Heart - Strange Euphoria Box Set (Disc 3): Part 4

This third and final disc kicks off with these lovely ladies doing a song under The Lovemongers banner called "Kiss". Modern popstar tarts can try all they want, but there is no way they can ever top the erotic power of this song! In fact there is just something amazing about when these two pick up an acoustic guitar that you just know it is going to be the highest of quality. So many female artists end up sounding contrived and overly pretentious, but with Ann and Nancy Wilson this is never the case. So although I prefer it when they get into some serious heavy rock tunes, I enjoy their acoustic material more than most artists out today. It doesn't seem to matter if it is the sensual "Kiss", "Sand", "Everything", or "She Still Believes", it is down right mesmerizing.

The 4 song intro of acoustic leads into something I don't think I have ever heard them do before...Blues! "Any Woman's Blues" is another track listed as a demo, but I'm really confused as to why it would be just a demo. I have never listened to the final studio version, but I just do not see how it can be any better than this down right stunning version. This however leads into a song that I have to admit I just can not get into. The strange thing is that it is the title track to this box set! "Strange Euphoria" comes off like an experiment that just did not work out. It does however show why they have been around for almost half a century, they are not afraid to experiment. Which is why they pull it off so well most of the time. This sadly leads into my least favorite Heart song in their entire catalog, "Boppy's Back" is just annoying. The vocals are bad and the lyrics are monotonous and uninspired. I am sure I will get hate mail for saying so, but I just do not like that song.

The band snaps back with a vengeance with another song recorded under The Lovemongers name, "Friend Meets Friend." Interesting, it's another acoustic song. The duel vocals are a major reason why this song works so well. We then get a live recording of the band doing a more raw Blues song called "Love Or Madness". The recording is rough, but it adds to the nasty attitude the song has and I love it! "Skin To Skin" is listed as previously unreleased and I can tell you why. It is a little weak and lacks the timeless nature of the majority of material they are known for. It goes back and forth from a really bad rap vocal to this annoying vocalization. Some may love it but this is one of my least favorite songs on this disc.

"Fallen Ones" is the heaviest song on the disc and just might be my new favorite song by Heart. How did I not hear this song before? "Enough" is another song that proves that wimpy can be done without it coming off as lame. Sure the song is mellow as hell, but it is also cool as hell. The difference is talent and passion. "Lost Angel", "Little Problems, Little Lies", "Queen City", and "Hey You" all continue this same pattern to greatness. "Avalon" ends this third disc with a 34 second teaser of a song that ends with that same feeling of your favorite tv show doing a cliff hanger before they know if they are renewed.  

So after three discs I have a few thoughts. This is more a box set of the career of Ann and Nancy Wilson instead of Heart, but that is a good thing to me. I also am reminded of why these box sets are such a great idea. Even if there is a song or two that you do not like per disc, you still end up with hours of great music you love! In this day of disposable mp3 files a box set like this creates a great back up. What if your hard drive fails? What if that cloud service goes under with no warning? Always keep a physical back up. Plus, this box set looks much better on a shelf instead of an mp3 on a hard drive. I have discovered some great new songs from this duo that I never knew about. I know have more Ann and Nancy Wilson songs that I can enjoy over and over again. Even without the dvd I will review next, this box set is well worth the money. Buy it or you are seriously missing out on some awesome.

For part one where I talk in depth about the packaging and art work go to:

http://www.rockmymonkey.com/cd-reviews/2012/6/17/heart-strange-euphoria-box-set-review-part-1.html

For Part 2 where I review disc 1 go to:

http://www.rockmymonkey.com/news/2012/6/19/heart-strange-euphoria-box-set-disc-1-part-2.html

For part 3 where I talk about disc 2 go to :

http://www.rockmymonkey.com/news/2012/6/21/heart-strange-euphoria-box-set-disc-2-part-3.html

Heart - Strange Euphoria Box Set (Disc 2): Part 3

You remember back when you were a little kid and your parents would be ranting about something they thought was important, but your brain was drifting off to something you cared about more? They would say that although you could hear them, you were not really listening to them. Well, that is what we do to music now. It's just background noise. I think what makes Heart so special is that they have four decades of releasing music that would grab you and make you listen the way our parents wish they could have more often. So here I am on the third installment of my adventure to give the most detailed review of the Heart box set available.

When I started listening to this at work I ended up listening to the first few songs of this second disc a few times before I figured out it was the second disc. The song that stuck out the most was "Bebe Le Strange". I have no clue why, but that hook got a hold of me and just would not let go. The guitar riffs in the song "City's Burning" have to be some of the most over looked guitar riffs in Rock history. I'm not a guitar player, so maybe I am missing something but people should be talking about this song way more than they do. The live version of "Never" is amazing. Just like with the demo tracks, this is stripped down to it's core. Maybe they had an extra dose of energy because John Paul Jones was playing with them? Either way, I still wonder if they meant "You're banging your head again, somebody won't let you in" as a masturbation reference. I have always thought so but have never seen them confirm or deny it in interviews. "These Dreams" and "Alone" are just the standard studio versions we have all loved for the past couple decades, but it is still nice to hear them both again and have them in this collection.

I have to admit that this is the first time I have heard the songs "Nobody Home", "High Romance", and "Under The Sky", but I really like them. Although I like it best when these girls kick ass, some of their softer songs are great because soft songs from modern bands of today seem to lack any passion and these ladies have always been overflowing with it.  This disc did has two weak spots in "Lucky Day", and "Unconditional Love" but two weak songs amongst such a strong catalog is a pretty good track record in my book. My wife did get mad at me when I played the track back to back with a Beyonce song and asked her if she heard any similarities. I think I ruined that song for her for life.

With this disc being pretty full of the softer side of Heart, I was glad to hear that the final song was a bit heavier. It is 80's cheese all the way, but nobody did that with more integrity than Heart. It is the perfect statement to describe their entire career. It never mattered if it was one of the heavier rock songs of that era, a soft ballad about love, or an 80's style track about empowerment, they always did it with their integrity intact. That is clear with this disc, even with the songs I don't like.

For part one where I talk in depth about the packaging and art work go to:

http://www.rockmymonkey.com/cd-reviews/2012/6/17/heart-strange-euphoria-box-set-review-part-1.html

For Part 2 where I review disc 1 go to:

http://www.rockmymonkey.com/news/2012/6/19/heart-strange-euphoria-box-set-disc-1-part-2.html

Heart - Strange Euphoria Box Set (Disc 1): Part 2

Would you believe that part one of this review got nearly a thousand views yesterday? I have never had this much reaction from a simple review in my decades (yeah, I'm old) of covering music this way. In the 12 noon hour we had 255 visits to the review alone! Why? Some might say that it could have something to do with today being Ann Wilson's birthday? I don't think so. It's freakin' Heart! This band resonates with people like no other. Why not? Two women that are as talented as they are stunningly beautiful (even on their 62nd birthday). They never dumb it down in hopes the mainstream public can handle them either. Because they have stayed true as artists, a collection like this is best consumed like a fine wine (or for me a craft beer) and a perfectly cooked steak. This is what happens when an artist stays true to their art for half a century.

So on to my review of disc one of this awesome collection! One of the things that amazes me about this collection is the demo tracks. Most of the time when I see demo tracks in a collection like this I find it interesting to hear a part of the history of how some legendary song developed, but it's never something I listen to over and over again. It's never as good as that final version, right? Not here! The demo tracks here are as good as the final versions. In fact there are songs on here like "Crazy On You" that I think are better than the versions we are more familiar with! The more well known version is so full of slick production that after hearing the demo it feels like the spirit and passion of the song was produced out of it. The demo version now comes off as more personal and intimate. With the demo version of "Magic Man" I was left feeling like I was hearing the song for the first time all over again. Demo's? WRONG! These are not demos! These versions just leave the artists soul bare and naked and creates more of a spiritual journey. Yes, it is THAT good! You really need to hear these so called demos to understand.

The infamous "Dreamboat Annie" is an very strange and unique mash up of some kind. To be honest I am not really sure what they did here but I do know I love it. The liner notes say that it is two (sounds like three) versions blended as one. Not sure I have ever heard a band do this before, but it works extremely well here. Of course they picked a live recording of their most covered song "Barracuda", because this is where this song comes alive. The recording is stellar and sounds best on a good pair of headphones. Although I am sure young female artists like Amanda Hardy are plagued with requests to play "Barracuda", I would like to hear her and her band play "Kick It Out" instead. "Straight On" is the one track I find entertaining for all the wrong reasons. Disco? Ok, even Heart has a mistake in their past, but they get cred for not trying to hide it. Song after song also reminds me of how many Heart songs I already love! "Dog & Butterfly" for example. If you walked up randomly to someone with a Heart shirt and asked them to name their top ten Heart songs, I am willing to bet very few would name "Dog & Butterfly", but that song is more amazing than many of their more popular songs. Collections like this are great for three reasons. 1. To re-visit your favorites 2. To rediscover that you love ten times more songs from a legendary band than you thought("they sing that song too!?"). 3. To discover new favorites like "Nada One". Disc one kicks this collection of to a great start and turned out way better than most will expect.

I hope you all are enjoying this week long detailed review of this great new Box Set as much as I am enjoying the adventure. Stay tuned to tomarrow as I dig into the 2nd disc!

For part one where I talk in depth about the packaging and art work go to:

http://www.rockmymonkey.com/cd-reviews/2012/6/17/heart-strange-euphoria-box-set-review-part-1.html

For part 3 where I talk about disc 2 go to :

http://www.rockmymonkey.com/news/2012/6/21/heart-strange-euphoria-box-set-disc-2-part-3.html

Heart - Strange Euphoria Box Set Review: Part 1

 

Alright, let's get the negatives out of the way right off the bat. There are only two small ones. The packaging is more about looking really awesome than it is about being efficient. Sure having the cd's in little slits behind a fold out mural looks better than any other method, but it makes it a pain in the ass to get the cd's in and out. Collections like this will have the cd's pulled in and out so often that it will make the quality of the package deteriorate quickly. Collectors who would buy this would rather have something that holds up better. Plastic isn't "eco friendly", but this isn't something that will end up in a landfill is it? A mixture of the standard plastic case and the cardboard "digipack" would have been better. Of course the solution to that would be to pull them out once to rip them, and listen to the music in digital form only. Pull them out again only when you need to re-rip them when a hard drive fails (which is one of the best reason to always buy a physical form of your music). The problem is that the discs have zero meta-data on them! You have to type that all in by hand. LAME!

Now those two very minor and nit picky things mentioned above are really overshadowed by all the great things about this collection. Although this collection does not have every hit, it does have most of them. For the hardcore fans of HEART, this collection would be a must have. Some collections are made for the casual fan with nothing but pristine studio versions of nothing but the biggest hits. This however has previously unreleased recordings, demo versions of the songs we love, and live recordings scattered throughout. Maybe sometime later the band will release a collection with just the studio versions of the biggest hits for you casual fans. This is for the HEART fan who wants to dig a little deeper.

Although there are plenty of their hit songs in all forms, there are also songs by The Lovemongers, solo songs by Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson, a recording from the pre-HEART group Ann Wilson & The Daybreaks, an appearance by John Paul Jones, and so much more. If you buy the box set from Amazon you even get a bonus CD containing covers of five Led Zeppelin songs, entitled Heart Zeppish! But I will get more into the music later as this review will be more about the packaging.

The collection comes with a 56 page book. This is not the standard box set book though. Instead of just a bunch of photos that you will look at once and never open again, this book works as almost a reference manual for HEART fans. This book will bring you back to the day when you had to read every word of the liner notes on the first listen of that new cd you waited in line to buy on the same day of release. With each song Ann and Nancy will guide the listener through the history of the band and what inspired the song to be created. This book gives you the basic story behind the songs that you have loved. The entire collection is protected by a decorative sleeve with a heart that shows a photo of the infamous sisters. I love that both the fold out mural that holds the discs and the book that holds the written history of the music slides out with ease, but never falls out on accident. It took some good planing to make this set so that it fits nicely on any book shelf so you're not hunting for a place to keep it all safe from dust, sun, pets, or any other damaging elements that have destroyed so many box sets before.  Using the flaps of the fold out cd holder and mural as a place to showcase the history of the bands logo was pretty cool too. Lastly, the collage/mural was a really nice touch as well.

This is a very worthwhile boxset. Amazon has it for under $35. With the 3 audio discs and the live concert dvd that makes it less than $10 for each cd. If you actually buy it from Amazon it is less than $7 per disc! So I would recommend this to any fan of HEART. Notice how this review was mostly about the packaging? Tomorrow I start digging into the actual music! Stay tuned!

For Part 2 where I review disc 1 go to:

http://www.rockmymonkey.com/news/2012/6/19/heart-strange-euphoria-box-set-disc-1-part-2.html

For part 3 where I talk about disc 2 go to :

http://www.rockmymonkey.com/news/2012/6/21/heart-strange-euphoria-box-set-disc-2-part-3.html