The 1980 Listening Post - Heart - Bebe Le Strange

Heart - Bebe Le Strange

#89

Reviewed by Mindy Kaszerman

February 14 1980

Heart

Bebe Le Strange

Allen’s Rating: 3 out of 5

Mindy’s Rating 4 out of 5.

Highlights:

Bebe Le Strange

Down on Me

Even it Up

This is not my favorite Heart album. I would give that title to “Dreamboat Annie “or “Little Queen”. It was not the commercial success of the aforementioned albums. It is however,damn good.  Anne and Nancy Wilson’s vocals are killer. Nancy Wilson’s guitar is spot on as you would expect. This is the First album without Robert Fisher. 

Tracks

1-Bebe Le Strange- Always liked. I love Anne Wilson’s vocals

2-Down on Me- Funky,Bluesy Rock. I can’t help but dance to this. Whole band is amazing

3-Silver Wheels-Pretty Rock Instrumental

4-Break- It rocks,not a favorite track but it rocks. Holy Shit vocals. A + to Mike DeRoser on drums

5-Rockin Heaven Down

6-Even it up. Love it!  Radio hit. Everything you love about Heart

7-Strange Night

8-Raised on You  

9-Pilot Rocker. Who is on keyboards and why aren’t they credited?

https://open.spotify.com/album/56watINmdqEQfTBjA9DXKR?si=BzSNDPc2Ti6REGfaydBZuA

The 1985 Listening Post - Heart - Heart

Heart - Heart

#260/894

July 6 1985

Heart

Heart

Genre: Rock

1.5 out of 5 

Highlights:

If Looks Could Kill

What About Love

So I wrote a whole review and that’s below. But Beth just walked in the room during “Nothin’ at All” and said, “What is this shit you’re listening to?”

“Heart!”

“Yeah. This is shit.”

My wife, ladies and gentlemen. She knows. She gets it. So…knocking a full point off for that.

So, the Wilson sisters went out and bought a bunch of songs, doling out the lion’s share of the writing to others for the first time and came up with their strongest record.

I have never really cared for any of their albums on the whole. They have moments here and there but I really feel like they cruised on a few big hits of the 70s and then should’ve been a festival act. 

This thing is so front loaded with radio friendly monsters that it’s hard to deny it it’s muscle. I could hear any number of bands doing some of these tunes (Journey could’ve had “What About Love” and ridden that to the stratosphere and pick up a rock, throw it at a pop star and let them have “These Dreams”. Boom.).

It takes a while but when we get to the Wilson Sisters penned track “Nobody Home”, you can really smell the difference between them and perfeshunal songwriters. Ann and Nancy do not stand well in comparison.

What I don’t understand is why didn’t they go country? They sound like they really wanna. That community would probably have embraced the Wilsons more than the rock world and, truly, all they had to do was add a dobro to their songs and strip away some of the synths and electric guitars. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/heart/1441162196

The 1983 Listening Post - Heart - Passionworks

Heart - Passionworks

August 20, 1983
Heart
Passionworks
2.5 out of 5

I took a day off from listening to this album cuz, Christmas. Too many distractions, responsibilities, presents, people, etc.
When I came back to it I had to listen on my phone and didn’t have easy access to my computer. When I opened it I discovered that I had left off iTunes midway through the NEXT song that I had queued up on my phone. In other words, I was listening to songs I had already heard. That is never a good sign.
There is nothing memorable here. The deeper one gets into this album even the band sounds bored of their own songs (see: Heavy Heart & Love Mistake)
This is a band with a record contract, trying to keep some momentum going as the world of music is passing them by. If they don’t go full country soon I would be completely surprised.
But if what you are looking for is moderately paced, formulaic arena rock, power ballads and epic 80s heavy-echo drums, this would work, I guess.