First sisters of rock coming to Rama
Arts/Life
Posted By NATHAN TAYLOR, THE PACKET AND TIMES
Posted 1 month ago
You can thank Canada for introducing Heart to the world, and the Seattle music scene for welcoming them home after a disappointing career moment in the mid-'80s.
But the band itself gets the credit for persevering for more than 40 years and returning to the scene withRed Velvet Car,an album that stands up to anything the influential classic rockers have ever produced.
Red Velvet Car,scheduled for release Aug. 31, is a 10-track throwback to the band's heyday in the '70s. The album is the band's first since 2004'sJupiter's Darling,which was certified gold in both Canada and the United States.
Critics are responding positively toRed Velvet Car,with some saying it is Heart's most personal and powerful work yet -- quite a statement about a band that has pumped out 13 studio albums.
"It's absolutely true," guitarist/ vocalist Nancy Wilson said of that particular review. "Because we've been working straight through, we took a few years in the '90s to kind of regroup after the '80s... then we got back on the horse and started pushing to make another album."
The chemistry between the current band members has helped, she said.
"This particular lineup of the band is, I think, the best lineup we've ever had. We have this groove going on and we felt it was time to do another Heart album," Wilson said during a phone interview while backstage at Lilith Fair in Kansas City, Mo.
Known as the first sisters of rock, Nancy and Ann Wilson were the integral part of the redefinition of Heart when they joined the Seattle-based group -- Ann in 1973 and Nancy in 1975.
In 1976,Dreamboat Anniewas released, spawning the singlesCrazy On YouandMagic Man.Heart revisited its roots while creatingRed Velvet Car.
"There really is a through line between the first few albums andRed Velvet Car,"Wilson said. "A lot of that has to do with Ben Mink's take on the band. He has a fan's perspective of what our die-hard fans... and our newer audience would react to."
Mink has produced albums and worked with Canadian favourites Barenaked Ladies, k.d. lang and Feist, and he also produced a solo record by Ann Wilson.
The "newer audience" to which Wilson referred could be a result of the band's material being featured on American Idol and the game Guitar Hero, which has introduced a generation to songs they never knew existed.
"They know all the songs because it's in the culture again, which is a beautiful thing," Wilson said.
What's more, the band still stands out, with Ann's powerful vocals and Nancy's "acoustic grit," as she put it, still intact.
"In the band Heart, the acoustic is treated like a heavy instrument. It's not the fairy dust that it usually is," she said. "It makes us sound different than a lot of other bands."
In the '70s, it was considered much more significant to have two women -- sisters, at that -- leading a successful rock group. While the industry today is more diverse and open -- or maybe just saturated -- Wilson said she and her sister haven't forgotten the importance of their earlier accomplishments.
"It is important. It's a thing we never anticipated," she said. "We were military marine corps brats. We were going to storm the beaches.
"Now, we don't stand on our gender," she Achieving something that eliminates the common denominator of the culture in the world -- you've got to be a full-fledged human being to get that done."
But the sisters weren't doing it by themselves. Their influence was felt through various genres and by an array of artists, including those from the grunge rock scene (Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, for example).
"When we came back to Seattle with our tails between our legs... we were nervous," Wilson said. "They took us under their wings."
Heart will cross the border for a show this Friday at Casino Rama.
This country is like a second home, but it was where they got their first big break.
After sending demos fromDreamboat Annieto all the major record labels, they were turned down. So, the band sent them again, and they were again snubbed.
"'We better talk to some smaller labels, I guess,'" Wilson recalled thinking.
They were noticed by Mushroom Records while playing a club in Vancouver, and that started them on their journey, which included touring across Canada.
"The two-lane highway; across the tundra of Canada; hitting a moose. You could just picture it now. It's like theCoal Miner's Daughter,"Wilson said, adding, "We don't forget our Canadian roots."
Among the band's many singles areBarracuda, Kick It Out, What About Love,andThese Dreams.
Tickets are available online at www.ticketmaster.caor in person at the Casino Rama box office.
For more on Heart, visit www.heart-music.com.
For more information on upcoming events at the casino, go to www.casinorama.com.
ntaylor@orilliapacket.com
