Ann Wilson - Hope & Glory
it's available to listen and buy now and out in the stores on september 11. (may they rest in peace)
Goodbye Blue Sky - For an album opener it sets the mood for what to expect. The music and vocals are harmonious and gentle in the beginning and then pick up. There is a "Goodbye Ruby Tuesday" feel to the vocal arrangements when Ann is singing Goodbye Blue Sky just over midway through the song. The song itself then fades nicely with Ann and drums.
Jackson - Wonderful Country beginning. Ann's vocals will send chills through you. KD Lang's vocals are not as prominent as those by Elton. Jackson is not a duet in that sense, more like a backing vocalist adding additionality to Ann's and KD is sure complimentary against Ann's voice.
We gotta get outta this place - Wynonna's voice is as distinctive as Ann's, and it is Wynonna that kicks starts this song. As Ann joins in the drums and the rhythm also break lose and then it is kick back mode for two exceptional vocalists. You can imagine the fun these two had singing this song as Ann sings "You know it baby!"
Darkness Darkness - This is the closet to the sound of Heart that I think Ann gets on this album. It is one of those songs that grows in stature. Soft and acoustic start, then rhythm guitars, all the while Ann singing in her immaculate style, it then breaks into a fully fledged sombre rock song. Ann treats us to her trademark vocals as the song comes to a close.
Bad Moon Rising - "Mustard and Ketchup?? Chicken and a waffle and mustard on top???" This is Country at its best. And I sit corrected about which is was the funnest song to have recorded. This is a feel good factor song even though the lyrics are in stark contradiction. It is the most up tempo song on the album and one that needs the windows down when you are driving around. I have cranked this up in Sheffield - a non Country music city! Gretchen is every bit the barnburner and she and Ann do rip up the whole darn place.
Get Together - Slow and gentle beginning. Ann's dreamy vocals fill the senses. Deana and Wynonna are in the backing positions. They don’t take the lead from Ann, doubt that they would dare. This is a dreamy acoustic song.
Isolation - Incredible. Ann's vocals are something to hang onto. She drip out the word Isolation against a lazy drum, piano and gradual rhythm guitar beginning. And then the change into what to me is semi blues mode and then back again and so forth.
Hard rain's a gonna fall - This is a singers song. The music begins in the background and pretty much stays there until midway through. The song itself is reminiscent of how 3 story tellers would sing a story. Ann's voice is full of expression and carries the majority of the story. However Rufus Wainwright is the storyteller who sings with the vocal arrangements that carry a sense of taunting. Shaun Colvin sings with the softness that is characteristic of her. She is the balance between Ann and Rufus and she works it beautifully.
Little Problems, Little Lies - Goes at a soft and gentle pace which is in contradiction to the harsh but touching lyrics. This could well have been an album opener, however it works best as the closer to a sombre but reflective album.
Hope and Glory is a listeners album. It is not one to be put on in the background, it has a requirement for you to pay attention to it. Not exclusively because Ann is debuting for us! But because it is one wonderfully crafted piece of work that warrants respect.
The beauty is that although these, except one, are not her songs, make no doubt they are her's through and through just as much as they have been ours when we have needed the poignant lyrics. This is the most vocal in that subtle and in the literal sense that I have heard Ann come across in.
Thanks Ghalib for the review!
- “Hope & Glory,” from Ann Wilson, is the lead singer of Heart’s first solo accomplishment. Wilson teams up with artists like K.D. Lang and even country crooner Wynonna Judd for tracks that will call to listeners and make them feel all of the emotions that Wilson is presenting.
“Goodbye Blue Sky” has Ann Wilson sharing a song with sister and fellow Heart bandmate, Nancy. This track has deep guitar and drum work that flows exceptionally well as the pair harmonizes in the intro. The message of the song seems to be that the two are evading some nameless force. “Did did did did did you ever wonder why we had to run for shelter…Beneath the clear blue sky.”
On “Where To Now St. Peter” Wilson and acclaimed piano man Elton John work together to form a melody that talks about following the providence no matter what one’s religious affiliation happens to be. Profound percussion starts off the track, and then Wilson begins singing about her innermost thoughts. “Took myself…And I floated…Dazzling, dancing ….Crazy was the feeling, restless were my eyes.” Then John takes over the rhythm of the song and beams his question to the apostle of where his next destination might be. “Where to now, St. Peter, it’s true I’m in your hands.” The spiritual bend inbred in this song might speak to listeners who feel they have lost their way and wish to find it in the musicality of this track.
“Jackson” tones things down a bit as Wilson and balladeer K.D. Lang commiserate using their unique vocal talents. Fixed guitar strumming can be heard in the intro as one of the women sings to the other about a trip they are going to make and their feelings in regard to it. “All the way to Jackson, I don’t think I’ll miss you much. All the way to Jackson, I don’t think I’ll miss you much. Once I get to Lafayette, I won’t mind one little bit. Once I get to Lafayette, I won’t mind one little bit. Once I get to Baton Rouge, I won’t cry a tearful hue. Once I get to Baton Rouge, I won’t cry a tearful hue.”
Ann Wilson’s “Hope & Glory” is an album that pairs her with singers that span multiple musical genres. Wilson’s timbre has a no-nonsense tone on some tracks and a sweetness on others that will be impossible for listeners to shy away from. All in all, Wilson’s debut solo album is sure to mark her ascension into musical paradise.
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