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Rating: Among the most important hard rock bands of the '70s, the band of the charismatic Wilson sisters cannot certainly be forgotten. They left an important mark in the history of American music, ranging in hard rock and shifting towards a powerful AOR from the '80s until today. Growing up in the same room in a small house in South Carolina, Ann and Nancy picked up guitars at around eight years old and never put them down. Besides a close and indestructible friendship, they cultivated a love for music and their favorite band: Led Zeppelin. In 1970, thanks to a relationship with guitarist Mike Fisher, Ann joined the band Heart, bringing her sister Nancy as the lead singer only in 1974. Thanks to these girls, the band finally managed to achieve success after years of complete anonymity: fame came, and so did money. Their first hit single was "Crazy On You," taken from the album "Dreamboat Annie," which has sold millions of copies to date.
But the most famous album remains Little Queen, perhaps precisely because of the fantastic opening song, Barracuda, which I would dare to say is the most beautiful and famous song of the band: the riff is incredibly powerful, and Nancy's voice is nothing short of astonishing.
The most noticeable thing when listening to Little Queen is their already mentioned love for Led Zeppelin. The Wilsons would later claim to have been captivated by how the Led alternated electric tracks with acoustic ones and were always fascinated by the mandolin sounds in songs such as Tangerine. Listening to the songs Love Alive, Sylvan Song and the fantastic Dream Of The Archer, one could almost say it was the old Page behind the guitar or that the mandolin section was assigned to John Paul Jones... only the voice doesn't deceive because, of course, Nancy's is much higher than Sir Robert's. But just like in every respectable Zeppelin album, the protagonist guitar is always the electric one: with the rock'n'roll Kick It Out, Wilson and Fisher pick them up again, then making way for the fantastic title track. Little Queen is a piece with speed: a powerful hard rock with plenty of breaks and revivals, all seasoned with the singer's incredible vocal talent. The mood quickly shifts from energetic to melancholic and sweet: Treat Me Well is a very sad and anguished acoustic ballad that knows how to give great emotions with every listen: besides being played with passion, the musicians demonstrate their technical skills. Completely different is Say Hello, which, alongside the following Cry To Me, hearkens back to acoustics and mandolins, creating a magical atmosphere that transports you to a medieval world, much like the one depicted on the cover, where minstrels and troubadours roam in caravans through that sad and dark world, entertaining people with their deeds.
The closing track Go On Cry is more current, pure rock, captivating and exceptionally haunting, starting with a faint guitar intro by Ann, building up to an explosive rhythmic collaboration: a more than perfect closure for an album that is anything but trivial.
This album is made for those who love hard rock, for those who love Led Zeppelin, for those who love mystery and are fascinated by the past, for those who are sensitive and know how to be moved "in the deep of his... Heart!"
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Barracuda (04:23)
So this ain't the end- I saw you again - today
I had to turn my heart away
You smiled like the sun- kisses for everyone
And tales- it never fails!
You're lying so low in the weeds
I bet you're gonna ambush me
You'd have me down, down, down, down on my knees
Now wouldn't you, barracuda?
OH!
Back over time when we were all trying for free
You met the porpoise and me
No right, no wrong, you're selling a song- a name
Whisper game
And if the real thing don't do the trick
You better make up something quick
You gonna burn, burn, burn, burn, burn it to the wick
Ooooh, barracuda!
OH!
'Sell me sell you' the porpoise said
Dive down deep down, deeper than
You.. I think that you got the blues too
All that night and all the next
Swam without looking back
Made for the western pools- silly, silly fools!
The real thing don't do the trick, no?
You better make up something quick
You gonna burn, burn, burn, burn, burn it to the wick
Ahh, barra- barracuda!
05 Kick It Out (02:45)
Out of the street- get on home
tail shaking filly running on her own
they say she got loose on the night she was born
cranking it up in a school zone
'kick it out- kick it out!' she said
'kick out your motor and drive
while you're still alive- kick it out!'
sitting in a bar in a seaside town
sweet little love getting high getting down
sailors see her running along the beach
laugh and jump out of reach
wild music blowing in her mane
she needs a bareback rider won't give her no pain
a hard racy game of give and take
leaves them dazed- half crazed- in her wake
'kick it out- kick it out!' she said
'kick out your motor and drive
while you're still alive- kick it out!'
06 Little Queen (05:13)
You'd rather have wine than gin
Only the finest by your skin
Always running after time - catching
You're fancy with rhyme
Shining on the front page again
Hot on the presses today - little queen
Making your passion play - little queen
Nobody knows your melancholy mind -
Little queen
Away from the sellers, the papers said
Your crown was tight and heavy on your head
Still you danced and you sang - all night
The telephone rang
Music kept on playing from your pen.
Hot on the presses today - little queen
Making your passion play - little queen
Nobody knows your melancholy mind -
Little queen
Raining raining- he knows your soul ain't free
Raining raining- he feels you little queen
Slipping away with your gypsy band
Hot on your music and playing a winning hand
He was standing in the line, thinking how you
Moved his mind
Feeling like he held you in his hand
07 Treat Me Well (03:24)
Well I have lost some time but I have won
And if you make it through
You know you've just begun
The winter cold is coming
And the fire will soon be burning
So will you treat me well
Oh, will you treat me well?
And I am asking will you save a place for me
To rest beside your heart
And feel I'm free
Now what good does feeling strong do
When I am here without you?
So will you treat me well
Oh well, will you treat me well?
08 Say Hello (03:37)
I'd like to know when you will say hello
When will it be I'd like to see you know
When will you change your mind and say hello?
Something is sending all sensations high
Someone is calling clearly to you now
Look for the one who will not say good-bye
Say hello
Say hello
Say hello to all your secret light inside
Build up your fire, take a ride I know
There'll be a night when you won't want to hide
Say hello
Say hello
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