"Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." - Robert Heinlein

I like having music playing as a background and especially at holiday times like Valentine's Day. An album that I have absolutely fallen in love with is "What We Leave Behind" by Jeremy and Rebecca. This duo of singer/songwriters is obviously in a seriously deep and genuine relationship to write such passionate and heartfelt songs about, love, life, and family. The album isn't just about the words and music though. There's a power that shines through that only comes from believing in themselves and the message that they share. I've gotten to know them online as creative people who support other creative people. They're caring, thoughtful, and extremely talented.

Rebecca is the lead vocalist on most of the tracks and for good reason. Her voice is powerful. It's rich. Sometimes it's growly and throaty. Sometimes it is as smooth as glass. And as an Early Childhood Special Education teacher, she could "sing" the whole album with her hands in American Sign Language. Jeremy has a great voice as well, but he chooses to shine as an instrumentalist, song writer, and producer. He was able to pull together all of the talent for backgrounds and engineering that makes this album truly shine.

If you are looking for the perfect album to buy that special someone for Valentine's Day, I heartily recommend "What We Leave Behind" by Jeremy and Rebecca.

WHAT I LIKE

Although the entire album is excellent with a really great balance between heavy and light; lush and clean, instrumental and vocal; there are three tracks that stand out: "Fool," "Feels Like The Heavens," and the title song, "What We Leave Behind." "Fool" really showcases Rebecca's powerful voice. She throws emotion into the mix and never cracks. With a hook like "If I'm a fool - wh - o - oa/that's all right with me. If lovin' you, oh, makes me crazy, I guess I'm gonna be" you just know she's going for broke. "Feels Like The Heavens" is the quintessential love song. Jeremy writes metaphors of oceans, stars and heavens to explain how all consuming their love is for each other. The background strings swell and lift like the ocean waves themselves and Rebecca's voice soars to the stars. "What We Leave Behind" is a duet all about our philosophy and priorities. Jeremy and Rebecca each ask the questions about how we will affect the people around us and what we will do to make our mark. The mass choir adds even more strength to these powerful themes. The ending guitar solo gives time for reflection.


WHAT I DON'T LIKE

Okay, I admit it; although I love Rebecca's voice, I could totally get behind Jeremy stepping up to the microphone a little more frequently. There's nothing more powerful than a singer who believes the words he's singing and that really comes through with strong songwriters like Paul Simon, Paul McCartney and Jeremy Hendrickson. He needs to show off his vocal talent as much as his other contributions to the album.


FINAL RECOMMENDATION

"What We Leave Behind" by Jeremy and Rebecca is a beautiful album filled with moving songs of love for each other, family, God, and the world. It's inspiring just to listen to it and in fact, the other morning I woke up these songs playing in my head, which then inspired me to write my own poem of love for my husband. He's never cried while reading one of paeans before, so their inspiration must have had some impact.


You can follow Jeremy and Rebecca on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeremyrebecca
or FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/jeremyandrebecca
Their website is www.jeremyandrebecca.com
You can preview the music at The61.com by clicking here http://www.thesixtyone.com/jeremyandrebecca/
or at StereoFame at http://www.stereofame.com/#/jeremyandrebecca