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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tragically overlooked masterpiece., November 19, 2001
I don't think I'm going out on a limb by saying this is Heart's best work since Bebe Le Strange. This disc screams from beginning to end and is a joyful return to their roots. (Sort of) It's actually a combination of the best of the 70's and 80's versions of Heart. The primary thing that separates this disc from the 3 prior albums is the fact that the band is back in charge of the songwriting. Check the credits- you'll only find about 2 songs written by actual bandmembers on Heart, Bad Animals or Brigade. But this one has 8 tracks primarily authored by the Wilsons. While I thoroughly enjoyed the 80's version of Heart*, I'll also be the first to admit that it didn't come close to the depth and power of the early years. This disc however DOES rival their early material. (* apparently I'm the only one who will admit this, even though those albums sold something like a billion copies each. C'mon people! SOMEBODY bought them- fess up!) The other key point is the sound quality. I'd have to say that this one has the best production values of any Heart album. Exceedingly well mixed with very tight attention to sound selection, this one sounds so clean you could eat off it. Starting with "Black on Black II" (so titled because it's deliberately derived from a tune originally by Lisa Dalbello, who co-wrote this version as well) this album just screams power. This first track is a guitar chugfest highly reminiscent of Barracuda, but with a powerful modern edge. "Back to Avalon" feels like the long lost bonus track that should have been included on the Dog and Butterfly album. These two tracks alone are worth the price of admission! "The Woman in Me" is one of their most sensetive and tense ballads ever. Not a Wilson song, it doesn't sound much like anything you've ever heard by Heart before. Then they break out the heavy artillery with "Rage". This could be Heart's heaviest song ever. I have a hard time comparing it to anything except maybe the title track from Bad Animals. The next two tracks, "In Walks the Night" and "My Crazy Head" sound much more like Heart's more recent material, yet they are more solid and listenable than almost anything from their 80's canon, which only suggests to me that they should have continued their own songwriting in the 80's. Following these is a beautifully harmonized cover of Bob Dylan's "Ring Them Bells". Their one serious attempt at a hit single from this album was the obligatory Mutt Lange contribution "Will You Be There in the Morning". Inexplicably, they didn't get much airplay for this song. This is rather hard to understand because it succeeds in everyway that the atrocious "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" failed. (Except the commercial level of course...) "Voodoo Doll" is just plain old spooky. You haven't heard anything like it by Heart before. Very progressive and ethereal, but with some serious bite. "Anything Is Possible", another co-write with Lisa Dalbello is a stock power ballad. Far more melodic than say... "Alone" or
"Stranded", though not quite so powerful. Very much a feel good tune. Probably the weakest song here, but even this one rates a solid B+. The title track, "Desire Walks On" brings this collection full circle with a wicked chord progession that rivals "Sing Child" from the first album. This is a 5-star rocker that will make you sweat, with a killer progressive breakdown including a slap-bass groove. Miss this one at your own peril! The great tragedy of this album is that it was the last hurrah for a great band. The faithful had been waiting for over a decade for this album, but when they finally returned to form... it was all over. I suppose we should just be thankful that they didn't stop after Brigade.
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by Heart 
