Excellant

Ive always been a Heart fan from day one and this album is no exception, the music, the power and the great combination make Heart one of my all time great bands. It seems that Heart have always impressed me and the way they have put this album together it make me proud. I love their cover of Love Hurts, and Ive enjoyed every song. One thing that annoys me about Heart is they have never visited Australia and that a little disappointing, but anyways the album racks very high in my books. People out there do yourself a favour and buy this disc its worth it.

Heart, the opening of a third chapter

1995 was an annus horribilis. I was unemployed from July and sank into a deep depression. When I saw that Heart had come out with The Road Home, I saw the titles and said to myself, "Big deal, yet another live album!" and never gave it a second thought. Besides, my initial reaction, now since corrected, of course, of 1993's Desire Walks On, was still etched in me. 2003 is looking to be another annus horribilis, but this time, a renewed interest in the Wilson sisters, thanks in large part to Eric Andrews--take a bow :), is trying to fend off my dark demons. Anyway, I just heard The Road Home for the first time this year and was totally blown away at the stripped down renditions of the songs, taken from acoustic concerts recorded 12-16 August 1994 at the Backstage in Seattle, representing a new phase in Heart after the arena rock reputation they achieved in the mid-1980's.

The tempo for "Dreamboat Annie", despite being the Fantasy Child version, mirrors the original version, but then it has that lovely string section and flute in the Reprise version.

I've always wanted to hear "Dog And Butterfly" live and that's next. But the string section of the Seattle Symphony, including a nice oboe, really melted me.

The first new song is the bluesy "(Up On) Cherry Blossom Road", which due to the mandolin, I can imagine appearing on Little Queen. John Paul Jones of Led Zep, produced this album and does mandolin here. Ann introduces him as they launch into "Back To Avalon", which has the same engaging energy as the original despite the lack of electric guitars.

The most noticeably difference in Heart's scaled back music are their renditions of their two #1s and #2, "Alone", "These Dreams", and "All I Wanna Do..." In fact, when I heard the opening acoustic notes opening "Alone", I half-expected "Stairway To Heaven"--well, sort of. No Ron Nevison synths here, only an oboe and mandolin. And it's sad violins and a viola that provide the opening notes for "These Dreams." And "All I Wanna Do..." becomes a piano ballad.

I've heard the original version of "Love Hurts" by Nazareth and Joan Jett's cover, but Ann Wilson does it with such intensity, accompanied by guitar and piano, I really believe it.

Speaking of covers, they do heartfelt string-laden renditions of Elton John's "Seasons" and not out of place on the ballad side of their Dog & Butterfly album, and Joni Mitchell's "River." That cello and oboe on "River" adds to the melancholy of the song, with Ann still demonstrating the potent range of her voice at one point.

Ann really belts it out on the bluesy classic "Crazy On You", slowed down in the initial minute and a half, before things get more rousing during the remainder of the song. Speaking of classics, their rendition of chugging electric guitar classic "Barracuda" still packs a wallop despite its acoustic format.

"Dream Of The Archer" from Little Queen sounds much like the original, due to the mandolin and acoustic Led Zep-stylings.

The engaging title track, with its jangling mandolin, jamming guitar, and heavy drums, is looking to be a new Heart classic to be played on car radios on return homes from long trips.

A real treat is the interview in the booklet where one can learn the story behind the songs performed on the set. I don't know how I would've reacted to this had I bought it upon its original release, but now that I have it, expect to put this on heavy rotation.

Heart: The Road Home (1995)

Shortly after the release of their 1993 album, "Desire Walks On", Denny Carmassi made his departure from Heart, leaving just Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, & Howard Leese. Seems as though they can never keep a permanent line-up. In 1994, the Wilsons and Howard Leese decided to carry on as Heart with only the three if them. They embarked on another tour, where they played their hits acoustically and unplugged.



On August of 1995, Heart released their fourteenth album, "The Road Home". This album features a concert that was performed during their acoustic unplugged tour in 1994. They perform many of their greatest hits, but they have also performed five new songs during the tour. The songs on this album sound amazing, but it does not quite match up to their original album versions.



DREAMBOAT ANNIE (FANTASY CHILD)

From the album Dreamboat Annie (1976). If you all remember the first album, which was entitled, DREAMBOAT ANNIE, that album had three different versions to the title track, "Dreamboat Annie". One was the original album/single version. Another was a reprise, which is like a little remix. The third was entitled, DREAMBOAT ANNIE (FANTASY CHILD), a sort of intro to the song, where only the first verse is heard. HEART performs DREAMBOAT ANNIE (FANTASY CHILD) here, but they perform it as the entire song. I still perfer the album version, but this performance is outstanding.



DOG & BUTTERFLY

From the album Dog & Butterfly (1978). I was impressed with the original studio recorded verion, but this version here is incredible.



(UP ON) CHERRY BLOSSOM ROAD

New song. Not bad.



BACK TO AVALON

From the album Desire Walks On (1993). Both versions kick a**.



ALONE

From the album Bad Animals (1987). Both this version and the original studio recorded version are worth listening to.



THESE DREAMS

From the album Heart (1985). This song has always been my all-time favorite song from Heart. When I heard this version, I was completely impressed. This version just about matches up with the original.



LOVE HURTS

New song. Not bad.



STRAIGHT ON

From the album Dog & Butterfly (1978). Whether listening to this version or the original, I can relax so easily.



ALL I WANNA DO IS MAKE LOVE TO YOU

From the album Brigade (1990). The original studio recorded version is a lot better.



CRAZY ON YOU

From the album Dreamboat Annie (1976). Both the original studio record version and this live version blow me away.



SEASONS

New song. Not bad.



RIVER

New song. Not bad.



BARRACUDA

From the album Little Queen (1977). This live performance matches up perfectly with the original.



DREAM OF THE ARCHER

From the album Little Queen (1977). Not bad, but I prefer the original studio recorded version.



THE ROAD HOME

New song. The first & final single from the album, and the album's title track. This song was actually an unlisted bonus track. The song is not that bad. It is quite catchy.



This a great album, but it does not quite match up to Heart's previous albums. Basically because of the fact that Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, & Howard Leese were the only ones left by this point. But the album is still worth listening to.

One of their best

I love Heart. Their usual driving sound such as in Magic Man and Barracuda take an acoustic twist that certainly pleases. Back to Avalon is easily one of the CD's best songs, but in a CD that is very good to begin with you can't go wrong!

The Wilson sisters strip their songs down to the basics

The Road Home" represents not just a one-shot unplugged performance but a series of intimate concerts Heart performed at "The Backstage," a 500-seat club in the summer of 1994. Producer John Paul Jones (the Led Zeppelin one, not the sea captain) not only wrote arrangements for a four-piece string section, but performed piano, bass and mandolin on some of the tracks as well. Nancy Wilson was always more comfortable with an acoustic guitar than an electric (listen to her on "(Up On) Cherry Blossom Road"), but then Heart was always happy to to play both light and heavy. For that matter, it is great to hear Ann Wilson's voice without all those electric guitars in the way as well. Hearing "Alone" stripped down to voice and guitar is one of the highlights of "The Road Home," with "Crazy On You" a close second because of Ann's mondo Blues vocals. There are also covers of Joni Mitchell's "River" and Elton John's "Seasons." I also like the harmonies of the sisters on "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You" and "Back to Avalon" (there is something I really like about the way voices of people related to each other blend together, whether we are talking the Judds or the Smothers Brothers). The liner notes for this album constitute another treat as they include an interview with Ann and Nancy Wilson done the following February, in which they talk about the origin and meanings of the songs they performed on this album. "The Road Home" is a treat for Heart fans, which is to say those who can think of the group as being more than a giant glittzey arena band. This is Heart getting back to the basics. However...the "extra tracks" idea is an overstatement because the only new song on this import album is "Never." While this is one of their better songs, I am not going to argue it justifies the extra expense versus the domestic version.

What a show - What a CD

I was part of the audience at this get together of 500 hundred people or so, taped here in Seattle and it was one of their best shows. The sound comes out in the CD just as if you were there too. The vocals of Ann Wilson are like none of any other and cannot be matched. She takes you to wherever the song is and makes you believe that you are part of the story. Recommended for anyone and especially for the elite of Heart fans.