Published on Jan 26, 1997
Yesterday I looked at Queen’s
News Of The World, an album which probably would not have
gotten a second consideration from me because certain tracks off of
it are played to death on the radio – but which held some forgotten
tunes that were that band’s best.
Today, we have another example of this trend – Heart’s 1977
major label debut
Little Queen.
For a moment, let’s forget about the tremendously overplayed cut
“Barracuda,” and let’s concentrate on what was going on with this
one. Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson seem to be walking a thin line
between hard rock and acoustic folk, and they don’t seem to know
which direction they want to go..
What is interesting about this album is that, with the exception
of “Barracuda,” the folk aspect is the most interesting. Listen to
“Love Alive” and hear the acoustic guitar work of Nancy Wilson and
Howard Leese blend with Ann Wilson’s vocals and flute work (do I
sense a dose of Jethro Tull here?) into a powerful song. The
following two tracks, “Sylvan Song” (with an opening similar to Led
Zeppelin’s “Battle Of Evermore”) and “Dream Of The Archer” continue
in this folk theme, showing the range this band had at the time. By
the time the next rocker, “Kick It Out”, comes around, it sounds
incredibly out of place.
The second half of
Little Queen is a shade weaker than the first, though the
track “Cry To Me” stands out among the bunch. (But the following
track, “Go On Cry,” is overkill.) Heart’s attempt to merge rock
with folk, “Say Hello,” falls short of the mark, though it’s
interesting to listen to the first few times. After that, it
becomes a track to pass up.
What is interesting to note is that 20 years after this album
was released, it hardly seems to have aged any – no mean feat for
any album. Hell, even some of Zeppelin’s works haven’t held up as
well. But
Little Queen is able to transcend the boundary of time to
earn a place among some of rock’s best albums. In fact, Heart had
difficulties topping this one creatively until the mid-’80s, during
their comeback.
If you’re beginning to get interested in Heart, forget about
picking up their greatest hits CD (which I’ll eventually review,
after I take down my Tiny Tim memorial in the Pierce Memorial
Archives), and check out
Little Queen to get an idea of what this band was really
about.