Label: Zoe Records (Canada), 0114310852
Style: Soft Rock, Rock
Country: Seattle, Washington, U.S. (June 19, 1950)
Time: 48:20
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 318 Mb
Ann
Wilson performs a cover version of the musicians: Pink Floyd, Led
Zeppelin, The Animals, John Lennon, Elton John, Creedence Clearwater
Revival, The Youngbloods, Neil Young, Bob Dylan.
Growing up in the
Pacific Northwest when I did, I came to have a fierce loyalty to Heart.
For years, I have talked about the importance of this great band; not
only have they made some great music themselves, they have been
extremely important to other movements. Without Ann and Nancy Wilson
rocking out for the last 35 years, I have argued, there would be no
Seattle scene (say goodbye to Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Soundgarden), no
riot grrl bands (see ya to Sleater-Kinney and Bikini Kill and L7, all
from the NW), and no female metal at all (well, okay, that’s a stretch).
So
I’d love to say that Ann Wilson’s first solo record is an amazing work
of musical art, giving us all insights into her life and musical vision
and all that. Sadly, I can’t; it’s too all over the place, thematically,
and, for a solo album, it relies too much on covers and on bizarre duet
partners: Elton John? Really? In 2007? Was that really necessary?
But
damn if she can’t still turn it out — she still possesses one of the
great voices in rock history, and it is in full effect all over this
album. To hear her tear into "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" and
completely eat up duet partner Wynonna Judd…well, it’s pretty inspiring,
is all. Her take on Neil Young’s "War of Man" with Alison Kraus sounds
like it would be way too precious, but it’s actually pretty tough and
rockish and angry. And it’s kind of hilarious that she takes on Led
Zeppelin, considering that she’s been accused of aping Robert Plant for
her whole career, only to turn "Immigrant Song" into a slow-burning
folk-jazz piece with swirly psychedelic electronica.
It’s also pretty
funny to hear her do "Jackson" with k.d. lang, but not really funny
ha-ha, more like funny strange because you wouldn’t think their voices
would work together as well as they do. And even though her
chamber-blues cover of John Lennon’s "Isolation" ultimately fizzles (due
to a somnolent backing track), Ann Wilson proves that she hasn’t lost a
single bit of the glorious instrument that has been her trademark for
more than three decades.
And yet just when I’m loving this record,
bad things happen. The cover of "Get Together" is botched hippie
nostalgia, as is the Rufus Wainwright/Shawn Colvin-enhanced version of
"A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall". The album’s overarching theme is the
shittiness of our war against Iraq, and I agree wholeheartedly with
that, but that doesn’t mean I have to like the album’s most explicitly
political song, the closer "Little Problems Little Lies," a tale of a
dying soldier which manages to be both overwritten and underexplained.
And, come on, Elton John? Singing on a soggy stringy "Where to Now St.
Peter?"? Nope, sorry — I’m a tolerant man, but that’s just going too
far.
So I had a lot higher hopes for this, but when it’s listened to
as an actual album it is pretty good, especially for a 57-year-old woman
releasing her first solo record. You’ll need to keep a quick finger on
the "skip" button so you can avoid the boring stuff, but that could be
said about a lot of records. The good news, ultimately, is that there is
a lot more good material than bad here. That is kind of a triumph. But
it would be a lot better to just hear a new Heart album — Jupiter’s
Darling was, after all, pretty good. Here’s hoping that Ann has this
solo jag out of her system now.
(popmatters.com/ann-wilson-hope-glory-2496205755.html) Review by Matt Cibula. 6 November 2007
01. Goodbye Blue Sky (written Pink Floyd) (03:12)
02. Where To Now St. Peter? (written Elton John. Duet with Sir Elton John) (04:38)
03. Jackson (written Lucinda Williams. Duet with K.D. Lang) (03:36)
04. We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (written The Animals. Duet with Wynonna) (03:45)
05. Immigrant Song (written Led Zeppelin.) (03:43)
06. Darkness Darkness (written The Youngbloods. Featuring Nancy Wilson) (04:37)
07. Bad Moon Rising (written Creedence CR. Duet with Gretchen Wilson) (03:15)
08. War Of Man (written Neil Young. Featuring Alison Krauss) (04:38)
09. Get Together (written The Youngbloods. Featuring Nancy Wilson, Wynonna and Deana Carter) (04:03)
10. Isolation (written John Lennon.) (03:02)
11. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (written Bob Dylan. Featuring Shawn Colvin and Rufus Wainwright) (06:14)
12. Little Problems, Little Lies (03:31)
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