It’s been way too long since Heart hatched a decent album. For awhile
there, they were in serious danger of falling into the “heritage band”
category, which essentially means you hang up the idea of recording new music
and tour constantly, playing your old hits. But if you’ve seen the group
live in the last couple of years, you might have picked up on a certain something
— something that says Heart has more to give, they just need an outlet.
To channel that outlet, they also needed proper direction if they intended to
make a new, cohesive record. They needed someone like Ben Mink, who has worked
with everyone from Rush to k.d. lang. So Mink produced Red Velvet Car,
Heart’s most honest, most well-realized studio release since Dog
& Butterfly.
At first, you’re fooled into thinking this an acoustically-based album.
And in some ways, it is. But that doesn’t stop it from rocking. “There
You Go” would have benefited greatly with the swish of a Les Paul and
the pounce of a Ludwig, but it screams classic Heart nonetheless. “WTF”
picks up the pace, a barking riff that tiptoes through a pond infested with
barracudas, in some ways eclipsing the intensity by its ambiguity. Ann Wilson’s
voice is run through a cheese grater for an edgier refrain, but then the acoustics
rush in and ebb the tide. Yeah, this is Heart in 2010 and it’ll rip through
your soul.
The acoustical basis of the album lies in the title track, much in the way
Dreamboat Annie set the mood for the album for which it’s
named. But the tempo picks up midway with a guitar and cello exchange that elegantly
weaves the melody together. “Queen City” is a mid-tempo swing that
sounds like a lost outtake from Little Queen, while “Safronia’s
Mark” clinches the idea of classic Heart by tossing mandolins into a salad
bowl with a helluva bottom end. Maybe it’s just a set-up for “Death
Valley,” a stompin’ and hoppin’ travelogue gone bad, as illustrated
by the psychedelic twist sealing its finale.
“Sunflower” features both Nancy and Ann Wilson on vocals. It’s
one of those simple little songs that sounds like it should have been on a previous
Heart album. Simply put, the riff is exotic, hypnotic and worth a spin. And
as ‘Sand,” the final song on Red Velvet Car and an oldie with the Wilsons’ other group, the Lovemongers, lulls
along, it remains half-arched in an veiled attempt to say that Heart is still here, still making
music and still intent to adding to the dialogue of life, love and the pursuit
of survival.
~ Shawn Perry
