The CD Odyssey is random, but
sometimes the Gods of Chaos have a killer sense of timing. Today is Valentine’s
Day, and the next album is by…Heart.
Disc 970 is…Little Queen
Artist: Heart
Year of Release: 1977
What’s up with the Cover? There are so many Ren-fair jokes
I could make here, but I’m not going to make a single one. Why not? Because for
a couple of years I belonged to the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) and
dressed up like a 15th century pirate named Roger Bloedlaeter once a
month. I had a great time and regret nothing, so if Ann and Nancy want to hang
out in medieval costumes, comb each other’s hair and speak forsoothly, all the
power to them.
How I Came To Know It: Everyone knows the hit single “Barracuda” but I was introduced to the
album by my friend Chris. He brought a vinyl copy to a music listening night
and I liked what I heard.
How It Stacks Up: I have two Heart albums, this one and their self-titled
eighties comeback record that I reviewed back at Disc 960. I used to also
own “Bad Animals” but it was…bad. Anyway, of the three albums, I put “Little
Queen” first. I meant to stick by my teenage crush album, 1985’s self-titled
comeback, but critically I can’t deny that “Little Queen” is the better record.
Ratings: 4 stars
On “Little
Queen” hard rock ‘n’ roll meets swords ‘n’ sorcery and the result is magical, powerful
and just the right amount of weird.
“Little
Queen” is only Heart’s second record, which makes the brave and crazy decisions
on it all the more impressive. For every sophomore record where a band
successfully expands their sound, there are five that lose their way in directionless
excess. This record is excessive, to be sure, and sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson
definitely push the boundaries, but it is all mounted on a solid foundation of
rock.
Once
again, it is the vocals of Ann Wilson that first hold your attention, with that
effortless rock power, and an innate sense of just when to throw in a well-timed
‘ooh’ or ‘aah’. Juxtaposed to this is sister Nancy’s solid guitar, dependable and
always down in the groove; a home port for her sister’s stormy vocals to return
to whenever she needs it.
The
album opens with “Barracuda,” and
with it one of rock’s most instantly recognizable guitar riffs. The furious and
insistent chugging of electric guitar played low and reverbing into your lower
spine would send you to the chiropractor if it weren’t so evenly balanced.
That is
immediately followed by an almost folksy “Love
Alive” a gentle pastoral number, punctuated with whimsy and plucked guitar
strings, with Ann’s vocal trilling along effortlessly above it. Then halfway
through, the song finds electricity and takes you down an anthemic journey that
would make Led Zeppelin proud.
The
album owes a lot to Led Zeppelin, and they are clearly an influence on the song
structures, but it avoids being derivative. This is new music, taking some of
Zeppelin’s ideas and shifting them one step away from the blues (but only a
small step) and one step closer to fantasy theme park.
“Sylvan Song” sounds like it is being
played by elves (I think that’s the point) and fades directly into “Dream of the Archer” which I’m pretty
sure is just the ladies telling us about their last Dungeons and Dragons
session. If I had known this album as a kid I would have eaten this stuff up.
Now I prefer the songs that rock out, but I won’t lie; the fantasy elements are
still appealing (both to me and that alter ego pirate guy I mentioned earlier).
The
title track launches Side Two with jaunty flair, that side-skips its way across
the stage in a way that had me thinking of Steven Tyler and his scarf-swathed
microphone. For all its party atmosphere, the song is about a girl who deep
down is struggling. As Ann Wilson sings “no
one knows your melancholy mind” while simultaneously giving us all a
backstage pass to it. Later on the album, “Cry
To Me” serves as the perfect book-end to the moment. Gone are the up-tempo
grooves, replaced with a slow confessional as Ann sings:
“You better not hide it
Let it come, let it bleed
I ain't laughing, reach in and
get it
And set it free
Cry to me, cry to me”
Despite
the sadness in the lyrics, the song’s structure is full of a fierce resoluteness.
You get the feeling this album was the soundtrack for a thousand small town
girls who wanted to be tough and vulnerable.
“Little Queen” is an album that lets them be both.
The
record isn’t perfect, and “Cry to Me”
is followed by the pointless meandering of “Go
On Cry” which is more like a cry that goes on a little too long, leaving
you feeling a bit dried out and suffering from a pressure headache. The
musicianship is good, but the song doesn’t really go anywhere and it is a
bummer of a way for the original album to end.
Fortunately,
my CD copy has two bonus tracks that follow it. The first is an early demo
version of “Love Alive” called “Too Long a Time” which is pretty sweet
(if a bit heavy on the noodling). The second is a cover of “Stairway to Heaven” that is so good it
has become an underground classic in its own right. Both tracks are not only
solid, they make the album better, and that’s a rarity.
Best
tracks: Barracuda,
Love Alive, Little Queen, Treat Me Well, Cry to Me, Stairway to Heaven
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