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Post by Cord Hurn »

SWEET DARLIN'
(Written by Ann Wilson)

Sweet darlin'
You saved me
I'm hummin'
From the lovin'
You gave me
You went so far
Where my feelings are
Breathing heaven fire
Sweet darlin'

I know you
You stopped running
You knew I had something
To show you
The fever tamed
Like an angel came
Made music of my name
Sweet darlin'

Early that morning we knew I had to fly
Engines were screaming and still I was asking myself why
High on the wind I was feeling my sweet darlin' cry
My heart was breaking
I closed my eyes
Darlin'

Can you hear me
We can't be wrong
The night's song
Pulls you near me
Time just falls
Distance small
I feel you all
Sweet darlin'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McN2ReQaSL8 (Studio version - audio)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1K2MX8wLnY (Studio version - video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtELKGUImjA (Slightly faster version)
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Post by Cord Hurn »

EVEN IT UP
(Written by Ann Wilson, Sue Ennis, Nancy Wilson)

"Well, I am the one who can please you"
--Ain't that what you said?
You seemed so alone
I guess I was easily led
I showed you my love
But I guess that it went to your head
And when you were hungry
I brought you your breakfast in bed

C'mon, even it up, even it up, even it up
C'mon, even it up, even it up, even it up

Well, a good man pays his debt
But you ain't paid yours yet
C'mon, even it
It's time to even it, even it up

Uh, well I took you down over the tracks when
You wanted some sin
I brought you satin and herbs from
The places I been
Well, now something tells me, baby,
You're going to use me again
You think you can lay down the "how" and
The "where" and the "when"
OW! You think you can?!?

I tell you
Even it up, even it up, even it up, right now
Ah well, even it up even it up, even it up

I don't want to blow it all, NO!
But this axe, s-she got to fall
Even it
C'mon, even it
Even it up
Oh, oh-oh, yeah-eh-eh!!

Even it up, even it up, even it up
Even it up, even it up, even it up
Yeah, even it, even it, even it up, now, now
Even it up, even it up, even it up! Yeah!
Woo! Even it up, even it up, even it up

Even it up, even it up, even it up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLhxF-Un39k
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Post by Cord Hurn »

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Post by Cord Hurn »

Dreamboat Annie

Heart's debut album didn't immediately make waves when it was released in Canada in the summer of 1975, but that all changed when it was released internationally on February 14, 1976 (Valentines Day, a holiday symbolized by hearts--how appropriate), and the world heard what a top-notch Led Zeppelin cover band could do when given a chance to serve up their own material. After this album, it became conceivable that women could rock hard, rather than stay locked in softer musical genres. Acoustic folk and heavy electric guitar sounds were both generously applied in the debut, as was reassuring cooing and high-decibel shrieking. I think this is one of the best debut albums of the Seventies.

Magic Man - Those bold wailing guitar notes that get the song rolling grab my attention every time. And throughout the song, the guitars continue to vibrate with energy. The occasional use of chimes make the song seem more supernatural. The ingredients of Ann's lead vocal and Roger's lead guitar create the strongest magic in this brew, however. The synth parts should sound out of place, because they have a melancholy tone to them, but somehow they seem to fit.

Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child) - The sound of surf and seagulls opens up this truncated version of the title track that's heard later on the album. Because I'm much more familiar with the title track than I am with this, I feel a little unsatisfied hearing this tentative-sounding snippet.

Crazy On You - Enjoyable dexterous picking by Nancy opens this mainstay of classic rock radio. Roger's deft flourishes on electric guitar are also memorable. This is the song that changed the band's luck for the better. Ann's aggressive vocals are what really stand out to me.

Soul Of The Sea - The guitar playing almost sounds like a country-music style. The appearance of the strings changes that, making the tune sound like it's more art rock, thus giving the song a more palatial and lush aspect. The lead vocals are more cacophonous here than elsewhere on the album.

Dreamboat Annie - It's one of their more beautifully quiet songs, and the banjo subtly tucked into the mix imparts this sensation of being gently tossed along towards an anticipated destination. I believe this song displays Ann's most light-hearted and relaxed singing on the record. This is deservedly one of their standards.

White Lightning & Wine - This features heady and buzzing guitar notes, seasoned by a drum line salted with cowbell notes. There's more of Roger's piquant lead playing near the bridge section, and plenty of Ann's singing range on display from sultry near-whispers to high wails. It's pretty good.

(Love Me Like Music) I'll Be Your Song - I think this tune has the best vocal harmonies on the album. It's a blend of soft rock and country music, mid-1970s style. Mike Flicker's production makes it all sound unruffled, confident, and crystal-clear--when it could have wound up sounding dull.

Sing Child - Ann's flute playing gives this song a Jethro Tull kind of feel, and Roger's lead guitar moves it to more of a Zeppelin sound. I must also give props to the audacious drumming giving the song even more briskness. It's like a cross-over style between funk and prog rock.

How Deep It Goes - This is actually Heart's first single, and it stiffed on them. It has much of the same mellifluous richness characteristic of Led Zep's "Going To California". Howard's keyboard and Ann's flute add to the magical feeling this song conjures up. But, it hasn't got the galvanizing power of "Magic Man".

Dreamboat Annie (Reprise) - A slower version of the title track, with Howard's piano being the main carrier of the melody for much of the song's early part. Then flute from Ann carries the music, then the strings come on heavy in the mix. I start to get bored with it, but Roger & Nancy restore the song's brightness with their guitar work before the strings manage to make it all sound too drab for me.

I do like this album a lot, considering it one of the band's best, but I still enjoy listening more to subsequent albums like Little Queen, Dog & Butterfly, and Red Velvet Car. I think these three albums are where Heart peaked with their creativity, but that doesn't change my opinion that this first record gave Heart an impressively solid foundation upon which to build.
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Post by Cord Hurn »

DREAMBOAT ANNIE
(Written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson)

Heading out this morning into the sun
Riding on the diamond waves, little darlin' one
Warm winds caress her
Her lover it seems
Oh, Annie
Dreamboat Annie my little ship of dreams

Going down the city sidewalk alone in the crowd
No one knows the lonely one whose head's in the clouds
Sad faces painted over with those magazine smiles
Heading out to somewhere won't be back for a while

Won't be back
Awhile
Won't be back
Awhile
Won't be back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLoMej34zvA (Audio only)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQDJ45qJHBQ (Video from 1976)
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Post by Cord Hurn »

MAGIC MAN
(Written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson)

Cold late night, so long ago
When I was not so strong, you know
A pretty man came to me
Never seen eyes so blue
I could not run away
It seemed we'd seen each other in a dream
It seemed like he knew me
He looked right through me
Yeah

"Come on home, girl"
He said with a smile
"You don't have to love me yet
Let's get high awhile
But try to understand
Try to understand
Try, try, try to understand
I'm a magic man"

Winter nights we sang in tune
Played inside the months of moon
Never think of never
Let this spell last forever
Well summer lover, passed to fall
Tried to realize it all
Mama says she's worried
Growing up in a hurry
Yeah

"Come on home, girl"
Mama cried on the phone
"Too soon to lose my baby
Yet my girl should be at home"
But try to understand
Try to understand
Try, try, try to understand
He's a magic man, mama
Aaa
He's a magic man

"Come on home, girl"
He said with a smile
"I cast my spell of love on you
A woman from a child"
But try to understand
Try to understand
Oh oh
Try, try to understand
Try, try, try to understand
He's a magic man
Oh yeah
(Oh)
He got the magic hands

Ah
Ah
Ah
Ah

Come on home, girl
He said with a smile
You don't have to love me yet
Let's get high awhile
But try to understand
Try to understand
Try, try, try to understand
He's a magic man

Yeah oh

Oh, oh!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vlAdMeZSfw (Audio only)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps7tVvQHLyo (Live performance from 1976)
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Post by Cord Hurn »

CRAZY ON YOU
(Written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Roger Fisher)

If we still have time, we might still get by
Every time I think about it, I want to cry
With bombs and the devil, little kids keep coming
No way to breathe easy, no time to be young

But I tell myself that I was doing alright
There's nothing left to do tonight
But go crazy on you, crazy on you
Let me go crazy, crazy on you

My love is the evening breeze touching your skin
The gentle sweet singing of leaves in the wind
The whisper that calls after you in the night
And kisses your ear in the early light
And you don't need to wonder, you're doing fine
My love, the pleasure's mine

Let me go crazy on you, crazy on you
Let me go crazy, crazy on you

Wild man's world is crying in pain
What you gonna do when everybody's insane?
So afraid of one who's so afraid of you
What you gonna do, oh?

Crazy on you, crazy on you
Let me go crazy, crazy on you

I was a willow last night in my dream
I bent down over a clear running stream
I sang you the song that I heard up above
And you kept me alive with your sweet flowing love!

Crazy, yeah, crazy on you
Let me go crazy, crazy on you

Crazy on you, crazy on you
Let me go crazy, crazy on you, yeah

Crazy on you, crazy on you
Let me go crazy, crazy on you, oh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZuW6BH_Vak (Audio only)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V44HiAX91Hs (Live version from 1977)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVcl0Iw3fs8 (Live version from 1978)
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Say Hello

Post by Sabbath »

Cord Hurn wrote:Little Queen

Barracuda - Guitarist Roger Fisher is responsible for coming with the indelible opening riff that propels the song with scintillating aggressiveness, and Michael crafted some thunderous drum fills to make it even more arresting, like the aural evocation of sighting rampaging elephants approaching.

Love Alive - Ah, what a sparkling ode to determined optimism this song is! The soft sound of the beginning fits the lyrical picture of a sunrise in progress. Beautiful ringing sounds emerge from guitarists Nancy and Roger, and Steve Fossen's bass make a nice counterpart to their melody.

Sylvan Song - An opening chorus of frogs soon joined by some chirping birds conjure a feeling of being deep within countryside, and the strumming is an uplifting and stirring intro for the next song.

Dream Of The Archer - This is probably the song that best reflects the gypsy motif of the album cover. The blended vocals of the Wilson sisters manage to add a glittering atmosphere to an already stimulating melody. It sounds great, and reminds me a touch of Led Zeppelin's "The Battle Of Evermore".

Kick It Out - A straight-ahead rocker about a young woman looking to stir up more excitement in her life. Ann Wilson wrote this song solo, and she came up with some interesting melodies. The use of piano by Howard Leese on the choruses adds a lot of punch.

Little Queen - The only song on the album written by the whole band, and you can hear they all were tightly invested in making this one work. There's an anticipation of renewed scandalous trouble in the majority of the song's sound with a long warning moment in the bridge section.

Treat Me Well - Nancy Wilson reportedly wrote this song while still in high school, and this made it especially fulfilling for her to professionally record it for major distribution. The song is a blend of hope and worry, with hope edging out for the victory.

Say Hello - Recording the sounds of coins clinking and cash registers ringing before the music begins is somewhat of a puzzle to me. The jubilant synchronization of Nancy's and Roger's guitars earns enough love from me to forgive the strange beginning, and the chipper melody keeps me grinning even though the song doesn't go far from its beginning.

Cry To Me - The lead vocal goes from deep to high, and it has a coaxing effect that adds weight to the imploring words. It all had the feel of a smoothly-produced demo, and seems to suddenly end. Convincingly empathetic.

Go On Cry - A good deal of the music here came from Roger, and the lyrics don't really stray from repeating the title. But the guitars and bass manage to convey a persuasive demand for expression. Further, Michael's drumming is the sharpest he does on the album.

The following two tracks appear on the bonus version of this album.

Too Long A Time - An early version of "Love Alive" that was competently recorded in Ann's home. The beautiful melodies were already present, but the guitar fills at this stage of song development still sound somewhat aimless and ill-fitting. The lyrics here about sneaking off for forbidden love lack the depth of this song's final version as "Love Alive".

Stairway To Heaven - Well, I think it was pretty doggoned audacious for Heart to interpret this song in a live setting (a place that sounds like a mid-size club), where it is likely to provoke unflattering comparisons to the original. But, I have to hand it to them: they pulled it off rather well. This version has all the right performance touches, from Howard's synthesizer cranking out wistfulness in the beginning, to Ann's enthusiastic vocal inflections reminiscent of Robert Plant, to Michael's precision drumming--it's all enough to make for a respectable cover of one of rock's most iconic songs. This band can be very cool, y'know?

One of my favorite Heart albums. I love every single track!
I'm enjoying this review thread, and it's actually one of the reasons I registered.

One thing regarding "Say Hello": the quarters you hear at the beginning are supposed to be people partying to a game of Quarters. The whole premise for that song is 'come on into our party and Say Hello'.

It's cool you took the time to review all these albums. I've been a Heart fan since I was very young, and Heart was my first concert in 1978. Since then I saw them in 1987, 1990, and about 100 times (seriously) since they reformed in 2002 and have been amazed at how well Ann's voice has held up and in some ways even improved and become more soulful. I've met Ann and Nancy several times, and have had drinks with Nancynd her husband a few times over the years and can honestly say she is one of the most genuine people around. Ann is more guarded, more opinionated, and (in my opinion) more self-absorbed. I don't mean that in an ugly way, she's just not as naturally friendly and inviting as Nancy which I chalk up to some
of the nastiness she's had to deal with from the media and even fans over the years.

Anyway, enough of my digressing. Thanks for spending the time on this and I look forward to reading the whole thread.
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Post by Sabbath »

Cail wrote:I remember How Can I Refuse getting some tepid airplay. It suffered from having the same opening guitar as Judas Priest's You've Got Another Thing Coming, which automatically triggered disappointment when it came on.

Heart's '80s output was hampered by a couple of things, most notably the image-driven hit machine of MTV. When you've got a band fronted by two hot chicks, you damn well have to have them front and center, and you have to make sure their songs chart. There's some very good material of theirs from that decade.

But it's also pretty toothless. Howard Leese just wasn't an engaging player; they lost their hard edge (with some exceptions, Wild Child's a kick-ass song), and they became more of a pop band.
How Can I Refuse actually got a huge amount of airplay on Album Oriented Rock stations, and less so on Top 40 stations. To this day it's the only Heart track to hit #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart which is kind of the Holy Bible for Album Rock station airplay.

Other songs that either weren't big Top 40 hits or weren't singles at all that charted high on the Billboard Rock Chart are City's Burning (#15), Wild Child (#3), Black on Black (#4), Tall Dark Handsome Stranger (#24), You're The Voice (#20), Oldest Story in the World (#22), Fanatic (#24), Heart's Kennedy Center Stairway To Heaven (#29).

This chart didn't start running until late 1980 so their most classic stuff was never represented on this chart.
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Re: Say Hello

Post by Cord Hurn »

Sabbath wrote:I'm enjoying this review thread, and it's actually one of the reasons I registered.

One thing regarding "Say Hello": the quarters you hear at the beginning are supposed to be people partying to a game of Quarters. The whole premise for that song is 'come on into our party and Say Hello'.

It's cool you took the time to review all these albums. I've been a Heart fan since I was very young, and Heart was my first concert in 1978. Since then I saw them in 1987, 1990, and about 100 times (seriously) since they reformed in 2002 and have been amazed at how well Ann's voice has held up and in some ways even improved and become more soulful. I've met Ann and Nancy several times, and have had drinks with Nancynd her husband a few times over the years and can honestly say she is one of the most genuine people around. Ann is more guarded, more opinionated, and (in my opinion) more self-absorbed. I don't mean that in an ugly way, she's just not as naturally friendly and inviting as Nancy which I chalk up to some
of the nastiness she's had to deal with from the media and even fans over the years.

Anyway, enough of my digressing. Thanks for spending the time on this and I look forward to reading the whole thread.
Thank you for explaining the significance of the quarters clinking at the beginning of "Say Hello", Sabbath, because now that you've explained it to me, it makes sense! I am glad that you enjoy this thread, because I've often felt that Heart was a legendary enough band to deserved a track-by-track analysis. When I started this thread, I didn't have all sixteen Heart studio albums. so I acquired more of them as the thread went along, and enjoyed doing them out of chronological sequence. Again, Sabbath, thank you for your interest, and please feel free to post some more, here and elsewhere on the Watch.

Also, Sabbath, please consider introducing yourself in the Summonsing forum, either by using the "Announcement: Welcome Visitors & New Members !! - Say Hello in HERE :)" thread or by creating your own thread within that forum, so that Watch members can give you a proper greeting. That's not a requirement, mind you, but just a suggestion.

Thank you again for your kind words, and interest, Sabbath!
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Post by Cord Hurn »

Sabbath wrote:I've been a Heart fan since I was very young, and Heart was my first concert in 1978. Since then I saw them in 1987, 1990, and about 100 times (seriously) since they reformed in 2002 and have been amazed at how well Ann's voice has held up and in some ways even improved and become more soulful. I've met Ann and Nancy several times, and have had drinks with Nancy and her husband a few times over the years and can honestly say she is one of the most genuine people around. Ann is more guarded, more opinionated, and (in my opinion) more self-absorbed. I don't mean that in an ugly way, she's just not as naturally friendly and inviting as Nancy which I chalk up to some of the nastiness she's had to deal with from the media and even fans over the years.
I appreciate the background on Ann and Nancy, and it's nice to talk with someone who's actually known the Wilson sisters. Ann's attitude can certainly be understandable, as the media has at times been vicious to her, such as suggesting she and Nancy were incestuous lesbian lovers in 1976 (in response to the Mushroom Records advertisement "it was our first time" about the Dreamboat Annie album, which inspired Ann to target the nasty side of the media in the lyrics to "Barracuda"), to more recently, around 2017-8, when the media reported that Ann and Nancy had put Heart on hold indefinitely because supposedly Ann let her husband be repeatedly physically abusive to Nancy's son--that sort of rumor-mongering to have a headline. I don't blame Ann for being guarded about people after experiences like that!
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Post by Cord Hurn »

Sabbath wrote:How Can I Refuse actually got a huge amount of airplay on Album Oriented Rock stations, and less so on Top 40 stations. To this day it's the only Heart track to hit #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart which is kind of the Holy Bible for Album Rock station airplay.

Other songs that either weren't big Top 40 hits or weren't singles at all that charted high on the Billboard Rock Chart are City's Burning (#15), Wild Child (#3), Black on Black (#4), Tall Dark Handsome Stranger (#24), You're The Voice (#20), Oldest Story in the World (#22), Fanatic (#24), Heart's Kennedy Center Stairway To Heaven (#29).

This chart didn't start running until late 1980 so their most classic stuff was never represented on this chart.
I didn't know these things, so thank you for the information, Sabbath! "How Can I Refuse" is one of my favorite Heart songs! :hearts:
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Post by samrw3 »

I just rediscovered the song Dog and Butterfly by accident and I forgot how much I loved that song.

It gives me nostalgia for music in that era which attempted more in muscial approaches. How likely do you think we would hear a song like that nowadays?

Anyways Heart does have some great songs - good review Cord Hurn!
Not every person is going to understand you and that's okay. They have a right to their opinion and you have every right to ignore it.
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Post by Cord Hurn »

Thank you, Sam. To this day, Heart remains one of my most favorite classic rock bands.
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