I don’t know
which is harder to believe: the fact that it’s been 37 years since Heart’s
debut album Dreamboat Annie was released or the fact that they still manage to
put out amazing material today. Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart are at a point in
their career where they don’t necessarily need to put out new music, but they
want to. The commercial success enjoyed in the late 70s and again in the late
80s may not be there, but these talented ladies are at a much more rewarding
point in their long career. They are doing things their way and they haven’t
sounded happier.
Heart’s new
album Fanatic is the follow-up to 2010’s Red Velvet Car, their first Top 10
album in 20 years. That album was also praised highly by both fans and critics.
Fanatic has the Wilson sisters cranking up the amps and rocking a bit harder
than they did on their last album. There are also some new elements being
incorporated into their music
added yet another layer of complexity to these
talented ladies.
The album
opens with the title track and its distorted riff intro lets you know that this
is going to be interesting. This is a killer track with its psychedelic feel
and crunchy guitar tone. “Dear Old America” tells the tale of a father
returning home from war. An interesting note about the song found in the album’s
liner notes. The tempo switches to double time midway through the song. It
seems that this happened accidentally due to a computer tempo error, but the
band liked it and kept it that way.
“A Million
Miles Away” is a very interesting song with its incorporation of electronic
beats and elements not usually found on a Heart album. The ladies kick it old
school in the Zepplinesque “Mashallah!” which is amazing. The addition of a
string section in the song just takes elevates this rocking number to another
level. What’s that? You need some more rock from the Wilson sisters? Well,
there’s also “59 Crunch” and it won’t disappoint.
“Pennsylvania” brings us our first ballad with
a bit of a rock edge. A haunting song lyrically and the guitar tone adds such
an element to the song to compliment Ann’s amazing vocal delivery. On a gentler
note, “Rock Deep (Vancouver)” is a beautiful, gentle ballad and brings to mind
“Dog and Butterfly” with its peaceful acoustic side. Again, the use of strings
on this song gets a major thumbs up. It’s an absolutely gorgeous song. It’s
amazing how the Wilson sisters can tell a story in three and a half minutes.
Overall, I
don’t think there’s a bad song on here. You know how a band will put out an
album and there are one or two tracks that just seem to feel like “filler” in
order to make it a full album? You really don’t get that feel on Fanatic. Ann
and Nancy definitely rock out on it, but they also manage to keep in touch with
their folk roots as well. The guitars are loud and crunchy and distorted at
times, but they always rock. I mentioned it before, but I will again. The
strings used throughout this album add such a great element to the songs. What
a great touch!
Ann Wilson,
does this woman just keep getting better with age? She is definitely one of the
most amazing voices ever in music and at times probably one of the most
underappreciated as I don’t think she has ever gotten the credit she truly
deserves. Nancy is no slouch either, but even though she knows how to rock, her
vocals add such a tender element to compliment Ann’s voice. Their harmonies are
top notch. So many young artists today should pay attention to these ladies and
take note on how true talent can manage to keep a career going strong after
almost 40 years.
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