Quote:
Originally Posted by On Ice
Passionworks certainly is a lost album of the 80s, I'm surprised that with the success of the self titled album it didn't get a second chance. How Can I Refuse was on the set list at the Heart tour and I remember in '85 it was well received by the audience. Allies, now, I would say is a better song than the wonderful Alone and is powerhouse Ann Wilson. The one weakness I would say is the weird drum effects which make the album slightly dated sounding but in retrospect, it deserved a lot more attention than it got. I really enjoyed it at the time, but it was evident Heart had changed as a band and there was no going back.
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A-men. Allies is the better song and really displays Ann's powerhouse vocals. Its a power ballad with the crashing drums and guitars along with the beautiful piano. It always drove me nuts how such an incredible song did not break through the charts. There are a few videos of Heart performing these songs live in 1983. They sound exactly like the record. No trickery just real singing and real playing.
I must say I love the album cover too. The title is a favorite too. I remember Heart was not bringing big crowds in 1983. They did arena tours with Kansas and the arenas were not full. On my local rock station WDVE Pittsburgh, the Wilson sisters appeared in the studio to promote the show. They flipped a coin in the studio to see who would open the show and Heart opened the show for Kansas. OMG think about that. Things were about to change with #1 album, song and a sold out tour in a few more years. However the Wilson sisters felt they sort of sold out for their success with performing other people's songs, embracing the glam Vixen look of the 80s, etc. In some way Passionworks was an end to a Heart era.
I so agree with your point. People fawned over Ann with her power ballad Alone performance. I too was like, has anyone not heard Allies?