Customer Reviews

Bebe Le Strange (Exp)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The following is what I wrote in 1999 about the original CD issue of this album:
"Although every Heart release after their debut sported several great tracks, bebe le strange was a definite high watermark for the band. The songs give you the feeling that Ann and Nancy (and co-writer Sue Ennis) were getting more personal with their lyrics than ever before. But the album is not as introspective as you would think it would be. Some of the band's funkiest jams are on this album including Strange Night, Rockin' Heaven Down and the incredible title track which is one of rock and rolls great anthems (also a great anthem for women as well!). On the other side of the coin is more sensitive fare such as Sweet Darlin', Pilot and Nancy's great piano workout on Raised on You. Not one subpar track on the entire disc!"
Now Sony has reissued this classic album with much improved sound quality and bonus tracks. I still give this album 5 stars for the content and would be willing to add a star, if I could, for the remastering, which makes it sound better than ever.
One of the bonus tracks is a frantic live take of "Break". It's a good performance but the lead guitar wasn't mic'd very well and is barely audible. The second bonus track is a real bonus! An unreleased Heart track from 1980 called "Jackleg Man". It's a really great hard rocker that at times actually reminds me of Bon Scott era AC/DC. Ann gives a nasty, growling vocal performance on this one, and it's a great addition to this album. I would've thought that some of the songs from the band's 1980 "Greatest Hits/Live" set would have worked well as bonus tracks for this album -- the hit cover of "Tell It Like It Is", the live versions of "Bebe Le Strange" and Zeppelin's "Rock & Roll", or "Hit Single" and "Strange Euphoria" which were left off of the "GH/Live" CD -- but Sony obviously has other plans.
The liner notes are very brief and are reprinted in each of the Heart reissues (the other two being "Little Queen" and "Dog & Butterfly") and the "track by track overview" is just a short line or two for each song that doesn't give a whole lot of information. So don't base your decision to buy this disc on Nancy Wilson's liner notes.
But if you want to hear classic tracks like "Raised On You" and "Sweet Darlin'" sounding better than ever, I can definitely recommend this disc.

Although none of the songs here are instant classics like "Magic Man" or "Barracuda", I think this is Heart's best CD simply because it's the most consistent in terms of quality. "Dreamboat Annie" and "Little Queen" both had a lot of filler to balance out the brilliant songs.

Like "Dog & Butterfly", "Bebe le Strange" also has the strength that it shows off the considerable range of the Wilson sisters as writers and performers. There's the title rocker, an A-one hit in "Even it Up", the bluesy "Down on Me", and a trio of softer songs to close out the album: "Raised on You", "Pilot", and "Sweet Darlin" that have great lyrics and are pretty much performed by the Wilson sisters on all instruments. Despite the variety, there isn't one song that sounds out of place. They flow together seamlessly.

If you're new to Heart through the Greatest Hits, I think this is the album to start with because it represents Heart at the height of their power as wild rockers and mystical balladeers.

Bebe Le Strange is one of the albums that made me a more serious musician. Listening to Nancy Wilson on the song "Raised on you" raised a few questions in my mind. Who is really the masterminds behind the heart sound? Ann and Nancy truly deliver what I want to hear on a record. "Silver Wheels" captivated me the minute I heard it and now that's one of my favorites to play on the guitar. Probably my favorite song off of this record is "Strange Night" which is great to listen to on a road trip. "Sweet Darlin" is Ann Wilson's voice to the max it's really gorgeous. Please if you are into good music..get this CD.

What can I tell you. Heart has been my favorite band since their debut album, Dreamboat Annie came out. Well we lost a member in time to record this album. Original guitarist Roger Fisher pulled the last straw with the band in Oregon while touring under Dog & Butterfly. Much like the Fleetwood Mac relationships that tore that band apart: Michael (drums), Roger (guitar) and Nancy were all apart of the original line-up being less one member. They soldiered ahead and delivered.

This album is probably the most ROCKIN album they have ever released. Not their best album but certainly in the top four albums of their career.

I saw the tour, bought the shirt, recorded the live broadcast from Ft. Worth off the radio back in the days of it's initial release.

This album smokes. For those of you looking to make your own best of CD taking song from all the albums they have ever released, the songs you must include from this album are:

Bebe Le Strange
Down On Me
Silver Wheels
Rockin' Heaven Down
Even It Up
Pilot
Sweet Darlin'

Not to ditch the other tracks. Certainly a special mention for Strange Night.

As a true Heart fan, essential CD's to own are unquestionably:

Dog & Butterfly
Dreamboat Annie
Little Queen
Magazine
Bebe Le Strange
Desire Walks On

Alot of people mention Brigade as one of there very best albums. Well speaking from someone who has been loyal since day one, I have to say Brigade is the album I listen to the least. That whole 80's thing with Heart was good, but not great. Too commercial, Heart kinda lost their way a little in the 80's (yet that was the most successful time of their career. Outside songwriting, seasoned musicians (Ann, Nancy and Howard were the only ones left from the original six member band in the eighties) and too much polish lead Heart away from the raw rockin' and airy beauty of the original line-ups compositions.

Any way you stack it up, 70's, 80's, 90's and since, Heart have givin the world something very special and original. No one has or will ever do what they did.

Here is what baffles me more than anything, The Pretenders are in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame and Heart is not. I throw my hands in the air and scratch my head on that one.

I have listened to this record for twenty years and it is still one of my favorite all time women rock records. One of the many things that really make this record so great, besides the presence of Ann & Nancy, is the over all sound/tone-- as if all the instruments were too hot and that the speakers were peaking into the red while cutting the tracks. If this was an engineering oversight or intentional I don't know-- but lemme tell ya it worked! The performing and songwriting are so raw!! Love it forever!

The music of Heart is emblazoned in my very soul, and this is one of the albums that won me. I can't understand why this isn't considered an Essential Heart Album, but I find it is not stocked much of the time in stores. The acoustic instrumental 'Silver Wheels' is impossible to forget once you've heard it, and the ability to produce a haunting melody like this one ranks right up there for me as the goal of a serious musician. 'Rockin' Heaven Down' contains all the feel and elements that created hits for Heart in the musical climate in which this was released - i.e. an 'Even It Up' type of essence, yet it received virtually no airplay at that time. These days you can still hear 'Crazy On You' or 'Barracuda' on rock stations any day of the week, but 'Bebe Le Strange'? Hardly ever. Yet if you asked the Wilson sisters what major early hits catapulted them to their legendary status, I imagine this would be on the list. Why doesn't 'Bebe Le Strange' get 'classic rock' airplay? Beats me. If you consider yourself a Heart fan and you're not familliar with these songs, better go out and buy this album and take a good listen.

As an aside, it interested me to learn that Ann and Nancy were inspired by Led Zeppelin ('Dream Of The Archer/Sylvan Song' from Little Queen expresses this well.) I believe 'Bebe Le Strange' was written about Jimmy Page - a worthy tribute.

BEBE LE STRANGE was Heart's last great album (excluding anthologies) until ALIVE IN SEATTLE came out in 2003. Guitarist Roger Fisher had just been forced out of the band, and with Nancy Wilson and Howard Leese handling all of the guitars, the music was more electric than on any previous Heart album. The big hit was "Even It Up", but there's a lot of other great stuff here, too. The two bonus cuts add to the pleasure, and if you buy this one, DREAMBOAT ANNIE, LITTLE QUEEN, DOG & BUTTERFLY, GREATEST HITS (Epic/Legacy), JUPITERS DARLING, THE ESSENTIAL 3.0 HEART, and ALIVE IN SEATTLE all at once, you won't be disappointed.

...I'd never say no to you!

This collection of songs is the pinnacle for the band. Just genius all the way through. The production was experimental and raw. The writing was very honest and unaffected. Billion dollar garage band stuff.
I think this album foreshadowed alot of stuff that didn't come about `till 20 yrs later (approx) Grunge rock WAY before grunge. ....All these years later though, I have more perspective-it seems when I listen to it now to nod both forward AND back in time. The writing was soooo cognizant. There are some awkward moments, but they work...all so verite... Retro titles; seeming rip-offs such as 'Down On Me'.....then the song happens and...jeez. If someone made that song now they would be reaching forward.
This is the album where you hear the Wilson sisters grow up. All of the sudden the concerns were realler. The stakes were higher. You can hear the joy and frustration and confidence and fear in their voices.
Ive always been a huge fan, but when I listen back, THIS is the Heart album.
"You were the only one who saved me from myself..."

Thanks.

I'm in love with those girls' voices. As far as I know different producer worked on this album but you won't realize it. It's pretty good.

Bebe Le Strange is one of Heart's strongest albums. While only garnering Gold status, it nevertheless is a true Rock album success with very solid and entertaining material. The album is now offered as a remastered disc with two added gems "Jackleg Man" and a live version of "Break", which I highly recommend. Nancy really shines on this record with her instrumental "Silver Wheels", and "Raised On You", while Ann gets down and dirty with "Rockin' Heaven Down", "Break" "Strange Night", "Bebe", and "Down On Me". "Even It Up", the album's single is not one of my favorites, but is also a true rocker. "Sweet Darlin'" and "Pilot" are beautiful ballads that are performed as only Heart can, and will fill you with sheer unadulterated bliss. This album is a must have for any Heart fan.