Label: Carry On Music (US), COMU-009
Style: Rock
Country: Seattle, Washington, U.S. (March 16, 1954)
Time: 45:22
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 304 Mb
The
first Heart single to feature Nancy Wilson on lead vocals was “These
Dreams,” with an iconic video that featured the guitarist and her sister
Ann with peak Eighties hair, silk blazers, fog, and some more hair. But
flash-forward to the present — with all that glam preserved on a high
shelf like a can of hairspray collecting dust — and the song still holds
up, particularly when Wilson performs it on acoustic with her husky
vocals. Every second of the night, she’s lived another life.
Wilson
carries this well-worn wisdom into her solo debut, You and Me. As her
decision to cover Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” hints at, You and Me
arrives as a healing of sorts, after more than a year of isolation and
social upheaval in our country. Best of all, it was unplanned, so the
record lacks the kind of “This is a pandemic gift to fans” sentiment and
has more of a “stay-at-home-rocker-gets-creative” authenticity. “I’m
not going to sit here and do a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle,” Wilson said,
making the rest of us feel lazy.
You and Me is bookended with tender
tributes — the opening title track is for her mother (co-written by
longtime collaborator Sue Ennis), while the closer “4 Edward” is an
aching acoustic send-off to Eddie Van Halen. In between we get a
sprinkling of elite guests, from Sammy Hagar on a cover of Simon and
Garfunkel’s “The Boxer” to the dizzying highlight “Party at the Angel
Ballroom” with Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins and Duff McKagan of Guns N’
Roses. Then there’s “Daughter” (yes, the Pearl Jam song), which feels
unfathomably great when she screams, “She will … rise above!”
At
times, the amount of covers on You and Me can feel a bit overwhelming —
the need for a rendition of the Cranberries’ “Dreams” is questionable —
but Wilson balances it out with her own gems. “The Dragon,” written for
Alice in Chains’ Layne Staley in the Nineties, is a gritty slow-burner
that’s ripened with age, while “The Inbetween” has a whimsical opening
reminiscent of Harry Nilsson’s “Turn On Your Radio.” Decades into her
career, the guitarist proves that her legacy is still being made — one
puzzle piece after the next.
(rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/nancy-wilson-you-and-me-review-1167232/) Review by Angie Martoccio. May 10, 2021
Angie Martoccio.
Angie
Martoccio is a senior writer at Rolling Stone, where she covers music
and pop culture. She’s written cover stories on Billie Eilish, Olivia
Rodrigo, Boygenius, and others. She’s interviewed iconic musicians and
actors like Neil Young, Jamie Lee Curtis, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King,
and more. She also focuses on in-depth features on the unsung women of
the music industry, from Seventies singer-songwriter Judee Sill to
singer Nicolette Larson. Her feature on Michelle Phillips of the Mamas
and Papas won The Newswomen's Club of New York’s Front Page Award in
2023.
01. You And Me (feat. Sue Ennis) (03:19)
02. The Rising (05:11)
03. I'll Find You (03:43)
04. Daughter (03:39)
05. Party At The Angel Ballroom (feat. Taylor Hawkins and Duff McKagan) (03:06)
06. The Boxer (feat. Sammy Hagar) (04:43)
07. Walk Away (03:33)
08. The Inbetween (04:00)
09. Dreams (feat. Liv Warfield) (03:31)
10. The Dragon (05:21)
11. We Meet Again (03:29)
12. 4 Edward (01:43)
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