At this point, I don't know if when I reviewed Heart's Private Audition (1982), and Passionworks (1983), if I knew I hadn't yet listened to their final 80's album, 1987's Bad Animals. Regardless, I'm here today to wrap up my 80's journey with the band.
Bad Animals continued the group's mainstream sound, and subsequent success, of their 1985 self titled release. With it, came additional Billboard Hot 100 hits, Who Will You Run To (7), There's The Girl (12), I Want You So Bad (49), and their number one hit, Alone. Many don't seem to realize that the latter actually wasn't a song by Heart. Instead, it was written and recorded by i-Ten, released on their 1983 album, Taking A Cold Look. I may have to review that one tomorrow, just to kind of bring things full circle.
The problem that I had with Bad Animals was that it kind of blew its whole box of tricks right from the start. The above noted hits came back, to back with all four of them essentially wrapping up the majority of what would be considered side A of the record.
The issue from there is that the rest of the album isn't as noteworthy. In fact, it's rather forgettable. While Ann Wilson's vocals are as powerful as ever, they simply aren't enough to shine up mediocracy. I kept finding myself wanting to add tracks to my shuffle list when I would hear a power note, but frankly, I'm glad I reserved myself from doing so. As I type this, those songs have come and gone, and I frankly couldn't even tell you what they sounded like at this point.
I won't say I'm shocked by this. Heart has always been a group that I know and like the hits from. However, from there, I rarely find anything worth revisiting. That's not to say that they're a bad band. They're just not one I'm necessarily going to be a superfan of. I won't deny their a legendary band, and iconic. That's why ultimately for me they hold their place in the 70's and 80's, and fill a necessary space in my collection that would otherwise be incomplete without them.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 30, 1983 |
 |
| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS July 30, 1988 |
No comments:
Post a Comment