Heart Albums (16)
What The Critics Say
In the decade since their last studio outing, Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson have apparently done some soul-searching and meditating on what made Heart such a great band in the first place. At their peak, they were a powerful, obsessively compelling rock band that could knock off hit singles and consistently fine albums that appealed to album rock radio junkies and studious types. Jupiters Darling is the result of that reflection. It's easily the band's finest moment in over 20 years. Ann and Nancy have gotten their confidence back as bandleaders; the obvious control they exert over these proceedings is one of the album's chief strengths. Guitarist Craig Bartock (who co-produced with Nancy and collaborated as a songwriter on most of these tracks), bassist Mike Inez, drummer Ben Smith, and Darian Sahanaja on keyboards are all wound deep into the Wilsons' sonic tapestry that combines tough, edgy, riff-based guitar rock with textures and motifs from Eastern music, the blues, and psychedelia, à la their influences from Led Zeppelin as well as vintage pop. Over 16 cuts and 62 minutes, Jupiters Darling does not feel overly long; the sheer diversity of its songs and production makes for a wonderfully labyrinthine listening experience. On "Make Me," the acoustic flamenco cum rag blues intro opens out into a rocker that bears the traces of "Crazy On You." Ann's voice opens up the words of a love song that demands resolution. The urgency in the lyric is carried to the edge of the abyss by the triumvirate of guitars. "Oldest Story in the World" has all the grit of "Magic Man," and wrangles out pumped-up riffology. Nancy's country vocal on "Things" feels a bit like Zeppelin's "Going to California," though it's less serious. There's adventure in tracks like "Enough," with its flutes and dulcimers, and "I Need the Rain," with its mandolins, as well as in the engaging radio pop of "The Perfect Goodbye" and the trippy, grungy rock of "Move On." The funky rawness of "Vainglorious" has a smoking refrain. Pearl Jam's Mike McCready joins the band on "I'm Fine," the scorching blues-rocker "Down the Nile," and "Led to One," as does former Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell on the grunged-out crunch of "Fallen Ones." Jupiters Darling delivers far beyond expectations; it proves in spades that Heart is a vital and creative rock & roll unit and a force to be reckoned with. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Recorded at the last stop on their 2002 tour, Alive in Seattle documents an impeccable performance and production, mixed for surround-sound playback on both regular and Super Audio CD formats. A warm artist/audience vibe permeates this set; it's easy to imagine families sprawled out on an amphitheater lawn, taking in the music on an early summer evening. All that's missing is any sense of urgency. The musicians hit every note flawlessly -- too flawlessly, perhaps. Ann Wilson hints at the problem in the album notes, where she describes bandmember Ben Smith's transformation from "studio cat to being a real rock & roll drummer." In fact, some element of "studio cat" dispassion colors these performances; even the sisterly banter between tracks seems forced, if not, in their spoken prelude to "Magic Man," slightly condescending. Ultimately it's Ann Wilson who brings each track home, with a vocal delivery that never lacks soul. On their cover of "Black Dog" she even challenges Robert Plant's original rendition, more than holding her own on high notes, power, and drama. On balance, that's enough to recommend Alive in Seattle, lack of warts and all. ~ Robert L. Doerschuk, All Music Guide
'Heart Presents a Lovemonger's Christmas'
Release Date 11/20/2001
Tracks 10
Label Beyond
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Released in time for Christmas 2001, Beyond Records re-released the 1998 Lovemongers album Here Is Christmas with new art in an apparent attempt to offer the same set of music in more commercial packaging. While that is hardly the seasonal spirit, the songs are a mix of original tunes and a few choice cuts of traditional holiday fare. Standout tracks include "Christmas Waits" and "Ave Maria." Recommended for the Heart fan who may not have known about the previous release. Lovemongers devotees who own the original need not buy this again. A solid but not essential entry into the holiday genre. ~ JT Griffith, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
On The Road Home, Heart re-records some of their biggest hits acoustically live in concert. It's interesting to hear these arena rock and AOR standards -- including "Barracuda," "Crazy on You," "Dreamboat Annie," and "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" -- recast as intimate numbers; Heart manages to find new layers in all of these warhorses, partially due to the sublime production of John Paul Jones. The result is Heart's best album in years -- the old material sounds more alive than anything they have written in a decade. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
When Desire Walks On came out in 1993, a lot of arena rock, pop-metal and hair metal artists felt like the rug was being pulled out from under them. Alternative rock had become rock's primary direction, and bands like Heart were being made to feel antiquated and passé. Desire Walks On had a lot working against it--not only did have Heart have to contend with radical changes in the marketplace, but also, the CD suffers from unevenness and a shortage of really strong material. Although Desire Walks On isn't a bad album, it isn't one of the Wilson Sisters' more memorable albums either. The catchy "Back To Avalon" is a gem, and Heart is enjoyable on Robert "Mutt" Lange's power ballad "Will You Be There (In The Morning)," the adult contemporary ballad "The Woman in Me" and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Ring Them Bells." But on the whole, Desire Walks On is unimpressive. Obviously the least essential of Heart's Capitol releases, this CD is strictly for completists. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
'Rock the House Live!'
Release Date 9/16/1991
Tracks 14
Label Capitol
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
By 1991, Heart might have been expected to issue a live album or a hits compilation consolidating their second string of massively popular recordings made from the 1985 Heart album on. But the group felt they'd made a deal with the Devil, agreeing to record outside material in the name of achieving hit singles, but sacrificing their hard rock persona. As a result, in 1990, they made the harder rocking Brigade, and this live disc, recorded during the Brigade tour at the Centrum in Worcester, MA, on November 28, 1990, seemed intended not to demonstrate that Heart was the band of ballad hits like "These Dreams" and "Alone..." but instead an arena rock staple. Instead of filling the album either with their early hard rock hits or their later pop ones, it is instead comprised of less familiar recent album tracks (six from Brigade), which made this a live album representative of one night, but not of Heart's career. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Heart entered the 1990s with Brigade, which isn't quite as strong as Heart or Bad Animals, but is nonetheless a respectable effort that has more pluses than minuses. While producer Richie Zito's approach is undeniably slick and glossy, he maintains enough rough edges to keep things interesting on songs ranging from the aggressive hard rock of "Call of the Wild" (not to be confused with the Ted Nugent/Amboy Dukes classic), "Wild Child," and "The Night" to the arena-oriented powerful ballads like "Stranded" and "Secret." Heart unintentionally generated some controversy with the hit "All I Want to Do (Is Make Love to You)," a tale of an intimate encounter with a hitchhiker. The "Thought Police" argued that the song encouraged women to endanger themselves by picking up hitchhikers -- overlooking the fact that the song, like a romance novel, is pure fantasy. Though Heart or Bad Animals would serve as a better introduction to Heart's Capitol output, Brigade is an album that die-hard fans shouldn't overlook. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Switching from Epic to Capitol with 1985's Heart proved to be a wise move for the Wilson sisters, who experienced a major resurgence in popularity and gained many new followers. Heart's arena rock sound had become even glossier, and the band was selling more albums than ever. But for all its production gloss (courtesy of Ron Nevison) and pop slickness, Bad Animals comes across as sincere rather than formulaic or cynical. From the rockers "You Ain't Too Tough" and "Easy Target" to the power ballads "Alone" and "Wait for an Answer," all of the songs are quite memorable. The folk elements and acoustic leanings that characterized many of Heart's early ballads were long gone, and the Wilson sisters keep the volume high but slow the tempo. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Heart was pretty much considered washed up when they released Heart in 1985. They learned a few important things while they had taken a short sabbatical -- they knew that hooks were important and they knew they could play up their looks for MTV. So, they delivered both with Heart, giving their audience anthemic hooks and tightly corseted bosoms, leading to the most popular album they ever had. This doesn't mean it's the best, since its calculated mainstream bent may disarm some long-term fans, but it is true that they do this better than many of their peers, not just because they have good polished material from professional songwriters but because they can deliver this material professionally themselves. Yes, "These Dreams," "Never," and "What About Love" don't quite fit into the classic Heart mode, but they are good mid-'80s mainstream material, delivered as flawlessly as possible. There's still a lot of filler on this record, but the best moments are among the best mainstream AOR of its era. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
1983's Passionworks marked the end of an era for Heart; it was the last album that the Wilson sisters recorded for Epic, where they had recorded late-'70s classics like Little Queen and Dog & Butterfly. Unfortunately, Heart's relationship with Epic had turned sour by 1983; in a 1987 interview, Ann Wilson asserted that Epic didn't do nearly enough to promote either Passionworks or 1982's Private Audition. But all certainly wasn't lost; at Capitol, Heart enjoyed a major revitalization in 1985 -- both commercially and creatively. Although Passionworks was recorded under less-than-ideal circumstances, it isn't a bad album. Passionworks, which was produced by Keith Olsen, didn't go down in history as one of Heart's essential releases -- it isn't in a class with Dreamboat Annie, Little Queen, Bad Animals, or 1985's self-titled Heart, but it isn't an album that the Wilson sisters should be ashamed of either. Passionworks gets off to an impressive start with the hit "How Can I Refuse," an arena rock jewel. Most of the songs that follow aren't as strong, but they're decent. While "Sleep Alone," "Blue Guitar," and "Ambush" aren't masterpieces, they're likable examples of '80s hard rock/arena rock. "Allies," meanwhile, is a glossy power ballad that was written by Journey's Jonathan Cain and should have become a hit. In 1983, Cain's song was perfect for Heart because by that time, their ballads had become much more amplified. While early Heart ballads like "Dream of the Archer" and "How Deep It Goes" had a pastoral, acoustic-oriented folk-rock outlook, the Wilson sisters became masters of the high-volume power ballad in the '80s. Passionworks isn't recommended to casual listeners, but serious Heart devotees will find it to be an enjoyable way for the Wilson sisters to end their Epic period. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
