Classic Rock Revisited Review of Red Velvet Car

On August 31st Heart returns with an album of nine new songs and one oldie seeing the light of day once again. Red Velvet Car sees the Sisters Wilson focusing strongly on vocal chops and acoustic guitars, even though some of the best moments are when they plug in the electrics. “WTF” and “Death Valley” are two great rocking tracks that show with Heart could do if they so chose.

However, this is a celebration of the acoustic. The album starts off with one of the strongest songs in “There You Go.” Other high points are a thirteen-year-old track from the band’s Lovemonger days titled “Sand.” The title track is also very well written and will be a fan favorite.

Ann sounds amazing, as usual. It is easy to review Heart’s music and not even mention her vocal acrobatics as we have come to take them for granted. She sounds as strong today as at any point in her past. Sister Nancy sings two tunes, “Sunflower” and “Hey You” and does a fine job. Her acoustic playing and songwriting have depth… soul, one could say, not the Motown kind but rather the spiritual variety.

The Wilson’s looked deep inside themselves and focused on feelings, observations and their roots when creating Red Velvet Car. It is a kinder, gentler and more mature Heart than we have seen before. However, it also is the most revealing the band, especially Ann, has been with her softer emotions. She opens up for the masses and the result is a solid, professional and music album.


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CD Spotlight: Heart's Red Velvet Car (An Early Review)

Heart has managed to evolve and stay relevant for more than three decades, thanks to the leadership of sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. Even in the years when Heart was "sleeping" (from about 1996-2001, when their Christmas CD was re-branded and re-released under Heart), Ann and Nancy continued to record under The Lovemongers moniker and with Nancy releasing a solo album, "Live at McCabes", in 1999. Over the past decade, the band has released a few compilations, two live CD's, a studio album entitled "Jupiter's Darling", in 2004, and Ann released her first solo album, "Hope and Glory", in 2007. In addition, Heart has continued to tour consistently over the past decade and have stood the test of time, perhaps better than any band that originated in the 1970's (and beyond) and are still touring and recording today.

Heart's latest studio album, "Red Velvet Car", from Sony Legacy, drops on August 31st. This new effort features nine new songs and a re-recording of the song "Sand", which was originally released on The Lovemongers "Whirligig" album, from 1997. While "Red Velvet Car" features Heart's familiar mix of rockers and ballads, the songs are musically eclectic and some are unlike anything the band has previously released. For instance, "WTF" sounds completely original from a musical standpoint, with Ann and Nancy providing their strong, trademark vocals. "WTF" is the best new song featured here and longtime fans will appreciate the hard rock edge of the song, while new fans will be drawn to its contemporary feel.

The title track, while more laid back, is also very strong. Ann's vocals are poignant and understated as she sings about helping a friend in need. Those understated vocals were one of the noticeable aspects of "Red Velvet Car", particularly on the ballads. However, Ann does let loose of the more rocking songs, like "Wheels" and the aforementioned "WTF." Of course, Heart's strong vocals have been one of the band's biggest assets over the years and I am not sure how Ann continues to be able to belt out songs with the same intensity, but she still sounds terrific. In addition, Nancy has also taken care of her voice and she takes the lead on two of the songs featured here; "Hey You" and "Sunflower." Her voice sounds remarkably similar to her "Live at McCabes" recordings, some ten years ago. Both songs are very upbeat and filled with positive vibes.

Another new song, the musically original "Saffronia's Mark", features a middle eastern sound that is coupled with strong lyrics that tell a story of someone who has experienced much turmoil in their life and appears to be a lost soul who desires to be loved and accepted. In addition, "Queen City", a homage to the band's home in Seattle, is a thoughtful ode about past good times and the comfortable feeling one gets when going home again. My favorite song from "Red Velvet Car", "Sand", is one of my all-time favorite Heart songs. I fell in love with it 13 years ago and it stills sounds just as good, if not better, today. The song has been re-recorded and features a slightly different, more acoustic arrangement, and tells of the loss of a friend or loved one. "Sand" could easily be a top ten hit and is a great example of the power of Ann's voice.

Overall, "Red Velvet Car" is a solid entry in Heart's ever growing discography. I suspect long time fans will appreciate the strong effort put forth here and with songs like "WTF" and "Sand", this release should have broad appeal. Heart is currently touring in support of this new release and if you have an opportunity to see the band live, you need to go. Of course, you do not have to take my word for it, just google Heart concert reviews to read the almost universally positive reviews and also check out the overwhelmingly positive reviews of the band on the Ticketmaster website.

I will have the opportunity to see Heart live in concert again (for the tenth time!) next weekend when they perform in Raleigh, NC. The current set list features songs I do not think I have ever heard performed live, including "Cook with Fire", "Heartless" and Heart's cover of the Led Zeppelin's classic "What Is and What Should Never Be." Please check back here for my review of the concert next weekend and don't forget to pick up your copy of "Red Velvet Car" later this month (either in stores or online).


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The Riff Effect: Heart Beats Again on New Record

Heart’s forthcoming album, Red Velvet Car, is being promoted as “the most personal and powerful work yet from Ann and Nancy Wilson.” Perhaps I’m stuck in the past – which may not be a bad place to be these days – but I don’t think Heart will ever top their debut Dreamboat Annie. An album that remains on my list of all-time favorite albums. That’s not to dismiss their latest effort, in fact, it’s actually quite good.

I suppose many a reader would rather get beyond geezer reminiscences and get on with this latest release from Heart – the first studio album since 2004’s Jupiter’s Darling, which was not able to attain the commercial success they had enjoyed with previous releases.

Producer Ben Mink, who worked with Ann Wilson on her 2007 solo album Hope & Glory, reportedly formed an immediate musical connection with Nancy Wilson, and for the first time in her career, sister Ann was encouraged by Mink to “hold back” a bit vocally.

“It’s not that he wants me to hold back the intensity, but instead to explore what’s inside of me,” Wilson says. For me the “holding back” factor was evident from the get-go. Track 1, “There You Go”, reveals an Ann Wilson that sounds more mellow than what we might be accustomed to coming from one of the rock world’s true powerhouse female vocalists.

Despite the mellow introduction to this album, any speculation about Heart’s inability to rock is quickly put to rest with “WTF”, brings us back to the Heart that reminds me more of “Barracuda” or “Even It Up”, although in contrast to those two Heart classics, the sentiment behind this one is decidedly introspective, being described by Ann Wilson as “…kind of the way you talk to yourself.”

The title track finds itself in position three and backs the tempo down again with a emotional passage that is accompanied by evocative lyrics that make it easy to visualize your way through the story that is woven into this relatively short, but powerful song. This one brings home the words of of Nancy Wilson who said, “There’s not an inauthentic, fictitious or posing bone in the body of this album.”

“Queen City” is a tribute to the Wilson sister’s home town of Seattle, Washington. This one may be my least-favorite track on the album. It’s has a catchy foot-tapping quality to it, but for me it just didn’t seem to have the same level of emotion and sincerity of the other tracks.

It’s clear that the group has indulged their acoustic side during the making of Red Velvet Car. Track six is a good example, and has a more light-hearted feel to it compared to some of the other songs in the album, but that may not be what was intended, and may be the result of a superficial interpretation on my part. Lyrically, it is a song that took ten years for Nancy Wilson to complete, and although it there is a positive element to it, it was described by Nancy Wilson as “really quite heartbreaking.”

Heart fans may want my head on a platter over this one, but some of the subtleties in “Wheels” remind me of something Rush might have come up with. Mink has worked with Rush, and whether that has anything to do with anything is not known to me. However, any comparisons between Heart and Rush should not be considered anything by complimentary coming from me. Similarities can be found everywhere and are probably more likely a result of coincidence rather than influence.

The remaining tracks stay true to the decidedly mellow, acoustic feel that this album has. There is no “Magic Man” or “Magazine” on this album, but perhaps that is just a reflection of who and what Heart is today, and it’s certainly not a bad thing.

Perhaps it is best summed up by Ann Wilson herself: “Here we are at this point in the band’s history and just like with any lifespan, the longer you love, the longer things look in back of you — and shorter in front of you too. That sense of perspective means that you’re much less likely to want to waste any time at all. So there’s a even greater sense of mortality, of the stakes involved here and an even stronger desire to make every moment on the album matter.”

Red Velvet Car may not be the kind of hard-rocking album that we remember from the band’s early years, but I think it’s a worthy representation of how the Wilson sisters have matured and seen their priorities change through the years.

It may be easier for us who are a bit closer in age to Ann and Nancy Wilson to appreciate the journey that has led them to Red Velvet Car, but at the same time, it’s a release that should please – and perhaps even surprise – Heart fans of all age groups.

Red Velvet Car is set for release on August 31st 2010


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