Heart

Certain Songs #1995: Rockpile – “Heart”

December 31, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Seconds of Pleasure
Year: 1980

. . .

It’s hard to convey the kind of anticipation there was in certain rock ‘n’ roll circles for Rockpile’s 1980 debut, Seconds of Pleasure. After all, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner and Terry William had been playing together in various configurations going back to Edmunds 1976 Get It album (which was just missing Bremner), and in 1979 recorded two all-time classics back-to-back: Nick Lowe’s Labour of Lust and Dave Edmunds’ Repeat When Necessary.

Certain Songs #585: Heart – “Even It Up”

July 7, 2016 by Jim Connelly

Album: Bebe Le Strange
Year: 1980

In 1980, we had one of the weirdest micro trends ever: established mainstream artists making their “New Wave” album. Which, depending on the artist, either meant replacing guitars with synths, or streamlining their sound somehow.

So within a few months, we got records like Alice Cooper’s Flush The Fashion, Billy Joel’s (yes really) Glass Houses (which had the execrable “It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll To Me”) and of course, Heart’s Bebe LeStrange.

Certain Songs #584: Heart – “Crazy On You”

July 6, 2016 by Jim Connelly

Album: Dreamboat Annie
Year: 1976

While the follow-ups “Magic Man” and “Barracuda” were both bigger hits, this is the early Heart single that I truly loved.

With Roger Fisher’s corkscrew riff spiraling over Nancy Wilson’s rapidly-strummed acoustic guitar, “Crazy On You” exploded from the radio in 1976, marking Heart as something different from the very start.