Customer Reviews

Private Audition/Passionworks

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

 

 

LOVE these girls, love their immense talent, love their music, their influences and their contributions to music as well as to WOMEN in music! So here you have 'em, "Private Audition" and "Passionworks" TOGETHER in one beautiful package, REMASTERED! Though "Private Audition" didn't fare too well with the record buying public, I don't know; it's everything a Heart CD would boast and MORE. Makes no sense to me. Same for "Passionworks;" another great CD that just didn't fare well commerically. It's SO GOOD to hear my favorite, "City's Burning," in full, glorious, remastered sound along with some of my other faves which include the title cut, "This Man Is Mine," "Angels," "America" and (from Passionworks) "How Can I Refuse," and the creepy, "Johnny Moon." These two albums represent the last of the first incarnation of Heart which would, by only two years, predate the next incarnation on Capitol which would be extremely successful and give new life to a (at that time) fading Classic Rock band. The vocals (Ann) are killer (as always) and Nancy's as well as the rest of the band's musicianship and Rock sensibility are in peak form despite the resulting low chart numbers and poor sales. These two albums are as thematic and as creative as anything else they have recorded throughout the 70's. When I saw "City's Burning" on MTV (which wasn't even the single released from Private Audition,) I was blown away! Had it actually have been the first single, I bet it would have resulted in at least a Platinum album. Though both recordings are good, it's funny how each one has its own high/weak musical moments. It's bizarre. From "Private Audition," the first single, "This Man Is Mine," seems out of place (kind of like "Heart meets Motown") and from "Passionworks," "Allies," the second single, is a weak attempt at a Classic Rock band trying to create an anthem which didn't work. Though a beautiful melody coupled with excellent singing, the fault lies in its corny lyrics. It was like something that Journey or even Meatloaf might have attempted (and produced by Jonathan Cain incidentally,) but not quite right for Heart as they tend to go much deeper than that. Fortunately, their real "anthem" came two years later with "What About Love," which propelled the band once again to the upper reaches of the Rock and Pop charts! Good job, ladies!!! xo

These tracks are unique yet familiar, and are valiant efforts to keep moving forward after the (ahem, break-up) so to speak with a certain guitarist and his beloved instruments. Timing the delivery of bad news is everything. Trashing a guitar on stage for being out-of-tune after being dumped is probably about par for the artistic-temperament and wounded hearts of some great artists.

This double shot by Heart contains two of their least popular albums, Private Audition and Passionworks. I got this because I'm a big fan of the band and wanted to have all their albums. This release got the 2 I listen to the least out of the way at once. Citys Burning is the highlight of this set. There are much better Heart albums, such as Little Queen, the self-titled album, Bad Animals, Dreamboat Annie and even Magazine.

These albums mark a transitional point in Heart's long career. Private Audition (1982) was recorded at a time when the original lineup was disintegrating, and the songwriting was very uneven. There are a couple of good hard rock tracks, City's Burning and The Situation, along with some nice ballads like One Word. But the Vaudeville-influenced title track is nearly unlistenable, and several other songs seem completely out of place. On Passionworks (1983), Heart had a new lineup, and was evolving toward the mellower sound that enabled them to achieve a major comeback in the mid-1980s. This album was more musically consistent, but the songwriting was not up to the same level that it would be on subsequent albums like Heart, Bad Animals, and Brigade.

CD is good. I wish I had heard some of it's songs before I bought it. I like it but it isn't my favorite HEART - CD music.

two highly under-rated Heart albums - the remaster sounds great. The seller delivered item quickly - good service