Mary Simon's formula is a simple, time-tested design - the Toronto singer/songwriter's powerful voice and haunting melodies coupled with her stark lyrics and poignant delivery make for undeniably great songs, again and again.   While her recordings embrace drum loops, electronic touches and other bursts of experimentation, Simon never strays too far from the acoustic-based core of her material in both her live performances and on record.  Mary's first of three Albums, "Before I Fall", gained recognition in Lilith Fair's songwriting contest where she was the only Canadian to place in the Top 10, has also won her 2nd place in Toronto's Mix 99.9 Songwriting Contest, and landed her in the Top 10 of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.   What followed was a sparse, raw recording entitled "Leaving You Behind", which left an impressive mark of creativity as Mary avoided conventional recording methods to allow her vocals and emotions to shine through. Mary's third full-length release, "In View Of Mercy", takes leaps and bounds towards her compelling, folk-pop sound that leaves listeners in the same state of hearing her perform live - heads turned and hearts at a standstill.