On Beautiful Broken, Heart decide to tread a path well worn by vintage rockers: revisiting their catalog.
This is an exercise often fraught with peril. That said, while Ann and Nancy Wilson do stumble, they've learned from predecessors' mistakes. Seven of these ten cuts were previously recorded, but none are considered Heart standards.
Thankfully, they left the classics alone. The two new songs are uniformly excellent additions to the catalog.
Co-produced by Nancy Wilson and bassist Dan Rothchild, the set kicks off with the rocking title track single, which was included as a bonus track on 2012's Fanatic.
Metallica's James Hetfield adds his gruff baritone and some new lyrics too. The riff is classic Heart and the juxtaposition of Ann's clear, soaring alto with Hetfield's throaty roar works.
"Two" is a cover of a new Ne-Yo song. Sung by Nancy (in inspired voice) with Ann backing, its first half is fueled by piano and a B-3, before a Moog bassline, synth strings, and electric guitars build it into a midtempo rocker.
Ann's "Sweet Darlin'" (from Bebe le Strange) features an enormous string chart by Paul Buckmaster inspired by the sessions he did with Elton John in the early '70s.
Her voice rises above the swelling violins, violas, cellos, piano, and drums. "I Jump," another new tune, also gets the orchestral treatment, but the counterpoint between strings and dissonant, Led Zeppelin-esque riffing in the refrain cleverly offsets the sweetness in the verses.
This set marks the first time that "Heaven" has appeared on a studio album. Opening with a bowed acoustic guitar that sounds like a sarod, it's a meld of new age, folk, and East Indian open-tuned drone throughout the intro.
When the drums and electric slide guitars wind in and Ann Wilson lets her thunderous voice out of the gate, it's plodding stadium rock greatness.
"Down on Me," from Bebe le Strange, was originally a scorching, theatrical blues-rocker. It's been slowed here with a syncopated backbeat. The blues feel remains but is tempered by a fine soul tinge in Ann's delivery.
Some tracks just don't work: the new version of "City's Burning" has been slowed and funked up, but schmaltzy strings water down the backbone riff.
"Johnny Moon" and "Language of Love" are messy, unfocused "kitchen sink" approaches that can't decide what they want to be. Beautiful Broken could have used more uptempo tracks to balance out the ballads; they would have added dimension to an intriguing album.
This is obviously not meant to attract new fans, but one to re-engage longstanding ones.
It's a mixed bag, but its experimentation works more often than not, while the new songs suggest Heart's creativity is undiminished. [Beautiful Broken Review by Thom Jurek]
Track listing
1. Beautiful Broken (original version on the Fanatic deluxe edition) - 2:25
Bass, Backing Vocals, Synthesizer [Additional] – Dan Rothchild
Drums – Ben Smith
Guitar – Craig Bartock
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Nancy Wilson
Synthesizer – Chris Joyner
Vocals – Ann Wilson
Vocals, Backing Vocals – James Hetfield
Written-By – Ann Wilson, Ben Mink, James Alan Hetfield, Nancy Wilson
2. Two - 4:23
Arranged By [Keys] – Sam Bush
Backing Vocals, Flute – Ann Wilson
Bass [Moog bass], Organ [Hammond B3], Backing Vocals, Piano [Additional] – Dan Rothchild
Drums – Ben Smith
Piano, Synthesizer – Chris Joyner
Vocals, Guitar, Backing Vocals – Nancy Wilson
Written-By – Adam "Royal Z" Waldman, Jesse "Corporal" Wilson, Shaffer "Ne-Yo" Smith
3. Sweet Darlin' (original version on Bébé le Strange) - 3:52
Acoustic Guitar, 12-String Acoustic Guitar – Craig Bartock
Arranged By [Strings] – Paul Buckmaster
Bass – Dan Rothchild
Concertmaster – Peter Kanyurszky
Conductor – Peter Illényi
Drums, Percussion – Ben Smith
Guitar – Nancy Wilson
Piano – Chris Joyner
Strings – Hungarian Studio Orchestra
Vocals – Ann Wilson
Written-By – Ann Wilson
4. I Jump - 3:52
Arranged By [Strings] – Paul Buckmaster
Backing Vocals – Nancy Wilson
Bass, Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar, Backing Vocals – Dan Rothchild
Concertmaster – Peter Kanyurszky
Conductor – Peter Illényi
Drums – Ben Smith
Electric Piano [Wurlitzer], Organ [Hammond B3], Piano, Synthesizer – Chris Joyner
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Craig Bartock
Strings – Hungarian Studio Orchestra
Vocals – Ann Wilson
Written-By – Ann Wilson, Dan Rothchild, Nancy Wilson
5. Johnny Moon (original version on Passionworks) - 4:15
Bass, Backing Vocals, Lap Steel Guitar, Percussion, Other [Textures] – Dan Rothchild
Drums, Percussion – Ben Smith
Guitar, 12-String Acoustic Guitar – Craig Bartock
Guitar, Marxophone, Backing Vocals – Nancy Wilson
Other [Additional Textures] – Ken Sluiter
Piano – Chris Joyner
Vocals – Ann Wilson
Written-By – Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Sue Ennis
6. Heaven (original version on Alive in Seattle) - 5:23
7. City's Burning (original version on Private Audition) - 3:50
8. Down on Me (original version on Bébé le Strange) - 5:12
Bass – Dan Rothchild
Drums, Percussion – Ben Smith
Guitar – Craig Bartock, Nancy Wilson
Synthesizer – Chris Joyner
Vocals – Ann Wilson
Written-By – Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Sue Ennis
9. One Word (original version on Private Audition) N. Wilson - 3:33
10. Language of Love"(original version on Passionworks) - 3:34
Acoustic Guitar, Autoharp, Backing Vocals, Handclaps, Other [Whispers] – Nancy Wilson
Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals – Craig Bartock
Arranged By [Strings] – Paul Buckmaster
Bass, Backing Vocals, Percussion, Handclaps – Dan Rothchild
Concertmaster – Peter Kanyurszky
Conductor – Peter Illényi
Drums, Percussion – Ben Smith
Organ [Hammond B3], Electric Piano [Wurlitzer] – Chris Joyner
Other [Textures] – Ken Sluiter
Strings – Hungarian Studio Orchestra
Vocals – Ann Wilson
Written-By – Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Sue Ennis
Heart
- Ann Wilson – vocals (tracks 1, 3–10); background vocals (tracks 2, 7); autoharp (track 6)
- Nancy Wilson – guitar (tracks 1–3, 5, 7, 8); background vocals (tracks 1, 2, 4–7, 10); vocals (tracks 2, 9); marxophone (track 5); bowed acoustic guitar (track 6); acoustic guitar (tracks 7, 10); autoharp, handclaps, whispers (track 10)
- Ben Smith – drums (all tracks); percussion (tracks 3, 5–10); claps, snaps (track 9)
- Craig Bartock – guitars (tracks 1, 4–8); acoustic guitar (tracks 3, 9, 10); 12-string acoustic guitar (tracks 3, 5); background vocals (tracks 4, 10); percussive guitar, claps, snaps (track 9)
- Chris Joyner – synthesizers (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9); piano (tracks 2–5); Wurlitzer (tracks 4, 7, 9, 10); Hammond B3 (tracks 4, 10); field organ, nylon-string guitar (track 9)
- Dan Rothchild – bass (tracks 1, 3, 4–8, 10); background vocals (tracks 1, 5–7, 10); additional synthesizer (tracks 1, 9); Moog bass (tracks 2, 6); Hammond B3, additional piano (track 2); background vocals (tracks 2, 4); guitar (track 4); acoustic guitar (tracks 4, 6); lap steel guitar (tracks 4, 5); percussion (tracks 5, 7, 10); textures (track 5); upright bass (tracks 6, 9); additional guitar (track 7); handclaps (track 10)
Additional musicians
- James Hetfield – vocals, background vocals (track 1)
- Paul Buckmaster – string arrangement (tracks 3, 4, 7, 10)
- Hungarian Studio Orchestra – strings (tracks 3, 4, 7, 10)
- Péter Illényi – conducting
- Péter Kanyurszky – concertmaster
- Ken Sluiter – additional textures (track 5); claps, snaps (track 9); textures (track 10)
- Billy Mims – claps, snaps (track 9)
- Dwight Mikkelsen – copyist
Technical
- Dan Rothchild – production
- Nancy Wilson – production
- Ken Sluiter – engineering, mixing
- Bill Mims – additional engineering
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
- Gentry Studer – mastering assistance
- Chris Claypool – engineering assistance
- Geoff Neal – engineering assistance
- Greg Fidelman – additional engineering (James Hetfield's vocals)
- Kurina Tamás – strings recording
Notes
Released: Jul 8, 2016
Recorded: Studio Sunset Sound (Hollywood, California) / Tom-Tom (Budapest, Hungary)
Genre: Rock
Style: Hard Rock
Length: 40:19
Produced: Dan Rothchild, Nancy Wilson
Label - Concord Records
