Great Rock Albums of 1980: Heart- Bebe le Strange
Heart rocked the world throughout the 1970’s with a string of hard rock albums that brought them great fame. Some of those albums have been visited in earlier posts and I stand by my claim that Ann and Nancy Wilson were the first modern rock chicks. On the flip side, many have said that their 1980 album wasn’t as good as any of their predecessors. True, by this time Heart were engulfed in internal strife and guitarist Roger Fisher left the band some months earlier. However, none of that was reflected on this album in any way in my view.
The title track sets the album in the right direction from the outset incorporating everything one knew and loved about Heart. The bluesy “Down On Me” is definitely a likeable track and as always, Nancy gets to show off her guitar talent on the acoustic instrumental, “Silver Wheels.” “Break” and “Rockin’ Heaven Down” are true rock songs even if the former song does kind of end abruptly. This leads fine to the second single “Even It Up” whose rhythm reminds a little of the classic Heart anthem, “Magic Man.” Then you get some more rocking from the next three tracks before the album ends on the ballad, “Sweet Darlin.” So I ask myself after just having had a 38 minute rock out, “What is there not to like about “Bebe le Strange?” I sure can’t find anything.
Track Listing:
1. Bebe le Strange
2. Down On Me
3. Silver Wheels
4. Break
5. Rockin Heaven Down
6. Even It Up
7. Strange Night
8. Raised On You
9. Pilot
10. Sweet Darlin
Ann Wilson- vocals
Nancy Wilson- guitar, vocals, piano, mellotron
Howard Leese- guitar, keyboards synthesisers, backing vocals
Mike DeRosier- drums, percussion
Steve Fossen- bass
It was a great way to wake up on a Sunday morning! Hearing this album again after so many years gave me such a good rock out this morning and I’ve been feeling the groove throughout the whole day. So what if Heart made this album during their infighting. It proves that once you get down to business, you can still achieve great things. “Bebe le Strange” is an underrated album by Heart and it is definitely worth a listen again.
Next post: Dire Straits- Communique
To buy Rock and Roll Children, go to http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html
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This entry was posted on September 1, 2013 at 12:44 pm and is filed under 1980s, Heavy Metal, Music, Rock, Uncategorized with tags Bebe le Strange, Classic Rock, hard rock, Heart, Heavy Metal, Heavy Rock, Magic Man, The 1970s. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
9 Responses to “Great Rock Albums of 1980: Heart- Bebe le Strange”
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September 1, 2013 at 4:27 pm
Don’t have much Heart stuff. Sounds like a cool album and Ann has the most amazing voice!
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September 1, 2013 at 6:22 pm
Definitely on both counts although some of Heart’s previous albums are really good. Check out Dog And Butterfly and Dreamboat Annie
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September 1, 2013 at 7:31 pm
I’ve had a compilation of their earlier stuff and it never really grabbed me but compilations often have that effect on me! I’ll definitely check out those albums at some point.
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September 1, 2013 at 8:46 pm
Compilations can be overrated, that’s why I choose to make my own. Those are all good albums.
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September 1, 2013 at 9:42 pm
Totally agree. I tend to just go straight for the individual albums. That’s why blogs like yours are so invaluable!
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September 2, 2013 at 12:59 pm
Thank you HMO, that means a lot :0)
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December 22, 2013 at 11:05 pm
I really love this album. Its got some real strong rockers, some good ballads, and some interesting unique numbers.
Nice diversity, nice songwriting, nice performances.
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December 22, 2013 at 11:39 pm
True with the diversity but I still prefer Dog and Butterfly and Dreamboat Annie
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December 22, 2013 at 11:44 pm
I can totally understand that. For me the first five albums (if you count Magazine) are all absolutely cracking. So many good songs.
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