Customer Reviews

Heart On

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let me start out by saying that I've been a Josh Homme Advocate for several years now. My Love for Queens of the Stone Age and all their related works (the Dessert Sessions and such) eventually led me to "Peace Love and Death Metal". It was such a raw and pure return to rock that I really came to love it for its stripped down approach to steady drum beats and twangy guitar riffs. It was the kind of thing that can get the ladies movin and the guys rockin. the Follow up album "Death By Sexy" was the next evolution of the same head banging, rump shaking, rock driven tracks, with more elaborate and edgy solos. I highly recommend checking them out.

But let me get to "Heart On", Of the 3 albums to date, "Heart On" is by far the most widely accessible album to the general rock going audience. THIS DOES NOT IN ANY WAY MEAN THAT IT IS A MEDIOCRE COLLECTION OF MUSIC!!! Quite the opposite, right from the get go "anything 'cept the truth" starts it off with an anthem-like presence and arena filling guitars all backed by solid breaks and rolls on the drum kit, and a courageous dose of hand claps to keep the beat.

Without trying to break down every track i will say that for the most part you can listen to this album straight through with out much disappointment. Its definitely more polished than the first 2 albums and a bit more mellow. All around, it is a very well produced rock album that takes a fresh spin on and revitalizes classic rock sounds.

My personal highlights are "Anything 'cept The Truth", "(I Used to couldn't dance) Tight Pants", "Secret Plans", "Now I'm a Fool", "Heart On", "Cheap Thrills", "prissy prancin", and "I'm your torpedo".

Bottom line, ROCK FANS - GET THIS ALBUM!!!

I was really looking forward to this album. I thought their previous album "Death By Sexy" was incredibly rocking. I recommend that album over this one. I think "Heart On" lacks what made the EODM so cool in the first place; that raw, garage-style good old-fashioned rock n' roll. To me, the production on this CD is too close to the Queens of the Stone Age. I love the Queens, and I realize Josh Homme is in both groups (Jesse Hughes is NOT in Queens), but on the previous 2 albums I thought Josh really used the Eagles to express his love of more good-time, sparsely produced, groovy rock and kept the Queens to himself. Also with this CD, I think the overall songwriting quality is not quite up to par with the first 2 discs.

There are a few decent tunes that stand out and sound like they could have come from either one of the first 2 (better) albums.

Track 2 - "Wanna Be In LA" is the first single, and has a great groove and really captures what I believe to be the group's strong points. This single led me to believe that the rest of the album would be in the same vein.

Track 5 - "Secret Plans" is another uptempo hooky, fun song that is what the Eagles do best. Could/should be their 2nd single??

Track 7 - "Heart On" another great groove. Kinda quirky sounding, but is pretty darn catchy. I WISH the radio sounded this good!

Other than those 3 tracks, I can't get really excited about anything else here. I love the Eagles, and feel they are one of the most unique and genuine groups out there today and hope they keep going strong. This, however, isn't their best effort. For good time rockin' I recommend their 2nd disc "Death By Sexy" over this.

The album starts out with solid songs that are as good as anything on the first two albums. With the third song (I used To Couldn't Dance)it becomes hit and miss. Of the twelve songs I kept five on my iPod compared to eight songs each from Death By Sexy and Peace Love Death Metal. The first two albums are much more consistent. For your reference the songs I kept are:
1. Anything 'cept The Truth
2. Wannabe in L.A.
3. Secret Plans
4. Now I'm a Fool
5. Heart On

Hopefully this has been helpful for you.

At first I hated it outright thought it was a piece of Sh** then after a few listens it brought back the smile of Peace,Love and Death Metal. A must get for any EDM fans might be hard to get into if a first time fan but if you love the sex rock genre I feel its de crem de la crem.

Straight out of the gate, Heart On--the most recent album from Eagles of Death Metal--starts rocking. Released fall 2008, the album packs punches of two to four minute blasts of alcohol, sex, and testosterone-tinged rock and roll with calculated reckless abandon. Heart On successfully blends the old-school rock of bands such as The Rolling Stones and Canned Heat with the quirky, upbeat parts of Queens of the Stone Age mixed in with a dash of R&B and funk elements for extra flavor.

Heart On has a lot to offer fans as well as people who are new to the band. For example, the songwriting is more varied than in previous efforts, opening the band up to a wider demographic and showing those already familiar with their brand of rock another side to their music. With the greater exercise in creative freedom, the band's R&B and funk influences are fleshed out a tad more than they've been before, and the slight change of musical scenery is a welcome twist. Moreover, the instrumentation seems to differ a little more, but if it isn't a difference of instruments, it's an innovative take on the tried and true elements of the band's sound. Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme do a good job of keeping the guitars sounding fresh with each song on this album, which was a point of contention for me when listening to previous offerings. In the end, the music makes me want to dance, and I'm a guy who doesn't dance. When listening to the album, I find myself shaking my butt to the catchy guitars and drumbeats so ladies and guys alike might find something to get out to the dance floor for.

When listening to Heart On, I don't have many complaints. Honestly, the only beef with the product I can even muster doesn't bother me that much. On the first two albums, it seemed EoDM was Hughes' band guided by the well-meaning hand of Josh Homme. Now, however, Homme appears to be taking a much more hands-on approach with songwriting and production. Whether this is bad or not will depend on the listener because some may deem this album to have too much of a Queens of the Stone Age feel, but personally, I enjoyed the change.

The overall experience with this album was pretty fulfilling, and I'd highly recommend it. Essentially, it's adolescent rock that is trying to grow up and happens to contain some adult themes (SEX!). The music was meant for boys and young men, but older guys may want to check it out to hear a new take on some good ol' rock & roll. Oh, yeah, the girls are invited, too.

this is simply put a splendid example of hard independent american rock. Of course some of the best songs (Wannabe in LA, secret missions) are remakes of a song such as Solid Gold but that does not take away their sheer energy and enthusiastic playing. Overall the songwriting is solid and has improved. Strong production values associated with hard rocking songs make this one of the best rfecords thus far this year. Of course it is not death metal-It has much more humour also than the rather serious projects that Josh Homme is usually associated with soch as the Queens of the Stone Age, etc.

The Eagles of Death Metal may not serve up tunes in the genre alluded to in their name, but they've certainly made some of the catchiest rock songs of the past few years. That legacy continues with Heart On. The sound of the EoDM hasn't undergone a sea change since the release of Death by Sexy, but Heart On demonstrates a band expanding the horizons of their craft. Most notable are the improvement in production quality and the versatility the band demonstrates from track to track.
Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme have made a spectacular album that will defy listeners to forget the myriad hooks on display here. Although I was at first hesitant to rate this album as the equal of Peace, Love, Death Metal and Death by Sexy, the record quickly grew on me and rose nearly to the top of my "most played" listing. Heart On is a dynamic album that marks yet another achievement for Hughes, Homme, and company.

After sorta laughing at the joke that was Peace Love Death Metal but then never really listening to it, I wasn't planning on buying Heart On - that kitschy swagger title, that artwork of Hommes and co-band mate Jesse Hughes in full 80's butt rock attire made me think it was more - and more extreme versions - of the same stoner joke. Then I heard it in a cd store and found myself dancing and clapping along - just a little - to the opening song "Anything `Cept The Truth." Heart On seemed to be onto something that Peace Love only hinted at - this music could be as fun for us as it was for Hommes and Hughes. "Anything `Cept The Truth" is a song of bravado like any of their previous works, but about a man proudly displaying how full of s*** he is - something that makes it remarkably more honest than the rest of their catalogue. Even more than that, songs like "Now I'm a Fool" and "How Can A Man With So Many Friends Feel So Alone" are plenty full of LA doofisness, but are also actually sorta sad. Could this be the high school fantasy where the high schooler finds himself inexplicably heartbroken?

Sometimes, and that only aides the feeling of rock discovery with Heart On, which could have added the words "your sleeve" to that title if it would've still been funny. Instead, the title track and record have a great deal in common - they're jangly, economical beasts of heart, humor, and excitement. In fact, the albums missteps are its "typical" Eagles of Death Metal songs - "Prissy Prancin'" and the masturbation anthem "Solo Flights" that are humor without the bite. It doesn't matter though - surrounded by tracks like "High Voltage," "Cheap Thrills," and climaxing with "I'm Your Torpedo," this is the rock record that earns actual bravado instead of just dresses up in it for laughs. Plus it gets the laughs too.

"What good's a heart if it ain't on your sleeve" asks the usually more..errr..."carnal", EODM frontman Jesse "the devil" Hughes on the title track from the band's most recent, raucous release "Heart On." The question posed by the musical tag team of Hughes and Josh Homme (of QOTSA fame) marks a turn toward more honest songwriting for the duo; less stiletto and more substance. But don't fear faithful listeners, while the songs on "Heart On" tend to have a more polished, SoCal- mellow groove, your favorite smut and strut band is not about to trade in their whiskey and porn 'staches for soy chai lattes and eyeliner any time soon. With songs that feature crunching guitars going both ways down a one way street, intros soaked in the swagger of The Stones, and addictively cool and campy lyrics ("I wanna be the showpiece of the nasty boy collection"), EODM prove that they can take their music seriously without taking themselves too seriously."Heart On" is full of double meanings, from the snickering title to the intertwined sounds of the songs themselves, EODM prove that they have what it takes to get your blood moving. With this latest release, the band has learned that they can send your blood brainward on occasion without losing their grip on your hips.

Even better than Death by Sexy - if that is possible... You won't be disappointed!