Heart
Little Queen
Album Review
Released: 2004
Album Review
Heart's follow-up to their phenomenally successful debut LP continues their curious marriage of bursting-at-the-seams hard rock and reflective, soft acoustic music. Understanding their meteoric rise is not that difficult—lead singer Ann Wilson, with her urgent, often explosive vocals, is the closest rock has to a female counterpart of Zeppelin's Robert Plant (and anyway, Lord knows, we need many more women in rock & roll). Led Zeppelin influences abound, from Wilson's "Summer-of-My-Smiles" phrasing on "Dream of the Archer" down to guitarist Roger Fisher's Page-ish intro on "Go On Cry" and his ferocious riffing on "Barracuda" and the title track. The latter are the roughest and best tracks on the record.
Heart's acoustic work is simply no match for their hard stuff; "Archer," with its mesmerizing double-tracked mandolins, is the only nonrocker that works. The rest function as little more than diversions. The group also suffers from a lack of material; "Go On Cry" is simply some fancy guitar work fortified by a few wails from Wilson, yet it is the longest track on the record.
Dreamboat Annie proved that, in lean times, a few good songs can go a long way commercially, but three songs still don't qualify an LP as a good one. While there's little doubt that Little Queen will do well financially, Heart needs to realize the potential of its obvious talents if it seeks to gain a lasting audience. (RS 242)
BILLY ALTMAN
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