Search - Heart :: Definitive Collection

Outstanding compilation of tracks

PaulB | Saskatoon, SK Canada | 04/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first thing I would like to address on this Dutch import
is the actual number of tracks on this album. There are 18
tracks on this album, not 17 as listed by Amazon.com's listing
for this album. The correct sequence of the album tracks is
as follows: 1. Barracuda 4:23
2. Little Queen 5:13
3. Kick It Out 2:47
4. Dream of The Archer 4:31
5. Cry To Me 2:52
6. Love Alive 4:16
7. Dog & Butterfly 5:20
8. Straight On 5:08
9. Lighter Touch 5:03
10. Nada One 5:21
11. Even It Up 5:08
12. Sweet Darlin 3:16
13. This Man Is Mine 2:58
14. Perfect Stranger 3:51
15. Tell It Like It Is 4:29
16. How Can I Refuse 3:53
17. Allies 4:44
18. Johnny Moon 4:00
____________________________
Total Time 77:13 This release covers a period running from their debut album up to the
time before the release of their self-titled album in 1985. Heart, has
been referred to the female answer to Led Zeppelin, and it's easy to
see why. The guitar licks and the hard rock/heavy metal sound
resemblance of course, and also the use of mandolins. While this is a good collection of classic Heart tracks, I have a
problem calling it the Definitive Collection since it is covering
only a small fraction of their time in the business. Essential tracks
like Magic Man, Crazy on You, Dreamboat Annie, Never, Alone, What
About Love, and These Dreams found on other Heart albums are not
included here. Dream of the Archer reminds me of the Led Zeppelin song
The Battle of Evermore because of the mandolins. This album is great
because it shows the range of Heart, since it is packed with hard rock
cuts like Barracuda, Little Queen, Kick It Out, and Straight On. However this album is balanced with songs like Dog & Butterfly, Cry
To Me, Lighter Touch and Nada One, which tend to be more on the softer
side. While this is a good start in terms of building a Heart
collection, I would also recommend getting their other greatest hits
collections, namely the Greatest Hits, which covers their earlier
years, and includes Strong, Strong Wind, Magic Man, Crazy On You,
Heartless, Dreamboat Annie, Bebe Le Strange and Rock & Roll [Live],
which aren't included on this album. I assume the last track is a
cover version of the Led Zeppelin tune, since one cover track, Tell
It Like It Is, is also included on this album. Their Greatest Hits
1985-1995 covers everything after this album almost. None of the
tracks on this album are available on previous Heart Greatest Hits/
Best of albums. Heart's Greatest Hits: Live [Live] is another worth
picking up as well, since the tracks I'm Down/Long Tall Sally and
Mistral Wind are on this album.

There are no inherently weak tracks on this compilation as far as I
can tell. For some reason perhaps only known to Sony and the band, no
tracks from Heart's debut Dreamboat Annie album were included on this
album. The Dog & Butterfly album had four tracks included: the title
track, Nada One, Lighter Touch and Straight On. No tracks from the
Heart album Magazine made this album either. The Little Queen album
had several tracks make it on to this album, namely the title track,
Love Alive, Barracuda, Dream of The Archer, Kick It Out and Cry To Me.
Bebe LeStrange contributes Sweet Darlin and Even It Up. Their
Passionworks album offers this album How Can I Refuse, Johnny Moon and
Allies. Private Audition contributes The Man Is Mine and the Perfect
Stranger.

That accounts for the 18 tracks, since Tell It Like It Is is a
cover song. My recommendation is to get this disc, even though you can
get virtually the entire CD's tracks if you buy the Dog & Butterfly,
Little Queen, Bebe Le Strange, Passionworks and Private Audition
albums if you don't already own all five of these albums. This album
will complement Heart: Greatest Hits, and Heart Greatest Hits:
1985-1995."