Retro Spins: Heart - Bébé le Strange

Heart
Bébé le Strange
1980

Heart's self titled 1985 album is really my era of the band. Sure, I know the hits from the 70's, but that one moment from the middle of the decade, with its consistent airplay, was my introduction the the group, and the moment in time which sticks with me the most. However, I want to rectify that, and spread out a bit furhter into their four decade career.

My first stop is the 1980 album, Bébé le Strange.

Because it was recorded in 1979, it's no surprise that overall it has a very 70's vibe to it. The band was still cemented in what would soon be known as "classic rock"* roots. Very guitar heavy riffs, pounding drums and jamming bass. All of this, of course, backed up by the powerful voice of Ann Wilson, backed up by her sister Nancy.

*The term classic rock was first used on the air by KRBE-AM (Houston) in 1983. Program director Paul Christy designed the format to play only early album rock, from the 1960s and early 1970s, without any current music or Top 40 material.

From the album, I really only knew the title track, Bébé le Strange. I first heard it on the 1980 Greatest Hits / Live cassette which my sister owned. Whether or not the album contained any other tracks from the album, I don't recall.

I appreciate the album for what it was - Good old fashioned classic rock, but overall, I'm not really swayed one way or the other to make any type of decision on whether or not it makes me more or less of a Heart fan than I already am. There weren't any tracks on it which I would call "bad", but there also weren't any others beyond Bébé le Strange itself which had what I call "re-listen-ablity" to it.

Even It Up and Raised On You did stand out among all the other tracks. However, again, not feeling that re-listen-ability factor in them. They were just okay.

I'll need to make my way through a few more Heart albums before I can really make a definitive decision on where I stand with the band.

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