Audio CD review:
Heart - Alive in Seattle

Heart - Alive in Seattle

Band: Heart Title: Alive in Seattle Rating: Release Date: 2003-06-10 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Crazy on You - Heart, Wilson, Ann 2: Sister Wild Rose - Heart, Wilson, Ann 3: The Witch - Heart, Rosalie, Gerald 4: Straight On - Heart, Ennis, Sue 5: These Dreams - Heart, Taupin, Bernie 6: Mistral Wind - Heart, Wilson, Ann 7: Alone - Heart, Kelly, Tom [Vocals] 8: Dog and Butterfly - Heart, Ennis, Sue 9: Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters - Heart, John, Elton 10: The Battle of Evermore - Heart, Page, Jimmy 11: Heaven - Heart, Wilson, Ann 12: Magic Man - Heart, Wilson, Ann 13: Two Faces of Eve - Heart, Wilson, Ann 14: Love Alive - Heart, Wilson, Ann 15: Break the Rock - Heart, Wilson, Ann 16: Barracuda - Heart, Fischer, Roger 17: Wild Child - Heart, Lange, Robert John 18: Black Dog - Heart, Page, Jimmy 19: Dreamboat Annie (Reprise) - Heart, Wilson, Ann

Awesome Seattle Show -Alive from the 'Heart' ! Robert Plant could not have had a better female compliment than Annie Wilson covering his 'Battle' and 'Black Dog'. Not only doing their smash classics,but the classic standards of Led Zep and Elton John to boot. Also many of their newer best tunes performed. The Wilson Sisters shine up their old gems and make them sparkle brillantly. Their Seattle show was almost flawless,95% perfect. This is a great live double cd recording,of one of the best classic rock bands still rocking. Don't miss this awesome show! . Still going strong They are still rocking and just keep getting better. I'm a big fan of Heart. This is one of their best,with some old and new this is a great CD. If you are a fan of Heart, I recommend this, you won't be disappointed. The DEFINITIVE LIVE VERSIONS of Heart's Classics! " These tunes were unfortunately left out of their awesome 2004 release, Jupiter's Darlings, but they can still be heard here in their gloriousness!! Wow! A Definite MUST BUY!!. This 2 CD set is chock full of Heart's greatest songs but this is not a typical live recording, this is the DEFINITIVE LIVE VERSIONS!! They have reached the heights of their talent on this LIVE CD set by doing the unthinkable! They have surpassed their original recordings and created something even more awesome! Let me just say that ANN WILSON has NEVER SOUNDED BETTER! Her singing on songs like "Love Alive" can twist my spine!! Not only does this CD contain their live classics, but it also contains some never before heard tunes and covers! Their cover of "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" by Elton John is amazingly perfect and their cover of Zep's "Battle of Evermore" proves their Queens of Rock status! New songs included are: an awesomely seductive song entitled "Heaven" (I particularly like the line : Hold on strong to me! Let me show you Let me show yow how sweet the strong can be! Wow!) also included are "Sister Wild Rose" and "Break The Rock. Heart Sisters Deliver This is a passionate performance and it is obvious that they are having a blast. Anne and Nancy Wilson prove in this five star performance that they still have it. Anne's voice is a little on the raspy side, as one reviewer complained, but I am into vocals that sound a bit gritty. Bonnie Rait has always had a raspy voice and that is part of its charm. Anne nails every song vocally with total command . The song set at this show was top shelf, including wonderful performances of their hits, along with "Minstral Wind", "Love Alive", and some new material (well, new to them at the time of the show) that hold its own with the Heart classics. I enjoyed the acoustic set that includes "Alone" (originally recorded by the band, i-Ten), and a powerful take on Zepplin's "Battle of Evermore" where Nancy breaks out the mandolin. The most fun in this performance is "Black Dog", done as part of their encore. Zepplin purists may cringe at the idea of these ladies taking on this classic, but I must say, they nailed it. Anne's vocals are Plantesque. The guitar tones are so close to the sound of Page's guitar that if you heard this and was told that Anne Wilson sang lead with Jimmy Page, you might believe it. The audience appeared stunned at first, as the band rocked hard through this classic. Wow! Alright, now for the down side for me. The audio mix is weak. There is a tinny shrill in the ways Anne's vocals were either recorded, or compressed in the mix. The drums sound light, like drums sound on a weak studio mix of a pop song. Nancy's guitar sounds pretty good, but the lead guitar is barely audible at times, even during solos. These sound guys that feel the need to completely separate two guitars into left and right channels drive me nuts. That is not how it sounded at the show, I'm sure. The guitars at the show fill the room with power and guts. But, for us experiencing this concert at home, we get the left and right separation, which at times, washes out a great lead guitar riff. If you mix guitars 60-40 or 70-30 left-right, you still hear that the performers are on different sides of the stage, without the feeling that they are on opposite sides of the stage, when the guitars are recorded 100-0 left-right. Quit doing that! So, bottom line is this is a five-star show with a three-star sound, and overall a four-star review. Still rockin after all these years No icon today can hit those high notes (especially in a rock & roll environment),not McCartney,Fleetwood Mac,or Elton, but Nancy comes pretty close and that's what the audiance waits to hear and they weren't disappointed. You have to give credit to these talented sisters who may not be as limber as when they were in their prime, but considering 30 years has passed since their first hit, they're pretty close. I view this as a throwback in time. It was enjoyable to watch and remember a time when I was young. It was a better time. There are no bands out today that sing with so much passion, only anger and that's pretty sad. Those that critique this as why Mike Inez would play with a bunch of old ladies, obviously their talent drew him to the gig. That what makes a great musician even better and he did kick the sound up a notch. Besides, Ozzy is certainly nowhere to where he once was (and I really enjoyed Black Sabbath at one time). Mike sure looked like he was having fun on the DVD version and that's what being a musician is all about. All of us continue to age and I think to be able to enjoy what you do and still be able to share that with others is a good thing. Thanks Ann and Nancy. . You can see a complete list of all Heart discography, or go back to the Heart tabs