My Amazon Reviews: Heart "Essential"

With Every Beat of The Heart, 5 Out of 5 Stars

With multiple record labels and more than a few best ofs already in their discography, it's fantastic to be able to get a set that covers all the bases in one strike. For Ann and Nancy Wilson, "The Essential Heart" does exactly that. From the early Dreamboat Annie on Mushroom Records to the long-term success on Portrait/CBS to their third wave on Capitol, all the major hits are here.

While they started as a "female Led Zepplin" when 70's power rockers picked up on "Crazy On You" and "Magic Man," Heart soon developed personality all their own. The angry bite of "Barracuda" contains one of the 70's all time great riffs, while Dog & Butterfly (both the album and the song) was a startlingly diverse rock album. But like most bands, when the superstar status lands, there's almost always tension. Heart was no different, and when the internal strife led to the lackluster success of Private Audition and Passionworks (despite such solid songs as "How Can I Refuse"), it seemed like Heart would soon wind down.

Against all odds, Heart signed with Capitol records and took a Bernie Taupin penned song back into the top ten. 1985's "These Dreams" (originally intended for Stevie Nicks and loaded with that same kind of vibe) kick-started yet another wave of success. Soon Heart became slick MTV faves, with big hair and big hits, but at a price. If you look at "The Essentials" second disc, you'll note that only two of the 19 songs were penned by Ann and Nancy. The trend that drove 80's bands like Aerosmith and Cheap Trick to - sometimes forcibly - cover songs by established songwriters like Dianne Warren ("Who Will You Run To"), Mutt Lange ("All I Wanna Do is Make Love To You") and Steinberg/Kelly ("Alone") gave Heart memorable hooky rock-pop, but backed them into a creative corner. After The Road Home, Ann and Nancy announced a sabbatical from which they have only recently come back from.

There's still plenty to love on this set, from some of the lesser-known hits ("Tell It Like It Is," "Heartless") to some choice album selections ("Ring Them Bells" with the late Layne Staley). By gathering all these songs onto one set, "The Essential Heart" is also an essential CD of a band that helped alter the sound of the 70's and 80's.