(Photo :Benjamin Utecht and Anne Cochran)

Holding a super bowl ring in one hand and the microphone in the other, Benjamin Utecht was both a professional foot ball player as well as a singer.  Sports fans would remember that Utecht had signed one of the most lucrative deals when he was offered a $9 million contract by the Cincinnati Bengals for three seasons in 2009.  However, prior to the 2009 season, he suffered a concussion so serious that he was later released from his contact with an injury settlement.  As his football career came to a halt, Utecht decided to pursue a career in music.  As the son of a Methodist pastor and a devout follower of Christ, Utecht began to carve a career in music.  In 2009 he released a Christian album under Sandi Patty's Stylos imprint which produced favorites such as "We All Bow Down" and "How Beautiful."  Along the way Utecht had struck a friendship with pianist Jim Brickman; together they came up with the unforgettable "I Pray."   Working closely also with Brickman is Anne Cochran.  Cochran, though an established recording artist in her own rights, has frequently offered her vocals to Brickman's piano pieces such as "After All these Years" and "By Heart."  So, it seems organic via the Brickman connection for Utecht and Cochran to come together for a duet album "Two of Hearts" released under the Green Hill music label.

"Two of Hearts: Cherished Love Song Duets" as the title suggests is a celebrated collection of romantic love songs.  And these 12 songs are garnered across the ages from the golden voice era of Nat King Cole to the fling of the big haired 80s rockers to the musical soundtracks of the silver screen noir to the sultry reign of the sky-reaching Divas to the Shania Twain explosion epoch of country pop. Lest we think less of this disc just because they are not overtly God centered songs, we need to be reminded that human love in its redeemed form is the outflow of a heart touched by God's love.  We can only truly love when we are truly loved by Christ.  As receipts of such divine love, we need to continue to express such love especially to our spouses via our constant courtship and wooing.  This disc gives the musical vocabulary for us to express such love as a ministry to our loved ones.  Save for "Sukiyaki," Cochran and Utecht seem to have gone the safe route by covering some of the tried and true choices.  Such an approach certainly works as a double-edged sword:  on the plus side, the familiarity of these songs makes it easy for us to hum along.  But on the negative end, they invite comparisons with the originals.      

Of the tracks Utecht and Cochran really nail especially well are great love anthems of blockbusters Titanic "My Heart will Go On," Footloose's "Almost Paradise," The American Tale's "Somewhere Out There."  On "My Heart Will Go On," they have substituted Celine Dion's extended flute opening with their pal's Jim Brickman's piano playing, thus transforming it from a grandiose disposition into a more intimate piece.   Though softer Cochran's soprano is no match for Linda Ronstadt's soaring melisma, she is no less effective in elucidating the desire of longing on "Somewhere Out There."  On Shania Twain and Bryan's "From this Moment On," the pair really eclipsed the original.  Bryan White's challenge of trying to reach the high notes with his whiny restraining vocals is never a problem with Utecht flawless soar.  Rubbing off the R&B niche edge of Brian McKnight's "Back At One," they have given it a more universal romantic rhetoric.  Also, quite lovely is when Utecht and Cochran go beyond the expected to include the Japanese love ballad "Sukiyaki."   

But the two tread on some treacherous ground when it comes to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" and Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable."  It is not that Utecht and Cochran's performances are ropey; it's just that Houston and Cole have given such definitive renditions that no other artist could ever remove their signature claws on them.  Nevertheless, the album's coda says it all: these are indeed some of the most cherished love songs of the last few decades, performed with style, thought and passion by two gorgeously complementing voices.