If you’ve been a fan of classic rock,
or even casually listened to this kind of radio programming, you’ve doubtless come across Heart, the ’70s folk and hard rock group helmed by Nancy and Ann Wilson. You may have downloaded their biggest hits “Barracuda” and “Crazy on You,” come across the group’s ’80s power ballads like “What About Love?” or maybe even found a few early gems like “Magic Man” and “Straight On” to add to your playlists.
Still, even many ardent fans of ’70s rock haven’t given the entirety of one of the group’s albums a full listen. Like Blue Oyster Cult and Deep Purple, Heart fade into the background when today’s music fans go back and revisit the genre.
But, while Heart may have had a gigantic few hits, their albums provide an interesting look into how music evolved in the late ’70s, their sound a smooth synthesis of the folk stylings of Joni Mitchell and Lucinda Williams and the big-time guitar rock of Led Zeppelin.
If you’re still on the fence about exploring the band’s music, here are 10 reasons to give Heart a listen:
10. The band has been releasing albums for more than 30 years and is still touring and recording to this day, their latest disc “Fanatic” came out in 2012 to decent reviews
9. The intro to “Crazy on You” is still harder than anything you can play on guitar
8. Eddie Van Halen reportedly asked its two principal sister-members for a four-way hook-up
7. They declined Eddie Van Halen’s request
6. Heart used their ’70s hotness to help raise awareness of the threat of “killer bees” on the cover of Rolling Stone
5. They distracted you from that awfully suggestive Peter Frampton plug on that cover (give it another look, eh?)
4. R.E.M., Johnny Cash and Alice in Chains have all recorded at their one-time Seattle studio
3. Johnny Cash collaborated on this Willie Nelson cover with members of Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains at that studio
2. The intro to “Crazy on You” is still harder than anything you can play on Guitar Hero
1. They told off Sarah Palin for using “Barracuda” on 2008 campaign stops. (Unfortunately, the duo did not do the same to Fergie when she covered the song for “Shrek the Third.”)
Pete Rizzo can be reached at prizzo@thoughtpollution.com