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Heart - Beautiful Broken
Release Date: 2016
Label: Concord Records
Genre: Rock
Format: MP3 320 kbps
Time: 40:24
Size: 96 MB
CLEVELAND, Ohio --?? Heart -- essentially sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson -??- has a problem. A good problem, but a problem nonetheless.
When you've FINALLY been recognized as a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band -?? Good LORD, why did that take so long? -- you're almost at the legacy stage. If you're still making new music, everything you put out is compared to the stuff you did that got you enshrined in the first place. And you can be gol-dang sure someone will say, "Yeah, but it's not (fill in the blank).''
Well, OK, let me be the one to say it. "Beautiful Broken,'' the 16th album from the sisters and whichever players they choose to surround themselves with in the current incarnation, isn't "Dreamboat Annie'' and it's not "Little Queen.''
So what? So. Bleeping. What?
The album actually has only three new songs on it, and technically the title cut was a bonus cut on "Fanatic,'' Heart's 2012 LP. The rest are reimagined versions of songs that appeared on "Passionworks'' (1983), "Private Audition'' (1982) and "Bebe Le Strange'' (1980).
The cut that's getting the biggest press is "Beautiful Broken,'' partly because Metallica's James Hetfield chimes in on vocals with Ann Wilson, and even adds a few lyrics to the song. I've no problems with the accolades -- Wilson and Hetfield do a great job on a song that combines the best of both bands, but is distinctly its own sound.
But the tune I love the most --?? and I mean love --?? is a new one, "Two,'' sung by Nancy Wilson. A rolling, poignant ballad, it showcases a voice that's often overshadowed by her sister's Maria Callas-quality operatic vocals.
Nancy co-produced the album with Heart bassist Dan Rothchild, but it's not like she tipped the tables in her favor. The work between Rothchild and Nancy Wilson is, in a word, stunning.
A reimagined version of "Sweet Darlin','' which originally appeared on "Bebe Le Strange,'' boasts a magical string arrangement by arranger Paul Buckmaster that creates an amazing new depth to Ann Wilson's already legendary vocals.
Those strings appear several times throughout the album, especially behind Ann's vocals on the other new song, "I Jump,'' and they give the album a lush, orchestral feel that creates a new corona around the sun that is the Heart sound.
So no, it's not "Dreamboat Annie.'' It's not "Barracuda.'' It's not "Crazy on You.'' I love those songs; they're what blared out of the eight-track in my beat-up '63 Impala convertible (main color was "Bondo'') in the '70s, and still echo in my memories.
Maybe I'm not that kid anymore. But thank heavens, my Heart is still beating, just to a new rhythm. Grade: A
Tracklist
01. Beautiful Broken
02. Two
03. Sweet Darlin'
04. I Jump
05. Johnny Moon
06. Heaven
07. City's Burning
08. Down On Me
09. One Word
10. Language Of Love
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