A solo album by the Revolution? Nope, it's Heart circa 1985!Like Wacko Jacko, another act is starting to pick up steam in the comeback trail and that's Heart. The band has become the patron saint of American Idol this season as they have had their songs covered through much of the tournament. "Alone", "Barracuda", "Crazy On You", "Magic Man" and by association of a cover version "You're The Voice" have all been performed by a variety of contestants this year. But the band hasn't released a CD of new music since Jupiter's Darling in 2004, so why the love?
Unlike MJ, the sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson don't need an excuse to be cool. With powerhouse vocalist Ann and folkier sister Nancy, Heart became one of the defining bands of Arena Rock. In the 70's they became a huge attraction and were dubbed "the female Led Zeppelin" by the rock press. While that might seem like a slam it was also an acknowledgement that they could rock as hard as the mighty Zep. Also like Zep, they alternated between guitar driven rockers ("Little Queen", "Kick it Out") and folk style ballads ("Dog & Butterfly", "Dreamboat Annie").
By the early 80's I started listening to music more and became a fan because of their past hits and the song "How Can I Refuse" from the otherwise abysmal Passionworks (1983) album, one of the first records I ever bought. While most fans love the 70s side (and I do too) I'm a real sucker for the 80's era when the band ran out of ideas and relied on Producer Ron Nevison to reboot their career. This was puffy shirt era Heart, with outside songwriters like Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly, Holly Knight, Bernie Taupin and Mutt Lange called in to deliver sharp hooks for Ann Wilson to blast through while Nancy Wilson strutted through the videos. While the band itself looks back at this time period as a low point, the combo of Heart (1985) and Bad Animals (1987) blew me away. I also got to see them in concert during this time and was most impressed by "The Wolf" of all songs.
In the 90's the group lost direction and sort of splintered into two halves, with the official Heart continuing in the 80's power ballad mode while Ann and Nancy formed The Lovemongers as a Zep inspired folk group. They've continued touring all the way to the present, delivering noteworthy performances throughout (I knew someone who saw them play last year and raved about it for months). Heart has the right combination of strong, wailing vocals and meaty guitar riffs to inspire any Idol, or anyone, for that matter. So here's to hoping for a full comeback, its deserved and will hopefully get more of their songs into the Guitar Hero game series ("Barracuda" in Guitar Hero 3 is hard, too much strumming!).
To close out, here's "How Can I Refuse?" the song that started my Heart collection-
Heart "How Can I Refuse"
3 comments:
I confess I pretty much lost interest in Heart in the 80's. I can't think of a single title to any of their 80's stuff. Know almost all their 70's stuff word for word, tho. Just how much older than you and the Missus am I???
Hi SKW, I don't think you're older than me because my wife is younger than me and loves 70's Heart. Even though both eras involve the Wilsons, they were really two different bands when viewed by decade (only Howard Leese survived both lineups). Artistically, Heart's best years were the early ones with Roger Fisher on guitar. But for the 80's, I just love glossy synths and electronic drums.
As a product of the trash 80's music .. I gained interest of Heart in the 1980's THEN heard their old stuff. I like them both for different reasons. I'm older than the misses I know that.. by 2-3 years I think.. so SKW that should give you an idea. I have no idea where mr. mike falls :p Still same generation though ;)
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