As we enter the Top 10 books read for 2020, we’ve got an season writer, and a newcomer for me. Jo Walton has impressed me with her unique takes on science fiction, fantasy, and the creative process in general. In 2015, Walton appeared on my Top Books list at #5 with The Just City; in 2014, she came in at #6 with My Real Children; and in 2012, the first book of hers I read, Among Others came in at #5. So, while this year is a slight dip for her, all the books of hers that I’ve read has ended up in my Top 10 for the respective year!
Sam J Miller was a new author for me, and I read his 2018 novel, Blackfish City totally randomly. The ARC had been on my bookshelf at work for a couple of years, and when I was looking for something to read, the cover art featuring Inuit-style artwork, caught my eye, so I gave it a chance. And now, preparing to write this blog entry, I noticed that Sam has a new book that just came out, so I will be reading that soon as well. Love finding new, intriguing authors, and thanks to Virginia Stanley and the fun-loving crew at HarperCollins for keeping me up-to-date on the publishing world and making me laugh!
#10 – Or What You Will by Jo Walton
Jo Walton is a writer’s writer, and her latest book, Or What You Will is more so than most. Exploring the creative spark, and how a writer creates the worlds and characters that they populate their books with, turns into a whole fantasy meta-novel in Walton’s hands. Along the way, she deconstructs works by Shakespeare, mothers who withhold love, modern-day and pre-renaissance Florence, domestic abuse and more. Most fascinating for me, was her exploration of grief in the context of a world that has abolished death. It’s not the main point of the novel, but a beautiful and fascinating diversion that Walton does so beautifully.
Not all of Walton’s diversions work for me however. A detailed, and overwrought chapter describing an actual restaurant in Florence that serves food that is so sublime it cannot be described (although there is an entire chapter trying to do just that) that seems a pretty unnecessary bit.
Still, that’s a minor quibble when you think about the scope of Walton’s story, and the masterful way she weaves together the art and science of writing, an actual historical fantasy tale, and ruminations on mortality and grief, and Or What You Will proves that however Walton manages to create entire worlds, like a mythological god, it’s worth going on the journey with her.
#9 – Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
When it comes to dystopian societies, Sam J. Miller sure has created something complex that borrows from pop culture, Inuit myth, capitalism and environmental collapse just to name a few! In fact, the rich threads that Miller weaves into Blackfish City threaten at first to overwhelm the story, making it difficult to breakthrough and stick with it. But perseverance is worthwhile, as the story of a family torn apart by genocide who unite to combat oppression (or maybe just to get revenge?) and at about the halfway mark, things start to really come together and race forward nicely.
There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and a lot of different storyline threads, as I mentioned, but most of them don’t need all that much effort. A thread about an AIDS-like virus that is transmitted sexually, but involves communal memory and mental disjointedness sometimes feels like something from another story. Yet Miller manages to weave that thread smoothly into the larger tapestry.
Clearly the most compelling story for me, the bonding between man and beast as exemplified by the strange woman riding on the back of an orca, takes the longest to get its due, but once it does it does so beautifully. Still, with political corruption, organized crime, post-punk technology, climate change, gender identity and generational memory all added to the mix, there’s probably something for everyone. Hopefully readers will not find that there is too much for everyone.
Well, 2020 was quite a year, one like no other. In terms of my reading, I thought perhaps the the social isolation would be a boon to the number of books I read throughout the year. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. I found during the first several months of the pandemic, I didn’t have the required focus to read anything beyond comic books for any sustained length of time. That did change as the year when on, and I did manage to surpass my total books read in 2019, but not by much. I’m not going to make any promises about 2021, but I’m going to try!
In the meantime, I read some great books in 2020, and some not so great as well. Here is my list of the books I read this year that I feel deserve a mention. This year that comes to twelve titles.
#12 – Hammered by Elizabeth Bean
I have dabbled with Elizabeth Bear’s bibliography, reading four or five of her novels from different genres. I finally went all the way back to the beginning to read her first novel, Hammered. A bold debut, Hammered is a mash-up of genres, from gritty, crime novel to cyberpunk exploration of advanced A.I., and some quirky, imaginative additions thrown in throughout. Ostensibly the first in the Jenny Casey series, we are dropped into the middle (or perhaps the sunset years?) of Jenny’s life. About to turn 50, former military, fitted with a prosthetic arm after a traumatic injury, with an insanely complex history, Jenny is gruff, tough, someone to turn to with a problem, but not someone to mess with. She has interesting allies, and very dangerous opponents.
The first allies we meet, in her stomping grounds of Hartford, CT, include the areas most significant crime lord, Razorface, whose teeth have been modified to be three, razor sharp steel plates. Morally ambiguous, but exceedingly loyal and reliable, Razorface comes to Jenny for help with one of his boys who is suffering from an overdose of what appears to be a doctored drug. Unable to turn him away, Jenny is drawn into a web of murder that might involve a woman who looks very much like her.
Soon after we learn that Jenny’s life is in serious danger, after years to the modifications made to her body to control her mechanical arm, or rejecting the technology laced throughout her spinal column and brain, and may only have a very short time to live. A powerful, authority figure from her past emerges, as do a past love and a family figure, that draw her into the promise of a complete overhaul of her cybernetics that will save her life, but in return, conscript her into a mysterious mission involving travel to outer space. Jenny’s complicated life is caught in two different worlds that are somehow, mysteriously connected.
Hammered is fun, with great characters, a convoluted plot that lures you in. The gradual emergence of Jenny’s very complicated past is a little overdone — there’s a lot to keep track of, and it’s hard to know at this point what might be relevant or important to remember — and the very late-introduced romance is a distraction that was frankly, in my opinion, disappointing, but overall it’s an auspicious start to a three part series, and I enjoyed it enough to eventually read the follow-up.
#13 – Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski
Tomasz Jedrowski’s debut coming-of-age novel may be on the brief side when it comes to page count, it certainly tackles some serious themes in a way that has a powerful impact, yet never comes across as heavy-handed. Set in the Poland of the early 1980’s as the decline of communism forces the Party to tighten its stranglehold on the people, University student Ludvik finds himself in the throes of first love. At a summer agricultural camp, he finds himself drawn to Janusz, dark and handsome, who thrills him but also reminds him of the deep shame he hides so deep within himself. The two boys bond over the novel Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, and as they extend the summer after camp is over, spending a couple more weeks alone camping in the forest, they find their bond growing and deepening into something powerful and lasting.
Back in the city, however, real life intrudes, and while Ludwik dreams of leaving Poland to go to the west, namely the States, Janusz allies himself with the wealthy, to use the declining system to better himself, even while other struggle to find food or medicine. It’s a philosophy that threatens to tear the two young men apart. Jedrowski weaves a lovely, simple tale of first love and coming-of-age, with the transformation of a country and a moment in time that affected a culture profoundly. It’s a quick read and one well worthwhile if the subject intrigues you.
And here we are, my favorite Heart songs of all time. It’s a more interesting and varied batch from multiple time periods that i would have expected. It’s also a bit mellower than I’d expected. Heart can certainly rock out, and I love when they do, but these are the 5 songs that grab me the most. I’ve got to admit, the top 5 is heavily 1970’s leaning, but the 80’s, and even 2010 make their mark here, proving that Heart is still giving it. The prevalence of acoustic guitar does say something, though, and while i love Barracuda as much as the next person, it’s that acoustic rock that Heart does so well that thrills me the most.
#5 RSVP – Bad Animals (1987) written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Sue Ennis
Imagine my surprise to see a song from Bad Animals in myTop 5 Heart songs! My least favorite time period for the band — the big hair, 80’s period, and they still manage to score a Top 5? Maybe it’s because it’s one of the few songs from that era that was written by Wilson, Wilson and Ennis? Possibly it’s also the first time an acoustic guitar pops up audibly – and it’s the last track of the second album of the period? And it not only pops up ; it drives the song, and Nancy is nothing if not a consummate talent with the acoustic guitar.
Mainly, I think it’s because it features another amazing vocal rendition from Ann Wilson. She and Nancy do some beautiful harmonizing on the chorus. I love Ann’s shouts at the end of each chorus. Howard Leese plays a gorgeous, mournful and soul-filled guitar solo, that perfectly matches the desire oozing form the song. Did I mention the vocals? Maybe Ann throws in some extra emotion and passion when she’s singing one of her own songs (not true – she’s a professional; she even sings the heck out of the crap songs) but I love the way RSVP builds. The verses sung with restraint before exploding into the chorus. Sure, it’s got those omnipresent 80’s synths blasting in, and those arena-pounding drums, but it all works.
I really don’t know much else about the song. I couldn’t find any specific anecdotes about it. I can’t see that they performed it in concert. There’s no video for it. Let’s just say the song speaks for itself, and here, it anchors my Top 5 Heart songs.
#4 Sylvan Song/Dream of the Archer – Little Queen (1977) written by Nancy Wilson, Roger Fisher, Ann Wilson
Ah, if this doesn’t resonate with my youth, listening to records in my parents living room, I don’t know what does. Honestly, Sylvan Song and Dream of the Archer probably made the biggest impact on me when I listed to Little Queen the first time. As a boy who devoured fantasy novels, how could this medieval epic not speak directly to my soul. Like Led Zeppelin’s Battle of Evermore, Dream of the Archer was Heart’s nod to both their rock & roll idols, and the bard himself, J.R.R. Tolkien, and his Lord of the Rings. More, it featured Nancy Wilson (and Roger Fisher) rockin’ the mandolin! These two songs just transported me to another world, and I was in love.
It starts with the sounds of the forest, frogs, birds, a footstep in the brush, the Roger and Nancy’s intertwining mandolins softly begin their descent. The elaborate picking is thrilling in its intricacy, but when the moog bass comes in and the mandolins start strumming its as if they are lifting you up to heaven, as the chords ascend higher and higher until they break and wash down on you like sweet, warm rain. With barely a moment to sigh with contentment, the acoustic guitar comes in and we’re in the Dream of the Archer. Ann’s voice, I can’t say it enough, it crystalline beauty just makes you think of elf-queens, witches, spells, and heroes. It’s gentle at first, the beginning of a dream, but when danger comes, it leaps octaves, and its clarion call like an angel roaring battle or inspiring the archer to let loose his arrow to fly.
So unique, so unabashedly geeky, yet with musicality that is astounding, this duology from Heart inspired the album art for Little Queen, and inspired this young teen to become a lifelong fan. (Still, this pair of tracks is only #4… there are three more still to come!) Below, enjoy the audio track from the album, and a gorgeous live rendition from their The Road Home concert in Seattle in 1995.
#3 Sand – Red Velvet Car (2010) written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Sue Ennis, Frank Cox
Here’s a drank horse to be coming in so high, and it’s a cover to boot, but a cover of a Lovemongers song. The Lovemongers was a Heart side project that came together in the late 80’s, when the Wilson sister wanted to get away from that big hair, MTV behemoth that Heart had become, and get back to basics. They started playing acoustic shows in clubs in Seattle with their friend and songwriting partner, Sue Ennis, and Frank Cox. Sand first appeared on the Lovemongers only full-length studio album, Whirlygig. The song would pop up in various Heart live shows, so the band finally recorded it for their fourteenth studio album, Red Velvet Car in 2010. It’s the only song from that album to appear on my Top 40, but it was a big commercial comeback for the band, reaching #10 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart, and #3 in the U.S. Rock Albums Chart, making it Heart’s first top 10 album in two decades.
Sand is a gorgeous elegy of sorts, a song about a special person who’s no longer with us. I’m not sure if it was written with anyone specific in mind, but the Wilson sister performed it with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell at Layne Staley’s funeral in 2002. Staley, the former lead singer of Alice in Chains, sang with Heart on the Bob Dylan dover Ring Them Bells from the Desire Walks On album and appeared on this Top 40 list at ##32. It’s a powerful song lyrically and melodically, often performed with just the sisters on acoustic guitar and harmonizing. Again, it shows off Nancy’s virtuosity on the acoustic guitar, and showcases Ann’s amazing voice. Filled with emotion, it builds to powerful moment when Ann wails good-bye to her friend. It ranks this high on my list of Heart songs because it makes me emotional every time I listen to it. Below is the studio track from Red Velvet Car, and a live version of the song from 2005.
#2 Straight On – Dog & Butterfly (1978) written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Sue Ennis
Landing strongly in the #2 spot, I was a little surprised to find Straight On, Dog & BUtterfly’s lead single. Honestly, I can’t believe how well this song has aged, as one of the most playful, well constructed grooves that truly melds rock, funk, and dance together in the way only Heart does it. Ann Wilson calls Straight On the bands first dance song, possibly influenced by the massive disco movement going on at the time? The song became the band’s third Top 20 hit, peaking at #15 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
The great intro, with a funky bass line and scratch electric guitar just make you want to move. When Ann launches with her big, “Quite some time…” line, you are primed. Nancy’s acoustic providing edgy texture throughout. The gambling metaphors fly, but it’s Ann and Nancy’s fantastic harmonizing that really elevate the energy and beauty of the song. Roger Fisher’s lead guitar lick brings the rock & roll back into the funk, and he and Howard do a beautiful duet line that I always miss now that the band doesn’t have two lead guitarists. Steve Fossen and Michael DeRosier really shine here as well with the bass and drums just making you want to groove.
In addition to the original audio track, I’ve included two live tracks. The first from the Dog & Butterfly tour, when the song was brand new, and the band was still young and scrappy. I had to include a second live performance through, this from their 2002 Summer of Love tour where you can really see how much they’ve matured, and how much they really seem to enjoy performing this song. Ann is so free and easy with her vocals, with her movements… she just looks so relaxed and is enjoying herself while performing. That live rendition best captures the energy and spirit of what makes this song deserving of its #2 slot!
#1 Love Alive – Little Queen (1977) written by Ann Wilson, Roger Fisher, Nancy Wilson
My favorite Heart song has been a favorite since the beginning, and it’s possibly one of the most understated Heart songs around, but it’s magnificent in its complexity and its beauty. Love Alive is a deep cut off their 1977 Little Queen album, and it’s acoustic intricacies and power chord chorus create an evocative, three part rock & roll ballad with a tinge of folk-rock and a dash of medieval mysticism. Lyrically it’a message is simple and powerful — keep your love alive, whether it’s the simple thrill of seeing the sun rise, being held by your lover, or performing on stage in front of thousands of people, keep that love fresh and alive.
Despite being a fairly standard 4+ minute song, it’s broken up into three parts. The delicate acoustic guitar intro played by Nancy and Roger herald Ann’s calm, low-key vocals. The first two verses are joined by a brief flute interlude played by Ann. After the second chorus, a bright barrage of acoustic/electric power chords sweeps in followed by the drums and a flowing bass line that ushers in that trademark Heart chorale of voices – Ann, Nancy and Howard; their aahs rising up into the stratosphere where Ann takes the lead for the final denouement. Basically the final verse, but with more intensity as Ann lets the soul fill her voice and bring it home to the two acoustic guitars entwining one final time to bring us back down.
I remember how this song made me feel as a teen, singing along at the top of my lungs. I will never forget seeing them perform this song live at my very first concert, preceded by an extended flute solo that would give Ian Anderson pause. The light show was thrilling, and the guitar play just incredible. Over 40 years later, I still remember that experience vividly. Below, in addition to the album track, I found a concert performance from 1978 that is very similar to the one I experienced, and I couldn’t resist including the 2002 Summer of Love tour performance because that whole concert was pretty amazing.
And there you have it, my Top 40 Heart songs. Heart and Fleetwood Mac defined music for me in the 70’s, and both pretty much continued to provide me sonic delight throughout my adult life. In the end, making this list made me listen to Heart a bit more critically than my memory was allowing, so that songs I thought I remembered as amazing really… weren’t, and other songs that I either never really gave much of a chance, or forgot about deserved more accolades. It allowed me to go through those 80’s big-hair albums and rediscover some of the non-hits that the band wrote that were actually damn good. It reminded me of the talent wielded by these two women and the people they surrounded themselves with throughout the years. I’ll be back with one more post ranking Heart’s albums in the next several days.
The original Heart, so young and fresh. this line-up was never topped, in my opinion. From left, Nancy Wilson, Steve Fossen, Ann Wilson, Michael DeRosier, Roger Fisher, Howard Leese
My Top 10 Heart songs. Some of the big ones… the classics… show up here. A coupe of lesser known cuts as well, but from here on out, we’re is the company of really special songs. This batch mostly pulls from their 70’s catalog, but surprisingly, we do dip into their most recent release as well. Rest assured though, you’re definitely going to know at least a couple of these songs.
#10 Kick it Out – Little Queen (1977) written by Ann Wilson
Heart’s second album, Little Queen has only appeared once so far on this list, with the title track at #24… but with this entry you’re about to see a lot more.Kick It Out, a compact, sassy song with a swaggering, in-your-face attitude explodes off the album as a the perfect “side 1” (in the old days) closer. You had to think about things like that back in the day of vinyl. Kick it Out is pure pure rock & roll with a killer electric guitar riff-to kick things off, With a compact running time of 2 minutes 44 seconds, the song gallops along like the “tail-shaking filly” they’re singing about. Steve Fossen really shines on bass in this number, counter-pointing Roger Fisher’s guitar riffs all over the place. The addition of Nancy’s honky-tonk piano adds to the just-this-side-of-trashy lyrics about a young woman who is just too much for her hometown when she decides she’s got to rock out.
Ann wrote the song solo, and she said in a concert intro that it’s basically about her. She likens herself to an untamed horse who was just born to be wild and free. Someone who likes to have fun and loves her men, but will never be captured and tamed… “a hard, racy game of give and take, she leaves them dazed, half-crazed in her wake.” I love who if this song had been written and sung by a man, it would be borderline sexist, but coming from a woman, it’s more an anthem to living life to the fullest and embracing your wild energies. Energy is really what Kick it Out is all about, and has in spades. I get so revved up just listening to it.
The song was released as a third single from the Little Queen album. It didn’t do that great, peaking at #79, but I remember hearing it quite a bit on rock & roll radio. I’ve included the original studio track, and live version from 2010, but I couldn’t find a good live version from their early days which really capture the energy of their youth. Still, the song rocks, and it anchors my Top 10.
#9 Heaven – Alive in Seattle (1993)/Beautiful Broken (2016) written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Sue Ennis
This was a surprise appearance in my Top 10! First appearing on the band’s Alive in Seattle DVD in 2003 as a new song debuting at the concert, I never really noticed Heaven. To be honest, I’m not sure if I own the DVD (and if I do, I probably watched it once, and shelved it) and I don’t own the CD. I do have their last studio album, 2016’s Beautiful Broken, where they included a studio recording of Heaven, and it made quite an impression on me as one of those songs where you listen to Ann sing and wonder how she does it. This marks the highest position for Beautiful Broken, which had three songs in my Top 40. Not sure if it’s a comment that all three were written over 15 years ago.
With a decided middle-eastern influence, and some unusual instrumentation, Ann playing an autoharp, Nancy on a bowed guitar, and Craig Bartok playing a pedal steel, it’s got a great, exotic sound and a powerful build to that chorus, where Ann crushes the vocals. I really enjoy Nancy and Craig’s backing vocals as well. Oh man, I just listened to the chorus again while writing this and it just sends chills up and down my spine. The lyrics are so powerful too… “Hang on, hang on , hang on strong to me. Let me show you, let me show you how sweet the strong can be.”
I’m really glad Heart chose to record a version of this song for Beautiful Broken or I probably wouldn’t have discovered it and have the song luxuriating in my Top 10! I’ve included first, the live version, which is amazing in and of itself, but the studio version as well.
#8 Barracuda – Little Queen (1977) written by Ann Wilson, Roger Fisher, Nancy Wilson, Michael DeRosier
Ten years ago I would have said Alone was probably Heart’s best known song, but in recent years, with the kids all grooving back on 70’s and 80’s music, I think Barracuda has rightfully reclaimed it’s place as the most well-known Heart song. Some might wonder why this song isn’t higher on my list, and I’m sure many would rank it higher than some of the songs I’ve got above it, but honestly, all my Top 10 songs are very close together in ranking, and as you will see, I tend to favor Heart’s mellower side.
But back to Barracuda… what a song! That incredible galloping guitar intro that captures the attention of everyone who hears it, and things just don’t let up. The drums kick in and pull you in further, just to throw you face first into Ann Wilson’s powerful, take-no-prisoners voice. And you do not mess around with Ann on this song. She is laying it out for you, no-holds barred. (But we’ll get to they lyrics later). Upon first listen, Barracuda comes across as a straight-forward rock & roll song, but listen more closely, the unusual time signature shifts, the intriguing use of acoustic guitar to add texture to the song, the extensive use of back and forth harmonics from Roger Fisher and Howard Leese’s dueling guitar outro, and the magnificent, propulsive drumming with complex fills that really enhance the song, and quite possibly are some of the reasons why drummer Michael DeRosier gets songwriting credit.
Chosen as the first single from their third studio album (second official), the song became their second Top 20 hit, climbing all the way to #11. But anyone who was listening to the radio at the time, knows that Barracuda was all over the airwaves. Heart had captured the attention of rock & roll radio big time. The story of Barracuda is well-known, and I’ve recounted it earlier in this blog, but here’s the short version. Mushroom Records wanted to capitalize on the success of Heart’s first album, Dreamboat Annie, so they took out a full-page ad in Rolling Stone Magazine of the Wilson sisters, bare-shouldered and back to back with the quote, “It was only our first time…” implying they were incestuous, lesbian lovers. When a male radio promoter approached her after a concert and asked how her “lover” was, Ann assumed he meant Mike Flicker, the band’s manager. After he revealed he was talking about her sister Nancy, in reference to the ad, Ann became outraged, went back to her hotel room, and wrote the lyrics for Barracuda on the spot. The song cleverly uses aquatic metaphors, referring to Nancy as “the porpoise” and using a barracuda to represent all the money-hungry, misogynist, male music industry types they’d had to deal with. It’s a scathing, sarcastic torrent or rage the Ann and Nancy got to vent every time they performed the song.
There’s not much more to say about this blistering piece of come-uppance, other than, it’s got it all. Searing vocals that Ann still performs live to this day, crazy rock & roll that hits like a bulldozer, smart, biting lyrics, and intricate musicianship. Below is the official 1977 video for the song (listen to how crisp the recording is, and make note of DeRosier’s incredible drumming) and the link to a live version taken from the Alive in SeattleDVD so you can hear how she hits those crazy notes live.
#7 High Time – Dog & Butterfly (1978) written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Sue Ennis
Here’s a bit of a dark horse from the Dog & Butterfly album. A jittery, rock & roll number that brings together great guitar work and wacky time signature shifts with some optimistic lyrics and you’ve got a great song that most people probably have ever heard. You’re welcome, enjoy it.
High Time isn’t necessarily a song that wows you on first listen, but I found it really grows on you. The twitchy-twangy acoustic guitar creates a bit of a skittery vibe as the song opens, with some interesting keyboards reminiscent of The Who’s Baba O’Reilly, then Ann’s voice comes bobbing in, weaving around Nancy’s strumming and the time signature changes provide some disorienting moments before the drums come rolling in to herald that chorus, which brings all the disparate parts together in unity. By the time the second chorus comes around, those nifty Heart harmonies come in before things get interesting in the bridge with Roger and Howard really enjoying some really nice guitar work, driven by Nancy’s acoustic. As I’m beginning to understand is often the case, Michael DeRosier’s drumming stands out again, keeping things driving forward. I love the way the bridge builds into a soaring moment that takes off in the form of Roger’s thrilling guitar solo.
High Time is really special to me because I remember it so clearly from that very first concert I ever attended. As you’ll see in the video below, that ending where Howard, Nancy and Roger all run up to the drum platform and do those big chords at the end is burned in my mind from seeing them do it at the Music Hall in Boston. It’s a very hopeful song as well, with Ann saying it’s a song about freedom. I’ve included the audio track from the Dog & Butterfly album, then a very special clip of Heart’s crew setting up for a concert, then Howard, Nancy and Ann on roller skates (!) rehearsing the number before morphing into the the band performing it live. I find it curious, that I can’t find any evidence that they ever performed the song in concert again after the Dog & Butterfly tour. It’s high on my list through, coming in at my 7th favorite Heart song!
#6 Crazy On You – Dreamboat Annie ( 1975) written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson
While Barracuda may be the most recognizable Heart song, I think Crazy on You is their most definitive. Appearing on their debut album, Dreamboat Annie, Crazy On You was the third single released in Canada, but their first single to be released to the U.S.A. Something unique in so many ways, not sounding like anything else on the radio at the time, Crazy On You heralded the Heart signature, blending acoustic guitar finery with blistering hard rock guitar riffs, both in service of the most amazing female vocals to be heard in rock & roll.
Nancy Wilson sets us up with a Spanish influenced acoustic guitar introduction the really shows off her skills. She wrote the intro after the songs was already completed, but she really wanted to be able to lead into the driving rhythm part that was inspired by a Moody Blues song called Question. Roger Fisher came up with the electric guitar riff that drives the song. Nancy was inspired by the lyrics that Ann had written in response to two major factors in her life, the fact of falling in love with her ‘magic man’ Michael Fisher, and the state of the world, most notably the Vietnam War that had caused Fisher to become a draft dodger by moving to Canada. Ann has said, “The world had gone to hell in a hand basket and the culture was just standing on its ear and everything was overwhelmingly in trouble, bombs and devils and the Vietnam War and the gas crisis. It was very frustrating. So I poured that frustration into the words of the song. I was in a very close relationship with Michael. When you’re in that situation you just climb up into your love’s lap and say: ‘Oh God, what do we do about this world?’ That’s the feeling of the song.”
Ann’s visceral howling of those words, “let me go crazy on you…” are such a release, such a rock & roll moment. In an article, Ann estimated that she has sung the song more than 16,000 times, but it still resonates with her, and remains fresh for her when she does perform it. Surprisingly, despite the longevity of the song, it only climbed to #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it was released, but it got them into the Top 40, it was all over AOR radio, and paved the way for the Top 10 Magic Man shortly after. I think for quite a while, Crazy on You was probably my favorite Heart song. The amazing acoustic guitar work fostered my early love of Nancy Wilson, which eventually gave way to an ever deeper love for Ann, when I truly came to understand the power of that voice.
And you’ve got three versions of the song to choose from below. The first is the studio version lifted from Dreamboat Annie, the second is live in 1979 from the Dog & Butterfly tour (I enjoy how she sneaks some Hijinx into her intro – that track from Dog & Butterfly narrowly missed the Top 40, coming in at #45), and the third is thirty-four years later when the original line-up was reunited to perform when the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
As we close in on my Top 10 Heart songs, we really start cookin’ with fire (true Heart fans will get that reference.) This upper half of the Top 20 really starts to illuminate the power of their fourth studio album, Dog & Butterfly as well. Surprisingly, one last hit from their big-hair days makes an appearance alongside a couple of classics, and a couple of deep cuts that have some lasting fan-appeal.
#15 Who Will You Run To? – Bad Animals (1987) written by Diane Warren
If it hasn’t become apparent to the handful of people reading this blog, Heart’s mid to late 80’s mega-hit phase was definitely not my favorite. I hung in there with them, buying their albums, even seeing them in concert, but other than Ann’s outstanding vocals, they were basically playing the role of any pop-rock band out there. Still, just because they used hit-writers to provide their biggest songs, doesn’t mean there weren’t any great songs in that batch, and Diane Warren’s Who Will You Run To? form their ninth studio album, Bad Animals, is definitely my favorite of the batch.
Released as the follow-up fo their #1 smash Alone, Who Will You Run To? shucked the power ballad formula, and went straight to a balls-to-the-wall anthem; rock and roll with an 80’s pop sheen. It kept Heart in the top 10 by climbing all the way to #7 on billboard’s Hot 100.
While I enjoy the chunkiness of the guitars and Howard’s soaring guitar solos, and the heavy driving of the drums, I have to imagine this song would have been completely unremarkable without Ann Willson’s vocals and attitude to power it. Just listen to the very first verse, as she sings, “You’re not sure what you want to do with your live, but you sure don’t want me in it. Yeah you’re sure the life you’re living with me can’t go on one single minute.” You can hear the sneer on Ann’s lips (in fact, in the video, there is definitely a faint hint of a sneer) and the disdain dripping from each word. Then with each couplet before the chorus, she just winds it up and hits it right out of the park. My particular favorite moment is in the second verse with “You can tell the whole world how you’re gonna make it. You can follow you heart but what you do when someone breaks it.” The way she attacks the word world is just glorious. Then she’s got that one crazy ad lib toward the end that comes out of nowhere in the stratosphere… Ann totally own this song and that really is what puts it so high on my list.
I even like the video, despite the fact that it follows the, make sure we keep Ann’s face in tight close-up or shoot her from far away or in shadow so no one can see she’s not skinny, and the let’s have Nancy roll around on the ground with her guitar, trends of the time. The abandoned warehouse setting provides a nice grungy backdrop. Ann looks incredible… her final smile at the end of her closing line is transcendent (she’s probably glad the video shoot is almost over). And I like the way they use five different styles of animation to bring to life the five “bad animal” icons that represent the band members from the Bad Animals album cover. Youtube won’t let me embed the video, so here’s the link https://youtu.be/fM44F-M78Vs. Below is the remastered audio version.
#14 Dog & Butterfly – Dog & Butterfly (1978) written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Sue Ennis
From their very first album, Dreamboat Annie what made Heart special was the way they blended the Led Zeppelin-esque, hard-rock they loved so much and did so well, with folk-influenced acoustic numbers that evoked everything from Tolkien to the Beatles. With their fourth release, the formalized this duality by creating an album (this was back when we listened to records and we had an A-side and a B-side) with a rock & roll side, they titled “Dog,” and an acoustic side they titled, “Butterfly.” The album beautiful encapsulated the duality of the band, even allowing for some songs to transcend the categories and incorporate both acoustic balladry and hard-rocking yowling.
The title track, of this fourth album, Dog & Butterfly, is a beautiful example of the finesse and skill at which the Wilson sisters and their writing partner, Sue Ennis, approached this type of balladry. Ann was inspired by watching her dog playing in the backyard by chasing a butterfly as it flitted through the garden. The dog was never able to get close to capturing the butterfly, but she never gave up, she just kept trying. Ann turned that into one of Heart’s most enduring ballads about just keeping at it, not giving up. Dog & Butterfly also features some of Heart’s finest lyrics, and Nancy’s delicious, 12-string acoustic picking and ethereal harmonies are in top form. I also loved the flanged electric piano… flangers were so big in the late 70’s/early 80’s.
After a string of hard-rocking hits, Heart released Dog & Butterfly as the second single off the album. Apparently the broader audience who fell in love with Barracuda and Crazy On You weren’t quite ready for a Heart ballad, but it still charted a respectable #34 on Billboard‘s Hot 100, and #33 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. Despite this, Dog & Butterfly has remained a staple in most Heart concert set-lists. I’ve included the studio versio off the 1978 album, and a live version performed by the two sisters in 2002. I love the emotions in Ann’s voice. She’s just incredible.
#13 Magic Man – Dreamboat Annie (1975) written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson
And here come some of the classics. Magic Man is Heart’s first song to catch radio’s attention in Canada, but it’s probably not the first Heart song I ever heard, and least knowing who or what I was listening to. I first discovered Heart when my brother bought the Little Queen album, which was their second release in the States. By then, I was familiar with Barracuda from the radio, and I fell in love with the album, sneaking it out of his room frequently to listen to it. When I found out they had an earlier album, I did go out and buy Dreamboat Annie myself, and promptly fell in love with it as well. Two tracks on that album were familiar to me, Crazy on You and Magic Man, but only as songs I knew I had heard on the radio before. Crazy on You was actually released first in the U.S., and cracked the Top 40, but Magic Man was quickly released as the follow-up single and it climbed all the way to #9 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 singles.
Kicking off the album with that chunky rhythm and a rip-roaring guitar lick that is actually recorded backwards, the song is instantly enthralling. It’s a bit of a trippy song about a young woman who falls in love with a man who seems to cast a spell over her. Ann’s vocals are powerful and assured, but there is also a naivety and innocence there that you rarely hear from the singer. Ann wrote the song about her then boyfriend, Mike Fisher, who started as one of the band’s guitarists, and went on to become their manager and sound engineer. Ann followed him to Canada when he moved there to avoid being drafted. The lines about her Mama begging her to come home reflected Ann’s real mother who helped keep her daughter grounded while she was under the “spell” of this “magic man.” Without the context of the song, it can be interpreted as a man preying on a younger, innocent girl/woman, and perhaps there is a little bit of that taken from reality, but the two shared a lengthy relationship, and many of Ann’s songs were inspired by Fisher.
Instrumentally the song is powerful and pretty amazing. It really shows off the guitar work and interplay between Roger Fisher and Howard Leese. The two trade guitar solos throughout the song, and Nancy’s powerful acoustic guitar adds a lot of texture. Magic Man is also remembered for the minimoog synthesizer solo Howard throws in at the end of a nearly two-minute instrumental break. In fact the extended guitar solos are cut out of the single version , which is really a shame, but coming in at over five minutes, that was too long for singles radio. I’ve included the original audio track from the album so you can really hear the nuance of the music, but I’ve also included a live version with the original Heart line-up to really see them perform this classic.
#12 Cook with Fire – Dog & Butterfly (1978) written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Roger Fisher, Sue Ennis, Howard Leese
While Dog & Butterfly was Heart’s fourth album, it was the first “new” album by the band that I bought, and I was really excited when it was released. And when I put the needle down on track one, with the crowd cheering in the background and the announcer welcoming Heart to the stage to the pounding of tribal drumbeats, I went nuts. I found out years later with the release of the remastered CD that the song was recorded in the studio and the crowd was overlaid to give it a live feel, which was a little disappointing.
Cook with Fire is a great opener, a get-em-up-on-their feet song with really great, heavy drum work, stellar rock & roll vocals from Ann, and how fun was it to hear Nancy killing it on the harmonica. Some nice bass work and guitar licks really round out the sound, and let you know, as in a lot of their early work, that this is a band, not just the Wilson sisters, but an accomplished, and talented rock & roll band. It’s really quite a straightforward rock & roll song, but it really gets me going. Love the bridge, I think the lyrics are fun, and again, Ann’s vocals kill it. I lover Roger Fisher’s subtle guitar solo too. And the way Nancy’s harmonicas fills in so beautifully. Plus, this was opener on their 1979 Dog & Butterfly tour, which happened to be my first ever rock & roll concert. When the drums started pounding and they came running out on stage, it was like I was transported to another world. The first of hundreds of amazing concerts throughout my life
I leave you with the psuedo-live album version, and a live version from 2010 so you can see how they changed things up and let Ann do a little flutework in place of the harmonica!
11 – Mistral Wind – Dog & Butterfly (1978) written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Sue Ennis, Roger Fisher
From here on out, I had a lot of trouble ranking these amazing Heart songs. I so wanted to get Mistral Wind into the top 10, but that tail-shaking filly sitting at #10 just wouldn’t move out of the way, not even for a storm whipped up by a mistral wind! Even so Mistral Wind, the Dog & Butterfly closing track, and a high point of any Heart concert at which it’s performed is truly one of Heart’s best songs. The way the song is structured is perfect, the dynamics, the calm, gentle, acoustic opening that whirls into the tempestuous mid-section, then winds back down to a gentle outro… it’s quite the piece. A fitting number as well to be the final Heart song that featured Roger Fisher, and boy, does it ever. Perhaps the stormy relationships in the band that were ending were channelled through this song. Nancy and Roger ended their relationship, and Ann and Michael Fisher ended theirs as well. Sure to shake up the dynamic of any band.
A mistral wind is a strong, cold, northwesterly wind that blows from southern France into the Gulf of Lion in the northern Mediterranean. In the song, quite clearly, the singer is a sailor, and her lover is represented by the mistral wind, it helps power her and move her, but it can also roar into a tempest that can take control for better or for worse. Heart uses the lyrics to create the three-part structure of the song, with Nancy’s excellent acoustic guitar work powering the first section. When Michael DeRosier’s powerful drums kick in around the 2:30 minute mark, you know a storm has struck. Roger’s dizzying guitar licks that swarm around Ann between each line perfectly capture the storm tossing his lover across the stormy seas. Howard’s moog synthesizer lends an ominous quality as the music starts to calm and Nancy’s acoustic guitar starts to take over again. DeRosier’s incredible drum fills representing the last gasps of the fading storm. Then, I swear, at the 5:00 minute mark, the music so perfectly represents the sun breaking through the storm clouds I can see it in my mind. A couple last lingering crashes of thunder before the wind dies and the seas is calm again.
Ann’s vocals. I didn’t even mention Ann’s vocals as they just go beyond human understanding in this song. Gentle, soothing, angelic to start, then building to banshee-like wails as the storm overcomes her. It’s pretty incredible vocal work, and fits the song exquisitely. Nancy Wilson said, “In many ways, this is the ultimate Heart song. It’s very visual and a lot of care was put into painting a musical landscape that described the words.” She also noted that it was one of her favorites from Dog & Butterfly because it dealt with “love, inspiration, and insanity all at the same time.” So very true. It’s also a beautiful homage to their inspirations, Led Zeppelin.
I couldn’t decide which live version to leave you with in addition to the original studio track. There are two that really stand out. I chose the 2002, Live in Seattle recording, because I think Ann sounds the best, and there’s a nice energy to the performance, but I also highly recommend the 2007, Dreamboat Annie Live show, which has a nice string section accompanying them. The link to that video is https://youtu.be/VQdPKMS9V4U.
#10 – Or What You Will by Jo Walton
#9 – Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
#12 – Hammered by Elizabeth Bean
#13 – Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski
