2002 album, Encore.[12][13] The song was re-recorded for the third and fourth seasons of Enterprise.[14]

The song has been used on four occasions as the music selected for wake-up calls on space missions. The first was on 16 June 2002 for the Space Shuttle Endeavour during mission STS-111 to the International Space Station. It was again used on 2 August 2005 for mission STS-114, the first mission of the Space Shuttle programme following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. It was broadcast to the seven crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery, and had been chosen as a surprise for the crew by Deputy Shuttle Programme Manager Wayne Hale.[15] NASA astronaut Richard Mastracchio selected "Where My Heart Will Take Me" for broadcast on 9 August 2007 onboard Endeavour for STS-118. The final broadcast on board a Space Shuttle was on 23 May 2009 during STS-125, the final Space Shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. On this occasion it was broadcast to the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. It was the third science fiction themed wake-up call in a row, the previous day having been the Cantina Band composition by John Williams for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and two days prior was Alexander Courage's Theme from Star Trek.[15]

Reception

Singer Russell Watson said that Enterprise fans would get used to the song being used as a theme to the show

Following the pilot episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, "Broken Bow", and the debut of the song as the series' theme tune, the reception among Star Trek fans was mostly negative. Such was the response, that online petitions were formed and a protest held outside Paramount Studios against the use of the song.[16] One petition stated that "We wish to express our unmitigated disgust with the theme song that has been selected for the new 'Enterprise' series, it is not fit to be scraped off the bottom of a Klingon's boot."[17] Actor Simon Pegg, who played engineer Montgomery Scott in Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness later said that he had never watched Enterprise due to the song, which he described as "dreadful soft-rock" and "probably the most hideous Star Trek moment in history".[18] The song was mentioned in the review of the Enterprise first season DVD set by DVD Talk. It was called "sappy",[19] and the reviewer said that it "never felt appropriate and serves only to undercut the emotional strength of the images on screen".[19]

Executive producer of Enterprise, Rick Berman, praised the song, saying that it was a song "that's got a lot of hopefulness and uplifting qualities to it. And I like it. I've met a lot of other people who like it, but I've also heard a tremendous amount of banter about people who don't."[16] Enterprise co-creator Brannon Braga also defended the song, saying of the protest, "There are some people who love the song and there are people who think it's cheesy. They came with a petition with 1,000 signatures. But plenty of people find the song very uplifting."[20] Watson also said of the response to the song, "Something new happens, and people aren't quite sure of it. But they'll get used to it. By the time they've watched the 20th episode, they'll be thinking, 'Well, it's not that bad after all."[12]

Live performances

Russell Watson performed "Where My Heart Will Take Me" as part of the opening ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, alongside a choir. The choir subsequently performed the song at a ceremony to mark the retirement of Bishop Christopher Mayfield from his post as Bishop of Manchester.[21]

Charts

Rod Stewart version

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Dutch Single Top 100[22] 99
UK Singles Chart[23] 60
U.S. Adult Contemporary[6] 3

Susan Ashton version

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[24] 71
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[25] 51

References

  1. ^ http://www.nasa.gov/newhorizons/on-plutos-doorstep-new-horizons-spacecraft-awakens-for-encounter/index.html
  2. ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Original Soundtrack: Patch Adams". Allmusic. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Taylor, Chuck (9 January 1999). "Reviews & Previews: Singles". Billboard. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Rod Stewart – Faith Of The Heart". Discogs. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  5. ^ Gundersen, Edna (8 February 1999). "Stewart: Vagabond with a broken heart". USA Today. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Billboard Adult Contemporary". Billboard. 27 March 1999. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  7. ^ "1999 The Year in Music". Billboard. 25 December 1999. p. 95. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  8. ^ a b Samms Rush, Diane (31 August 1999). "Timing Feels Right to Ashton". Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  9. ^ Anderson, Tim (17 September 1999). "Susan Ashton's Debut is a Winner". Yakima Herald-Republic. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  10. ^ Mansfield, Brian (22 January 1999). "Nashville keeps in tune with new teen spirit". USA Today. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  11. ^ Lerner, Neil. "Tracking the Star Trek Title Themes". Music in Science Fiction Television: Tuned to the Future. New York: Routledge: 66–67. ISBN 978-0415641074.
  12. ^ a b c O'Hare, Kate (8 November 2001). "Singer Defends "Enterprise" Theme". Zap2it. Archived from the original on 23 November 2001. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  13. ^ "Latest Release!". GNP Crescendo Record Co. Archived from the original on 2 August 2002. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  14. ^ Schorn, Peter (26 September 2005). "Star Trek Enterprise - Season Three". IGN. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  15. ^ a b Fries, Colin (20 May 2013). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Berman Defends 'Faith'". Sci-Fi Wire. 12 December 2001. Archived from the original on 20 February 2003. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  17. ^ Hiatt, Brian. "Sound Trek". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 8 November 2001. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Interview: Simon Pegg". A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  19. ^ a b "Star Trek Enterprise - The Complete First Season". DVD Talk. 3 May 2005. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  20. ^ "Braga Pleased with 'Enterprise' Reception". TrekNation. 10 October 2001. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  21. ^ "Musical farewell to bishop". Manchester Evening News. 17 February 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  22. ^ "Rod Stewart - Faith of the Heart". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  23. ^ "Search Results: Faith of the Heart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  24. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 7470." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. March 8, 1999. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  25. ^ "Susan Ashton Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
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