Live Review – Heart – Rod Laver Arena

I turn 49 on Tuesday. Heart’s debut album Dreamboat Annie turns 35 next February. That makes it older than my wife. It also means that for over two thirds of my life I’ve been a fan of Ann and Nancy Wilson.

Now for a good part of that time it wasn’t necessarily all that cool to be a fan of Heart – partly due to the fact that punk and indie-rock and grunge and any number of other genres and sub-genres that came and went in that time, seemed to preclude being a fan of a classic rock band like Heart. And partly, I have to admit, the band did test my patience a little when the released a string of power ballads that got them to the top of the charts but lacked the soul of those early albums. But while my candle may have flickered from time to time, it never went out and every now and then I’d re-affirm the faith by playing a selection of the lesser known songs from Dog and Butterfly or Bebe le Strange or Private Audition that would remind me why I’d invested such faith in this band as a  vinyl buying teenager.

Those recordings always had another function. Whenever I was trying to explain to a female rock singer, what was required to be a ‘great’ female rock singer I’d inevitably end up compiling them a selection of Heart songs – things like Rockin’ Heaven Down, Crazy On You and their monumental cover of Zepplin’s Rock N Roll, to use as their template.

But despite all these years as an evangelist (and sometime apologist) for this band it wasn’t until tonight that I got to see them play live. They had never been to Australian before the current tour with Def Leppard and strangely in my time living overseas they never were touring in the places I was. It was one of those ‘bucket list’ things that I was destined not to check box.

So, although the circumstances were less than perfect, I was happy to right that wrong tonight. Ideally they wouldn’t have been playing at Rod Laver Arena, ideally they would not have been opening for Def Leppard and ideally they would have had more than an hour to ply their trade.

And judging by the crowds reaction (a crowd primarily there to see Def Leppard), there’s little doubt that had Heart been playing their won headline shows at venues like the Palais is would have been a definite sell-out.

With limited time on their hands Heart fired a few big rockets early in the set – They opened with Kick It Out before launching into Magic Man. From there the hits keep coming including What About Love, These Dreams, Alone, Crazy on You and Barracuda, along with Straight On, which was actually the song that found the band really hitting their stride. They performed their version of You’re The Voice which was probably unnecessary, given they had many of their own songs they could have done.

Ann didn’t disappoint anyone who had held her up as the example of a great female rock singer. The powerful, soaring, passionate delivery was still there, and on songs like Alone and the closer Love, Reign O’er Me, she was supreme. The last song, a cover of the Who’s Quadrophenia track was a surprise selection.

However it was Nancy Wilson who almost stole the show. Can someone explain to me how she can be such a vital performer as he approached her late fifties? These got more sass, more attitude and cooler moves than rockers (male or female) half her age and she really is one of the most under-rated stars in that genre. There’s something incredibly ‘true’ about the way she goes about her business that suggests that the fire still burns for her. Amazing.

For me, obviously I would have loved to hear them delve into deeper album cuts and some more obscure material – and some songs from their new album Red Velvet Car, which is a great return to top form, but realistically I wasn’t going to get that tonight. Hopefully now the ice has finally been broken with Australian audiences they will return for a headline tour in more sympathetic surroundings.

 

Heart to Tour on Def Leppard Show

The news that Def Leppard would be returning to Australia was welcome as the bombastic hard rock legends always put on a big show of escapist stadium rock. However I was a lot more excited by the news that they would be sharing the stage with Heart, the Canadian band fronted by sister Ann and Nancy Wilson.

Heart have always been an under-rated band to me and their early albums were one of the reasons I started a love affair with rock music.  The band never made it to Australia though and thus their tour announcement was nostalgically great news.

However it isn’t all nostalgia. Their latest album is a fine effiort and shows them to be in very good form.

Here’s the review I wrote last year.

“The early word on this album was that it was a return to the sonic values and the contrasting characteristics of vulnerability and toughness that made Heart such an arresting band when they first emerged in the 70’s.

Albums like Dreamboat Annie, Little Queen, Dog and Butterfly and Bebe Le Strange were outstanding examples of how good inventive, passionate and genuinely conceived rock n’ roll music could be when it was made with true intentions and well… “heart”.

Later Heart went on to have hits with songs like If Looks Could Kill, These Dreams and What About Love – songs that the band didn’t actually write – and although the songs weren’t inherently bad songs (and the performances, especially Ann Wilson’s vocals were outstanding) there was a sense that they didn’t have the same spirit informing them as some of the less commercially successful songs from that string of cherished early albums.

Well fans of those great albums have been amply rewarded by the release of Red Velvet Car. Both in spirit and in content it seems to have made peace with the bands proud history and Heart have created an album that can sit comfortably alongside of that catalogue.

Don’t under-estimate what a grand achievement that is some thirty-something years later!

There’s a few musical references to the bands past to be found on Red Velvet Car. The album opens with a bluesy, swinging track called There You Go which echoes hits like Straight On and Down On Me, while WTF is an angry, heavy riffing belter that is cut from the same sort of cloth as Barracuda and Rockin Heaven Down. The latter was one of Ann Wilson’s vocal tour de force and while she’s not quite as gymnastic in her vocals these days, she’s still able to deliver a big vocal performance better than just about any current female rocker.

Queen City is a highlight on the album channelling the title tracks from both Dog and Butterfly and Little Queen in both form and content, while another stand out is the Led Zepplin-like Safronia’s Mark which Nancy Wilson garnishes with a touch of mandolin to nod to a song like Dream of The Archer and Cry To Me. And of course like most Heart albums Nancy Wilson takes over lead vocals on a song, in this case Hey You, which is designed to offer a more gentle vocal approach.

Along with WTF the other blues driven song that works well is Death Valley – although it does sound kind of weird to hear Ann Wilson sing “I texted you in desperation”.  Despite this small anomaly this song sees her closely approaching the soaring vocal moments of her past.

Listening to Red Velvet Car is like stumbling across an old best friends Facebook page and finding to your relief that they are doing well and that they are still essentially the same good person they always were. It might not be as important to you as it was when you were both young and living closer to the edge, but it’s still nice to know that they retain the same spirit that drew you to them in the first place.

Def Leppard with special guests Heart tour dates:

 

Sat 15 Oct nib Stadium WA

Tue 18 Oct Adelaide Entertainment Centre SA

Thu 20 Oct Sydney Entertainment Centre NSW

Sat 22 Oct Rod Laver Arena VIC

Tue 25 Oct AIS Arena ACT

Thu 27 Oct Brisbane Entertainment Centre QLD

Sat 29 Oct Newcastle Entertainment Centre NSW

 

Heart – Red Velvet Car (Eagle Records/ Shock)

The early word on this album was that it was a return to the sonic values and the contrasting characteristics of vulnerability and toughness that made Heart such an arresting band when they first emerged in the 70’s. Albums like Dreamboat Annie, Little Queen, Dog and Butterfly and Bebe Le Strange were outstanding examples of how good inventive, passionate and genuinely conceived rock n’ roll music could be when it was made with true intentions and well… “heart”.

Later Heart went on to have hits with songs like If Looks Could Kill, These Dreams and What About Love – songs that the band didn’t actually write – and although the songs weren’t inherently bad songs (and the performances, especially AnnWilson’s vocals were outstanding) there was a sense that they didn’t have the same spirit informing them as some of the less commercially successful songs from that string of cherished early albums.

Well fans of those great albums have been amply rewarded by the release of Red Velvet Car. Both in spirit and in content it seems to have made peace with the bands proud history and Heart have created an album that can sit comfortably alongside of that catalogue.

Don’t under-estimate what a grand achievement that is some thirty-something years later!

There’s a few musical references to the bands past to be found on Red Velvet Car. The album opens with a bluesy, swinging track called There You Go which echoes hits like Straight On and Down On Me, while WTF is an angry, heavy riffing belter that is cut from the same sort of cloth as Barracuda and Rockin Heaven Down. The latter was one of Ann Wilson’s vocal tour de force and while she’s not quite as gymnastic in her vocals these days, she’s still able to deliver a big vocal performance better than just about any current female rocker.

Queen City is a highlight on the album channelling the title tracks from both Dog and Butterfly and Little Queen in both form and content, while another stand out is the Led Zepplin-like Safronia’s Mark which Nancy Wilson garnishes with a touch of mandolin to nod to a song like Dream of The Archer and Cry To Me. And of course like most Heart albums Nancy Wilson takes over lead vocals on a song, in this case Hey You, which is designed to offer a more gentle vocal approach.

Along with WTF the other blues driven song that works well is Death Valley – although it does sound kind of weird to hear Ann Wilson sing “I texted you in desperation”.  Despite this small anomaly this song sees her closely approaching the soaring vocal moments of her past.

Listening to Red Velvet Car is like stumbling across an old best friends Facebook page and finding to your relief that they are doing well and that they are still essentially the same good person they always were. It might not be as important to you as it was when you were both young and living closer to the edge, but it’s still nice to know that they retain the same spirit that drew you to them in the first place.

Heart Returns With New Album

Before Heart turned kinda cheesy in the 80’s they were a truly great rock n’ roll band. Albums like Dreamboat Annie, Little Queen, Dog and Butterfly, Private Audition and Bebe le Strange were full of great hard rock songs, stunning ballads and Ann Wilson surely was one of the best female rock singers to ever grace the stage and to be committed to vinyl.

A series of big hits with formulaic ballads tarnished their reputation (but not their bank balance) but I’ve always maintained a belief that lurking behind the power ballads was a great colloboration waiting to return to centre stage.

If the early comments are any indication the new Heart album may just fulfil the wishes of long term fans.

Red Velvet Car is said to be the most personal and powerful work yet for Ann and Nancy Wilson.

It’s just been released in the US and Europe and  the album was produced by Ben Mink, who has collaborated with Rush in the past and produced albums for Barenakes Ladies, among others.

For their first new album since 2004′s Jupiter’s Darling, the sisters took an acoustic approach to a collection of songs inspired by the world around them, arranged for an assortment of strings including guitar, mandolin, dobro, banjo, fiddle, viola, cello and autoharp, all played by Nancy Wilson and the album’s producer, Grammy winner Ben Mink.

Nine of the album’s songs were written for, and appear for the first time on Red Velvet Car. The album’s closer, Sand, is a newly recorded version of a song originally written and recorded by the Lovemongers, Ann and Nancy’s 1990′s acoustic side project.

Red Velvet Car marks the return of Heart to the Sony Music Entertainment family. Heart’s last Sony-related release was 1983′s Passionworks on Epic Records.

“It feels good to have Sony Music holding our new baby. It’s sort of like coming home, since we worked with them on Little Queen, Dog and Butterfly, Bebe le Strange, Private Audition and Passionworks, among others,” said Ann Wilson. “We’re excited about taking it on the road. A fresh sound with all the original Heart magic.”

“This album feels so right for the times,” said Nancy Wilson. “We can’t wait to share this one with the world!”

Heart has been performing songs from Red Velvet Car, as well as classics from the band’s repertoire, during shows at selected Lilith Fair dates and in headline concerts across the U.S. and Canada from July through September.

Track listing:
1. There You Go
2. WTF
3. Red Velvet Car
4. Queen City
5. Hey You
6. Wheels
7. Safronia’s Mark
8. Death Valley
9. Sunflower
10. Sand
11. Bootful of Beer (bonus edition)
12. Closer to the Sun (bonus edition)

Little Queen – Heart

Released in 1977 Little Queen was the follow-up to Heart’s hugely successful debut album Dreamboat Annie that had established the Canadian band as a force, off the back of the single Magic Man. It was a striking album that took the bands calling card – rock songs juxtaposed with folk songs to another level.

The rock song that set the tone for the album was of course Barracuda, an angry, rock guitar driven anthem that featured one of the great female rock vocal performances – probably of all time. Ann Wilson absolutely soars on this song and it pretty much establishes her credentials as a vocalist for all time.

It emerged later that the song was written as Wilson’s response to her realisation that their record label had been spreading titillating rumours that her and sister Nancy were in fact lesbian lovers. It’s little wonder that the song is as viciously venomous as it comes across.

The other killer rock song on the album is Kick It Out, a free spirited spiralling song that Wilson inhabits with great gusto.

But it’s the soft songs that gave Heart their added dimensions that won them a dedicated fanbase. As twee as it sounds now the idea of a mandolin instrumental (Sylvan Song) leading into a meandering romantic tale of a medieval archer wandering through the woods (Dream of The Archer) worked back beautifully in 1977. Combined with the cover shot of the two gorgeous sisters in gypsy-like period costume, it certainly worked for me!

Ballads like Love Alive and the delicate, yet aching Cry To Me were equally great vehicles for Ann’s superb vocal talents. She had an extraordinary ability to sound vulnerable and incredibly powerful simultaneously and even today she probably doesn’t get the recognition her talents deserve. Her free-styling on the largely instrumental Go On Cry (which closes the record in an almost concept album way) is another indication of her chops.

Nancy’s vocal on Treat Me Well isn’t as strident but she adds another layer to this album and as the guitar playing sister she added another dimension rather than both being purely vocalists.

Heart went on to make several more really strong albums in this vein (such as Dog & Butterfly and Bebe Le Strange) before taking a more chart oriented approach but it was Little Queen that showed that they had the depth of talent to launch a long career from the platform provided by Dreamboat Annie.

Little Queen still sounds great today.