Heart

In Holly wood, artists sometimes have to act like commercial hacks because that's the only
way they can get across their ideas. In rock & roll, even commercial hacks pose as artists
because it helps sell the product. Heart is a perfect example of late-Seventies corporate
rock at its most brazenly opportunistic and hollow. But Ann and Nancy Wilson have
invested their music with enough arty trappings and such a false air of significan... More >

So Nancy Wilson breaks up with her fella, soundman Mike Fisher, who naturally departs the band, along with his brother Roger, who happens to be the guitarist. And whether it's the absence of pomp-rockish Roger, stripping to a five-piece, or what hell hath no fury like, suddenly they're lean and mean and playing to the sisters--title cut's a fan letter to the female Johnny B. Goode, who I guess is Nancy, now playing a lot of lead. Take note, fellas--as Zep rips go, this one is something special, and not just for its sexual politics. Unfortunately, things go gushy at the end with an Ann-penned love song. Men--who needs 'em? (Grade: B+)