Heart
Little Queen

THE REVIEW

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!"