Hope & Glory (Zoë/Rounder) is billed as Ann Wilson's first solo album, but with nine of 12 tracks featuring artists like her sister Nancy, Elton John, Gretchen Wilson, Rufus Wainwright, and Alison Krauss, among others, it's hard to think of this as truly a solo album. Sure, it's not an official Heart album (the band she and Nancy have fronted for the past thirty-odd years), but I don't think it's quite a solo album. That's okay; it's still going to rock your socks off.
The album is being released on Tuesday, September 11th, which is apropos considering how politicized the Al-Qaeda attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have become. There are several albums of protest music being released on that day, and this is one of them. Wilson has drawn on some of her favorite songs of the past forty years and put together a collection that includes interpretations of classics from John Lennon and Neil Young. It's not an overtly political album, but it does serve to highlight the relevance of these classic songs in the modern world. Wilson says, "I've been itching to make some sort of comment about our times, but I didn't want to do it in a way that was really abrasive and just shouting for the sake of shouting."
I have been a fan of Heart's music since I was a young 'un, but since I've been alive for only thirty of the forty years of music Wilson draws from, I am probably not the best one to judge the quality of her interpretations as they compare with the originals. This allows me to focus on the music for what it is, which is not a bad thing. I suspect that many of my contemporaries will be in the same boat.
Article comments
1 - Douglas Mays
Wow, leave it to Ann Wilson. The gal does have a lot of class. Make a statement without being abrasive. That is the best way to make a statement. The message slips under the door of the opposition....
When the new football stadium for the Seahawks opened here, Ann sang the national anthem. She nailed it! The Star Spangled Banner is a tough one. But she made it sound like her own song. After all these years as a Heart fan (I had the first edition of Dreamboat Annie that had the cloth sticker inside) it was the national anthem that really showed me that the gal really does have it!
A true quality artist and human.
best,
DM
2 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.
3 - Jamie Lelah
While I love Heart. This album isn't all that. It is badly done cover tunes and what is sad is that even Ann's voice sounds a bit shaky on some tunes for this release as well. I would rate is 2 1/2 stars.
4 - Thomas P
Wow, Jamie could not be more wrong. Ann Wilson still has the most powerful voice in rock and roll today - male or female. I challenge anyone to listen to this CD and then listen to the radio and find anyone with half the pipes.
This CD has a few songs I tend to skip over like Jackson. But Immigrant Song and St. Peter just rock like nobody's business.
Ann Wilson is a force of nature. See her live to learn what rock really is.
5 - lamar
May/2010
How did I miss this the past 4.5 years?
Tell me that there is this CD that covers Pink Floyd, Led Zep. and Neil Young tunes and I would be curious but skeptical.
Crisp voice and acoustics! I actually understood the lyrics to Immgrant Song (for the first time). I had to listen to it twice. Thanks for the tip, Vicki. My ears haven't been treated to such a pleasure since the first time I heard "Dreamboat Annie".