Customer Reviews

Desire Walks on

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well I finally shelled out the cash for the Japanese version of this disc and I was blown away.

After three straight albums of doing outside writers' songs and being moulded into "Survivor-Ette" by Ron Nevison, Heart comes back with the first album of primarily their own material in over a decade. And does it Rock? OOHHH Baby! IT ROCKS!

In a way this is sort of the quintessential Heart album. For one thing, the complexity of their earlier albums is back since they aren't stuck doing three-chord Diane Warren and Mutt Lange songs. But the edgier, modern production of the Heart/Bad_Animals/Brigade years is there too. The combination makes this album truly smoke.

Better yet, this album has the best sound mix of ANY Heart album. Somebody finally managed to figure out how to give Nancy and Howard their biting wall-of-sound guitar tones without burying the bass!

This album has some of Heart's most agressive rockers (Black on Black, Rage) as well as some incredibly tender ballads (Woman in me, Anything is Possible) and there really is no weak track on the whole disc.

I'm having a really hard time figuring out why this disc is out of print, when the tankers like Private Audition and Passionworks are still floating around.

If your debating picking up this album because you aren't familiar with any of the songs.... stop debating and just buy it. If you've ever been a Heart fan, there is something on this for you.

Since 1985's Heart album was released (I was only 12 @ the time) I have been taken aback by the refreshing vocals that the Wilson sisters provided and the original AOR soft rock that they produced. However it is this album (4 down the line after Bad Animals, Brigade and Rock The House) which truly showcases their extreme talent and versatility combining rok trax which knock a bull sidewayz, and folk/acoustic ballads with amazing 2 part harmonies.

Principal rockers Black on Black Part II demonstrates Ann Wilson's voice in all its power, while Rage rakes along with an amazingly catchy guitar hook. The title trak also packs a punch, albeit with slightly less aggressive vocal but with amazing guitar riffs and imaginative samples.

It is such a pity that this album did not yield the hits it should have: Will You Be There is not the most amazing Heart track, but it does showcase celestial harmonies, and Ann's lead vocal on Anything Is Possible (not the Debbie Gibson trak!) is potential stadium material. Her voice is unshielded, dense and emotive. A TRUE Diva who deserves more recognition. Here's hoping that they yield an equivalent to this very soon.

I have been a Heart fan since day one and everything they do impress me, though this CD is still one of my favourite`s. I love the way that the band puts their music and lyric together. It seems that Heart have made a huge impact to my life and I can only say Thanks. My all time favourite song on this CD is WOMEN IN ME even though it is a re make the way the Wilson Sister provide their special blend of emotion and vocal technique makes this song fantastic in every sense of the word. Thanks Heart for providing a fantastic CD. Paul

Great CD. Throughly enjoyed every track. Heart seems to be back to their roots with this album. The CDs they release during the '80's were not up to par with their works during the '70's. However, if you are craving old Heart, buy this CD. (I do not have the import CD. This review refers to the original release.)

This is one of Heart's most powerful CD's. They're back and rocking hard. This albums shows they can still rock after the 80's version of Heart made you think they were just a "pop" band. With tracks like Black On Black II, and Will You Be There, they show theyre rocking and vocal talents. A MUST FOR ANY HEART FAN!

Heart is still amazing after all these years. This C.D I highly recommend. It has great tunes that show off there talent. I look for more from Heart in the coming years. This HEART beats on.

This album is great. I own the U.S. release, The import with the extra tracks and the 2 disc set cd single for "Will You Be There" (U.K. release) it is a great album, the song "Risin' Suspicion was not on the album but is on the cd single I have and it should have been on the album. My favorite tracks are "In Walks The Night", "My Crazy Head", "Anything Is Possible", & "Desire Walks On". I am a die hard HEART fan and have all of their albums on CD. However I am not die hard about their "heavy" songs such as "Barracuda, Black On Black II" and a few others. I do like the songs "Little Queen, Bebe Le Strange, Crazy On You, & Heartless" but I like the softer side of Ann & Nancy which you can find on all of their albums I especially like the "Passionworks" album my favorite three are "Private Audition, Passionworks & Desire Walks On" after watching many interviews and reading articles that Ann & Nancy have been interviewed for they didn't enjoy the fame and fortune for their self titled album, bad animals, & brigade. It was their earlier albums and after seeing them in concert I assume that they didn't prefer Desire Walks On as one of their good albums but it contains music that they wrote with the exception of 2 or 3 songs. The spanish tracks on the imported versions are great, I listen to this CD over and over again, I can't get enough of it!!! Buy it if you find it...took me 3 years to find it and 4 to find Private Audition. Its always the under-rated albums by magazine geeks who don't know a thing about bands nor have any taste in music...thats why they are out of print...that would be an insult to me as a music artist!

Heart released this CD in 1993, and it is one of the last original albums released by Heart. "Back to Avalon" and "Will You Be There" were both released as singles in various countries, and "Will You Be There" enjoyed some measure of success, but "Desire Walks On" did not enjoy the success of previous Heart albums, which is unfortunate because this CD is all Heart and continues their tradition of hard rocking ballads.

The CD opens with an electronically echoed 18 second spoken introduction, which then segues into "Black on Black II." This song contains a "Barracuda"-sounding riff that remains in the song from beginning to end. This song is a hard-rocker, and contains lyrics that could readily fall into thrash rock, and certainly into metal. The style is all Heart, of course, and Annie Wilson's voice is as strong and powerful as it was when Heart first hit the scene in the mid-70s.

"Back to Avalon" is a mellow, but moderately fast song with a strong instrumental backing. This song is solid with solid lyrics, a song not about anything in particular except for a search for Avalon (the earthly Paradise where King Arthur went on his death). The next song opens with strings and synthesizer. Just like the second line in this song says, this is a slow, sultry song. "The Woman in Me" is a song of self-realization. Annie sings that the woman in her is deeper and more complex than anyone (especially a man) has ever seen, touched or realized.

The next song starts with piano, quietly. The title, "Rage," is filled with a hard beat that puts the song into metal realm. The lyrics are relatively simple in this song, relying on the hard driving riffs and drums to communicate the feelings of "Rage." Musically this song is one of the best on this CD.

Sandwiching "Rage" is another relatively quiet song, "In Walks the Night." Listening to the lyrics it is easy to make this song mean the darkness that can enter one's soul, regardless of the source of that darkness. However, the lyrics imply that while the darkness enters from outside, perhaps it is actually generated from within. It may be that by saying the night walks in, the singer is avoiding that her mind is the source of the darkness.

"My Crazy Head" starts with a good solid beat and short-line lyrics that make a good match with the last song. The topic here is love, but also relates to the mental confusion that comes to all of us when emotion and intellect conflict. The lyrics are evocative and clearly communicated and the staccato delivery is well-matched to the solid drum beat.

What modern CD would be complete without a song that transcends eras and genres? In this case "Ring Them Bells" has a folk/country flavor. Heart performs this Bob Dylan song acoustically, with a male vocal lead trading off with Annie Wilson and intermittent harmonies. This simple song seems just a little out of place and contrasts perhaps a little too strongly with the other songs surrounding it.

"Will You Be There" is a trademark rock love song for which Heart is so well known. The musical formula is a Heart fan favorite, and continues the tradition of solid rock backing the powerful vocals of Annie and Nancy Wilson; a worthwhile addition to the greatest hits of Heart.

"Voodoo Doll" has a vaguely voodoo-sounding backbeat beginning. However, the song is a love song and really has nothing to do with voodoo, other than the warning the singer has for a man that she won't be his "Voodoo Doll." "Anything is Possible" begins acoustically. The vocals are quiet and harmonious, a song of hope and possibilities (of course) and love. A brief reprise of "Avalon" is a prelude to the title track, "Desire Walks On," which is another hard rocker.

This version of "Desire Walks On" adds two bonus songs, "Mujer Que Hay en Mi" and "Quedaras (En La Manana)," Spanish language versions of two earlier songs.

Heart breaks little new ground in this CD. It's easy to call this music formulaic, but it is Heart's formula. The music is solid and readily a good addition to any Heart fan's collection. Any fan disillusionment with this music comes not from poor quality, but because we've had this music for more than two decades. It's easy for us to become bored and start to feel that it's just another of the same. However, Heart has had a style all their own for their entire career. While their style has changed direction slightly, it is a known quantity and I suspect that if I played their first CD after listening to "Desire Walks On," the differences I would hear would be in skill and complexity. Nancy and Annie remain true to their artistic roots. Four stars for a solid addition to their musical catalog, and my fervent hope that they continue to make music.

This version CD is a Japanese import. Because the Japanese import varies in price from the domestically available version, I recommend you determine the versions of this CD available before buying and buy the one that best fits your needs.

HEART PLAYS IN THE STYLE OF THE EARLY NINETIES. THERE IS INFLUENCE FROM ROBERT PLANT, MADONNA AND SIMPLE MINDS. THERE IS STILL A LITTLE OF THE VAN HALEN GUITAR, BUT PINK FLOYD LICKS HAVE BEEN THROWN IN.

This CD was originally released in 1993 with 13 tracks. It was 53 minutes long. The newer versions of the CD have two added tracks, Women In Me and Will You Be There, sung in Spanish.

When this album was released in 1993 and Black on Black II was first played on the radio, I thought "WOW! Heart finally got their balls back". During most of the eighties, Heart was more popular for MTV pop music. Their most popular song, These Dreams, was probably their worst.

On this album, Heart moves away from the eighties sounds and follows what was happening in the nineties. The opening track and Desire Walks On sounds like something Madonna would have done at the time (similar to Vogue). Voodoo Doll sounds like a Robert Plant song (Heart were always Led Zeppelin fanatics). Will Be There starts out like a Simple Minds tune.

The biggest problem with this album is that Howard Leese is still playing guitar in the style of Eddie Van Halen, but not as good. That was one of the major problems with the live album Rock This House Live. Forturnately, there is not as much of it on this CD. He also borrows licks from Pink Floyd's The Wall.

The CD starts out strong with a little Madonna-like teaser and then goes into the hard rocking Black On Black II. The fifth track, Rage, is one of the best songs Heart has ever done. It is one of those highly creative songs that made Dreamboat Annie one of the best rock albums of all times.

Back To Avalon is an OK tune, but Heart does it much better live. It is probably the most popular track on the CD.

After Rage, the next four songs are nothing special. I find their version of Dylan's Ring Them Bells to be annoying and probably the weakest part of the CD. Will You Be There has a nice powerful chorus, but the rest of the song doesn't really hold up.

Voodoo Doll is another great rocker (borrowing from Plant) and Desire Walks On is a very good song, even if it is a copy of Madonna's style.

I don't think this CD is quite as good as Heart's first four, but it is certainly better than what they did in the mid and late eighties. But, I am not a fan of their pop music and still think Dreamboat Annie is the best thing ever did.