Tag: rock'nroll

#30 – My Crazy Head, Desire Walks On (1993)
written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Sue Ennis

Blending the acoustic with the electric in true Heart fashion, My Crazy Head is another standout from the Desires Walks On album; the fourth song to appear in the Top 40 from what is unquestionably the best of the Capitol Years albums, despite it not performing that great commercially. With an incredibly catchy chorus, Ann wanted it released as the first single, but in a hold-over from the “hit-maker” deal the band had signed with Capitol Records, they were forced to release Will You Be There in the Morning as the lead single. Cut form the same cloth as All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You both were written by Mutt Lange, and his contract with Capitol required that anything he wrote had to released as a lead single. Interestingly enough, the band had moved on from treacly power-ballads and the song peaked at #39.

Lyrically, My Crazy Head is a bit disappointing; basically a love song, but with a slight twist about the relationship enabling her to get out of her own crazy head. There’s nothing really outstanding about the track, but it’s a tuneful stand out that sticks in my crazy head every time I listen to it.

#29 – Lost Angel, Jupiters Darling (2004)
written by Nancy Wilson

After Desire Walks On, Heart took a ten year break from recording before returning in 2004 with their thirteenth studio album, Jupiter’s Darling. This album was a definite return to their rock & roll roots, with a sprinkling of ballads and deft acoustic work thrown in . It also featured the addition of lead guitarist/producer Craig Bartock who remains with them to this day. Jupiter’s Darling sees Nancy Wilson taking a bit of creative control, producing with Bartock, and writing a hefty number of songs with Bartock as well, and on her own. She also sings lead vocals on five songs… definitely a record. And while Nancy has a perfectly lovely voice, why would you bother when you’ve got Ann Wilson on hand?

Jupiter’s Darling is a solid album, I like it well enough, but most of the songs don’t stand out enough to compete with the other tunes in my Top 40. All that is, save one. Lost Angel is a really lovely song, written by Nancy on her own, and as she says, is “a bit like a prayer.” I’ve got to hand it to Nancy, despite writing the song on her won, she was wise to let Ann take care of the powerful vocals. The song starts with Nancy’s gentle, rootsy, acoustic intro setting the tone for the first half of the song. When the second verse kicks in, so do the power chords and the drums, pushing Ann’s soaring vocals even further out front.

I love the pre-chorus, where Ann sings about birds bringing feathers of peace. It’s reminiscent of some of the balladry from Dreamboat Annie, yet sung from a place of road-weary experience, rather than the innocence… even naiveté of a band just starting out. Then toward the end, we get a little more Nancy’s truly exceptional guitar playing. It’s a heart felt song that avoids cheesiness, and almost sounds like it could be something lifted off a Bruce Springsteen album. Check out the studio and live versions below.

#28 Voodoo Doll, Desire Walks On (1993)
written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Amy Sky, John Capek

Ann and Nancy have worked with Canadian avant-garde rocker, Dalbello, and recorded her songs. Desire Walks On sees them working together again, and I can’t imagine it’s a coincidence that after working with her, the Wilson sisters wrote Voodoo Doll. It’s dark, mysterious, drum-heavy sound is so reminiscent of Dalbello’s stellar Baby Doll from her 1987 album, She. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I would call this more of an homage than plagiarism, because the songs really are remarkably similar.

The opening borrows some heavy industrial sounds acting as the drum beats, and the song is more keyboard heavy that your usual Heart number. Ann and Nancy harmonize great on this song, and Ann’s lead vocals are powerful, seductive and really just perfect for the song. It’s nice to see Heart branching out to try something different, and for me it’s one of the best songs on the album.

#27 Perfect Stranger, Private Audition (1982)
written by Ann Wilson, Sue Ennis

Heart is most well-known for their rockers and their great blend of electric and acoustic sounds, but they’ve got some great ballads too, some of which are rooted in folk. Perfect Stranger is powered by Nancy’s lovely, gentle 12-strong acoustic guitar work, layered with some strings arranged and conducted by Howard Leese.

I particularly love how the bridge builds with Ann and Nancy harmonizing to a really powerful third chorus, where Ann lets loose and alters the lyrics just slightly that is a nice story-telling twist and builds the emotion at the end. Some might think the song is fairly straight-forward, but I find it very melodic, and keeping with that early Heart sound.

#26 How Deep It Goes Dreamboat Annie (1975)
written by Ann Wilson

#26 marks the first of three songs to appear in my top 40 from the band’s debut album, Dreamboat Annie. The band was based in Vancouver, Canada at the time, and was recorded there and released in Canada in mid-1975. The album did very well in Canada, selling 30,000 copies in the first couple of months. It wasn’t released in the States until early 1976, where it was first released in Seattle, where the band hailed from originally, and played some club gigs before moving to Canada. It took off and quickly sold another 25,000 copies. The label took their time releasing it city by city and when their first single, Crazy On You hit, the album took off.

How Deep It Goes was written by Ann Wilson, and was the first single released in Canada. It didn’t do well, so they quickly followed up with Magic Man which was a hit. Talk about innocence, but with a complexity of musicality that was emblematic of beauty and talent behind Dreamboat Annie. The rolling piano parts, the gorgeous orchestration, Ann and Nancy’s acoustic guitar interplay, all serve to turn a simple love song into an intricate, musical chamber piece.

Ann’s voice is the picture of sweetness in the studio recording. Crystal clear, perfect pitch, filled with emotion. I’ve also included a live version of the song recorded in 2007 and taken from an album where the band performed the entire Dreamboat Annie life in concert. You can hear how Ann’s voice has aged and weathered over the years, but it’s just as clear, and more powerful than ever. It’s a song that Ann wrote in a different time, a different world, before their career took off and they went through the nasty rock & roll industry, the ups, the downs and everything in between. Listening to this song certainly transports me to a different time, in my mother’s living room, listening to this amazing, female-fronted rock band, opening my mind to a new kind of music. How deep it goes, indeed.

#35 – Alone, Bad Animals (1987)
written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly

For many, this is Heart. This is the band that ruled the videowaves with a power ballad that topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. And while hit is not my Heart, no one, certainly not could deny the way Ann Wilson owned this song so completely that it didn’t even matter that they didn’t write it. Listening to this song sends chills up and down your spine; not because it’s a particularly good song — it’s a fair to middling song at best — but that voice. Yes, it was Nancy’s tits and ass wagging all over the video, humping her guitar (it was an excruciatingly embarrassing time for the band, even as they attained immense popularity) but you couldn’t deny that Ann Wilson was the star of this song.

Alone was the first single from their ninth studio album, Bad Animals. It peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums in the summer of 1987, and was certified triple-platinum in 1992. Honestly, I thought this song would land much higher on my list of favorite Heart songs. I mean, Ann really does sound incredible. But honestly, the song is pretty lame, and all I really get out of it is the thrill of Ann letting loose. It’s the first of four songs from Bad Animals to appear on my list, which is actually pretty good. Heart only spawned two in my Top 40, and the follow-up, Brigade doesn’t appear at all. (Come on, it’s claim to fame was All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You. There’s really not much more to say about Alone, so here’s the video and we’ll move on.

Okay, and listening to this live version with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra does bring tears to my eyes.

#34 – Desire Walks On, Desire Walks On (1993)
written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Sue Ennis

Desire Walks On is a really interesting album. It was the first album that Heart decided to take back creative control after three albums worth of 80’s hit-making. They got rid of the big hair and cleavage busting outfits, and they wrote most of the songs. Sadly, the album didn’t do that well, peaking at #48 on the Billboard Top 200, and only yielding one Top 40 hit, Will You Be There (In the Morning) which only made it #39. Still, for me, it was like a breath of fresh air. Heart was on the way back. The Heart that I loved. And while Desires Walks On was a somewhat schizophrenic album, it has the distinction of being the album with the most songs in my Top 40 songs by Heart!

Anchoring my list, you’ve already heard that hard-rockin’ Rage at #40, and now the title track comes in at #34. A propulsive hard-rocker with layered synths, Desire Walks On is straight-forward rock & roller that brings the power back to Heart, but doesn’t quite capture the attitude of their early days. What it does do is bridge their 80’s rock with a return that something that feels like it belongs to them. It features scorching vocal by Ann, a funky bass line and some great rock guitar licks.

#33 – This Man is Mine, Private Audition (1982)
written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Sue Ennis

Private Audition is a curious album. I remember thinking it was a very underrated album, and one of my favorites, but when I went back to listen to it again in preparation for creating this list, I found several of the songs I remembered liking didn’t hold up very well. It’s actually a pretty uneven album (although still considerably better than its follow-up, Passionworks. Private Audition, their 6th studio album, spent 14 on Billboard’s Top 200, climbing to #25. It was the final album to feature bassist Steve Fossen and dummer Michael Derosier. There was only one single released off the album, and it was a pretty unusual choice to kick things off.

This Man is Mine did make the Top 40, climbing to #33 on Billboard’s Top 100, but it was very different from past Heart successes. I remember hearing it for the first time, and really liking it, but thinking, wow, I don’t know if I would have guessed that was Heart if I hadn’t known beforehand. I wonder if they were encouraged by the success of their previous single, Tell It Like It Is, which made it all the way to #8, and was their highest charting single to date. This Man is Mine was a homage to the Supremes, and a frankly embarrassing video was made to accompany the release. Fortunately, it wasn’t played very much. I loved the songs low-key vibe, Nancy’s slapping bass and electric guitar stylings, and, of course, Ann’s terrific vocals. Out of respect to the Wilson sisters, I am not including the video… just the audio track below.

#32 – Ring Them Bells, Desire Walks On (1993)
written by Bob Dylan

If you’re going to do a song that you didn’t write yourself, going with Bob Dylan is probably a safe way to go. Ring Them Bells, another cut from Desire Walks On has a spiritual quality that on first glance might seem to be an odd choice for Heart. Then they turn it into a trio, with Ann, Nancy and Lane Staley from Alice in Chains, and somehow it all comes together. With Ann’s voice powerfully anchoring the song, it’s a nice way to showcase Nancy without having her carry the entire thing, Staley’s gruff, strong vocals add a nice counterpoint and the three blend together surprisingly well on the chorus.

What’s lovely about this song is how it highlight’s Ann’s incredible vocal prowess from the point of view of restraint. While you can hear Nancy and Layne turn on the power and emotion in their parts at the appropriate times, Ann’s vocal parts are so effortless and natural; nothing seems strained or put on. She is right there in the song and it flows naturally, so when she does occasionally unfetter her voice and let it loose it seems as effortless as breathing, and as thrilling a a ray of light breaking through cloud cover.

#31 – Never, Heart (1985)
written by Holly Knight, Gene Black, CONNIE

If What About Love the first single from their 1985 Heart album put them back on the track of commercial success by hitting #10 on Billboard Hot 100, (it’s sitting at #59 on my personal list of Heart songs), then Never solidified their comeback by climbing all the way to #4, marking the first time that Heart earned consecutive top ten entries, and the first time a Heart album generated two top ten singles. It’s also the second and last song from that wildly successful album to show up here. As part of the barrage of song written by hit makers external to the band, as mandated by their new label, Capitol Records, Never is at least co-written by Holly Knight and Gene Black along with CONNIE, which is a pseudonym for Ann, Nancy and songwriting partner Sue Ennis. Holly and Gene were from the band Device, and Holly was pumping out hits for the likes of John Waite, Pat Benatar, and Tina Turner. Holly got her start in the band Spider — probably my favorite band that few people have heard of from the early 80’s.

It’s hard not to like Never with it’s upbeat melody and Ann’s playful vocal delivery. The video is nice enough, again putting the focus on Nancy’s prancing about (in fact the video starts with a shot of Nancy wagging her butt at the camera), but not so obviously trying to hide the fact that Ann isn’t a waif. In fact, I think Ann looks at her best in this video. I’ve also included a live version from 2010 that offers a look at what Heart would have done with the song if left to their own devices, bringing a “rootsier” approach, as quoted by Nancy. Still, it’s a great song, and probably a song that others could have done justice to as well, but Heart certainly makes it pretty memorable.

As we dip into the Top 40, we’ve got a bit of a mix from the 70’s, 80’s and a peek into the 90’s. We also see Nancy’s first appearance as a lead vocalist (one of only two appearances in the Top 40, I believe.)

#49 – Rage, Desire Walks On (1993)
written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Keturah Hain

Released in November 1993, Desire Walks On was the first album where the Wilson sister reclaimed the song-writing chores after three commercially successful albums where they let hired hit–makers contribute most of their… well, hits! It was their 11th studio album and the final studio album to feature longtime member Howard Leese, who, aside from the Wilson sisters, is the band’s longest-serving member. After their string of three smash hit albums for Capitol, Desire Walks On was a bit of a disappointment, peaking at #48 on Billboard’s Album Chart, although it was certified Gold. Surprisingly, it is the album with the most songs to appear on my Top 40, with seven showings.

Rage feels like Ann Wilson just letting all the pent up anger she had been dealing with throughout the 80’s, in a fiery explosion of rock & roll vocalizations. The song starts off in a low-key manner, with some nice electric piano base to build on before erupting in… well, rage in the chorus, with Ann howling her fury while Led-Zeppelin like guitar riffs tear through the aural landscape. My favorite Heart songs tend to be the ones where they blend the acoustic and the electric, but Rage is something visceral and appealing, and it anchors my Top 40 Heart songs nicely.

#48 – Raised On You, Bebe le Strange (1980)
written by Nancy Wilson

Let it be revealed here, I’m not a fan of Nancy Wilson as a lead vocalist. As a guitarist, she is amazingly talented. When she harmonizes, she’s the perfect compliment to her sister Anna’s near perfect voice. But as a lead vocalist, while competent, there is just something missing in the quality of her voice that leaves me a little cool. While Nancy sang some of Heart’s big 80’s hits, most notably their first chart-topper, These Dreams (which is one of my all-time least favorite Heart songs) most of her songs leave me cold.

However, back in the 70’s I was fairly enamored with Nancy Wilson — her musicianship during a time when there just weren’t that many women in rock who did more than sing — and I overlooked the fairly average voice and clicked with a couple of her songs. She usually sang at least one song on most albums (later she would get more than one on occasion) although I always wondered why you would have anyone else sing when you had Ann Wilson on lead vocals. Regardless I was head over heels for Raised On You when Bebe le Strange first came out. A rollicking, bluesy, piano-driven number (I have such a weakness for piano-driven rock) is sounded so different, both for Heart and for anyone at the time really. Plus, not only did Nancy sing lead, she played all the instruments on the track with the exception of drums. In addition to the fantastic piano line, I loved Nancy’s electric guitar solo in Raised on You, as she stuck to the lower strings to create something really substantial and resonant. Raised on You is a fun song, and had I made the list in the 80’s, I bet it would be much, much higher, but as it stands, at least it made my Top 40.

#38 – Here Song, Magazine (1977, 1978)
written by Ann Wilson

Magazine is a strange Heart album, and Here Song could be considered a throw-away song. Magazine is the third studio album by Heart, originally released on April 19, 1977, by Mushroom Records in unfinished form, without the band’s permission, just one month before they released Little Queen on Portrait Records. A second authorized version of the album was released on April 22, 1978. Heart’s contract with Mushroom Records was for two albums and were in Vancouver working on their second album, but a falling out with Mushroom over an advertisement celebrating the sales of Dreamboat Annie put things to a halt. The advertisement, which ran as a full-page in Rolling Stone, was designed to resemble the cover of a salacious tabloid-style magazine, and showed the sisters bare-shouldered (as on the Dreamboat Annie album cover) with the suggestive caption “It Was Only Our First Time!” (This falling-out was the basis for one of Heart’s most well-known songs, Barracuda.) Only five incomplete recordings were made during these 1976 sessions.

While keeping the group under contract, Mushroom apparently was not interested in releasing a second Heart album. Heart’s producer Mike Flicker, ended his relationship with the label. The contract stipulated that Flicker would be the producer of all Heart recordings. The band took the position that since Mushroom was unable to provide the services of Flicker they would be free to sign with another label. Heart hired a lawyer to resolve the dispute, and they signed with Portrait Records. The change in labels resulted in a prolonged legal battle with Mushroom, which still had a two-album contract and claimed they had the legal right to release a second Heart album after all. Still in possession of the five unfinished studio recordings, as well as unreleased live tracks recorded in 1975, Mushroom had them remixed by the band’s recording engineer, but without the presence of any group members. Originally released as the B-side of the Canadian single, How Deep it Goes, from 1975’s Dreamboat Annie, Here Song was added to the mix and appeared on the unauthorized release. Unhappy with the somewhat unpolished studio performances and the inclusion of the live recordings, the group took Mushroom to court with the aim of having the 1977 release of Magazine withdrawn from the market. The Seattle court ruled that Mushroom had to recall the album, but the terms of the settlement required that Heart provide a second album for Mushroom. Heart chose to fulfill this obligation by finishing the previously released songs to a quality of their satisfaction, and an approved version of Magazine was released in 1978.

Here Song is a beautiful, acoustic ballad, that feels like it was written by a very young Ann Wilson. The track features a sweet, almost fragile vocal from Ann, as well as she and her sister on acoustic guitars. Ann added some flute, and Howard Leese conducted a lovely string accompaniment to back the beautiful, simple love song. Running only 1 minute and 34 seconds, it’s really just a fragment of a song, but it’s beauty and innocence have always appealed to me, and it warrants its appearance on my Top 40.

#37 – Nothin’ At All, Heart (1985)
written by Mark Mueller

Heart’s amazing success during the mid-80’s MTV heyday is a very conflicting time in their career. They reached the pinnacle of their success as a band commercially, but were struggling with creative challenges, promotional battles, and personal struggles. After being dropped by Portrait Records due to the lackluster performance of 1983’s Passionworks, Capitol Records scooped them up under the condition that the label would be allowed to bring in hit makers to write their songs. Heart had always written nearly all the songs they recorded, so this was a major change for them. In addition, MTV was at the reigning method for the masses to discover new music, and the hyper-visual medium forced the band to have to think about their image and the appearance almost more than the music. It would lead to a very weird period for the band, and while I stuck with them, the three albums released during this period only yielded a total of 6 songs in my Top 40.

Which brings us to Nothin’ At All, the first of this era’s songs to appear on my list. Just because a song is written by a “hit maker” with the whole reason for it to exist is to be a successful pop song, doesn’t mean it can’t be good. Powered by Ann’s powerful vocals, and backed by a talented rock band, this effervescent, dreamy love song may have been a bit vapid lyrically, but it was certainly easy on the ears and quite tuneful. It would have probably been a nice listen from anyone who sang it, but Ann and Heart, as usual, can take even the mundane up a notch, and make it noticeable. In addition to the great vocals, Nancy and Howard Leese share a great, melodic guitar solo that is notable as well. Nothin’ At All was the fourth single to be released from 1985’s Heart, following What About Love, Never, and These Dreams. It was also the fourth song to hit the Billboard Top 10. Pretty astounding for a band that had pretty much tanked with their previous album. The video, shown below, is an example of the sexy, glam-rock look the record label wanted the band to adopt, and also shows how they were beginning to thrust Nancy out in the spotlight more and more, even when Ann was singing, because they felt she was the more attractive of the two, due to Ann’s weight, an issue that would only get more challenging as the image-focused 80’s moved on.

#36 – Bebe le Strange, Bebe le Strange (1980)
written by Ann Wilson, Sue Ennis, Nancy Wilson, Roger Fisher

The title track from their fifth studio album, Bebe le Strange marked the first major change for the band, as lead guitarist Roger Fisher quite a few months before it was released in 1980. With Roger’s departure, as well as the end of his long-term relationship with Nancy, (and the end of Ann’s relationship with Roger’s brother, band-manager Michael Fisher) this marked the moment when Ann and Nancy took creative control of the band. The change saw Howard Leese handling more of the lead guitar duties, and Nancy taking on more electric guitar, losing some of that acoustic/electric blend that the band was known for. While the album was a commercial success climbing to #5 on Billboard’s Hot 20o, being certified gold, and spawning the Top 40 hit, Even It Up, the title-track was inexplicably the first U.S. Heart single to fail to make the Top 100.

Bebe le Strange was written about a fictional, female rock & roll star (loosely based on an amalgam of Ann and Nancy perhaps) from the point of view of a fan who wants is devoted to her. It’s a nice chugging rocker, and features Ann on bass guitar. There’s something almost grungy about the guitar throughout and Michael Derosier shines on drums as usual. I’ve included the studio track, followed by a nice live version recorded in 2005.