I always liked the band Heart, not only because Ann and Nancy Wilson were both great vocalists, but also because they liked Led Zeppelin, and used those influences in their own music. My favorite Heart album is Dog & Butterfly because of the song “Mistral Wind,” which conjures up shades of Zeppelin from Physical Graffiti. I’m also very fond of “Barracuda” with it’s Bonham style drum rhythms and heavy guitar riffing.
My favorite memory is actually a concert story. I was ejected from the Heart show at the Austin Convention Center for snapping photos of Ann and Nancy Wilson. (insert exclamation here!) Yup, the ushers busted me big time. I guess it wasn’t too hard to spot me on the floor with an old school 35mm Olympus camera, with zoom lens no less! The guy walked me to the door and threatened to take my film, but somehow I got the camera back to my car without losing it. Wouldn’t you know it, the Wilson sisters pictures never came out.
But I did get back into the concert, sans camera, for the final encore. All is well that ends well. I was actually there for the opening act, Bourgeois Tagg, who was on Atlantic Records at the time. I had talked the local promotion guy into giving me tickets and a backstage pass to the show since he wasn’t going. It was the perfect opportunity to see a new band, plus catch Heart live in concert.
Bourgeois Tagg had formed in 1984 with Brent Bourgeois and Larry Tagg. “Yoyo” was their second and final album in 1987. Produced by Todd Rundgren, the album is remembered for it’s one big hit song “I Don’t Mind At All.” The band was opening for Heart on this tour, so I drove to Austin for the show, had to prove to security it was a genuine backstage pass, but eventually got in to talk with and hang out with Bourgeois Tagg, who was opening the show. We had a great time backstage and on their tour bus. Too bad they didn’t last, they were a pretty good band.
Now if I could only find those pictures…
Noteworthy…Ann Wilson released her first solo album last year. It’s called Hope & Glory, a collection of duets and cover songs. There’s the typical Zeppelin selection with “Immigrant Song.” More interesting though, is her collaborations with…Elton John on “Where to Now St. Peter?,” a favorite of mine from his early work Tumbleweed Connection; K.D. Lang on “Jackson;” and sister Nancy on Pink Floyd’s “Goodbye Blue Sky.”
Passionworks, released in March of this year, is largely forgettable except for the fact it was Heart’s last album on the Epic label.
www.heart-music.com
