Heart: Rock The House Live (1991)

In 1990, after releasing the "Brigade" album, Heart went on their 1990 world tour entitled, The Brigade Tour 1990. In 1991, Heart released their next album entitled, "Rock The House Live". This album is a live concert album that was performed on The Brigade Tour 1990 in Worcester, MA. The album is completed with Heart's setlist from the Worcester performance on the tour and it is all hard rock, featuring two new songs.



WILD CHILD

From the album Brigade (1990). The album version was incredible to begin with. This live performance matches up perfectly with the album version. It is still a song that everybody can rock to.



FALLEN FROM GRACE

From the album Brigade (1990). Not bad.



CALL OF THE WILD

From the album Brigade (1990). Not bad.



HOW CAN I REFUSE

From the album Passionworks (1983). Still a great song, even when performed live.



SHELL SHOCK

From the album Heart (1985). Still contains that pure 80s hard rock sound.



LOVE ALIVE

From the album Little Queen (1977). The album version is much better.



UNDER THE SKY

From the album Brigade (1990). Not bad.



THE NIGHT

From the album Brigade (1990). Not bad.



TALL, DARK HANDSOME STRANGER

From the album Brigade (1990). Both the album version and this live performance are outstandingly incredible. Definitely one of my favorites.



IF LOOKS COULD KILL

From the album Heart (1985). Another classic hard rock with that raw edge sound. Ann still makes it clear to her man that she does not put up with any cheating.



WHO WILL YOU RUN TO

From the album Bad Animals (1987). Still a great song, even when performed live.



YOU'RE THE VOICE

New song. The first & final single from the album. Heart had written this song for the American troops that were fighting in the Gulf War. This was the song that fans adored from Heart. Although, the live performance of this song shows up here on this album, many fans longed to hear the studio recorded version. Fans will be given that privilege in the year 2000.



THE WAY BACK MACHINE

New song. Not bad.



BARRACUDA

From the album Little Queen (1977). The original version was incredible to begin with. But when I heard this version, I was blown away completely. They made it heavier and edgier. But it still remains a classic with many of us fans.



In spite of what some may have told you, this album is worth listening to. Don't listen to anyone who has told that this album is not worth it because those people are intellectually retarded. This album is worth the time and money, so grab your credit cards and buy away.

Only for die-hard Heart fans...

Recorded live in November 1990, this CD is an odd release. Heavy on tracks from that year's BRIGADE (six!) and light on classics, the CD represents the end of an era for Heart, as their next release would forsake the big hair, bad fashion and professional songwriters (not to mention hits).

I was at this concert (admittedly only for opener Cheap Trick), and only bought the CD for the "I was there" bit, not for the music. The Centrum in Worcester, MA was an odd choice for a live recording - a half-full arena with terrible acoustics in a dead, third-tier industrial city. (Why the band didn't choose the sold-out Forum show in Los Angeles is beyond me.)

The music? Nothing special. If you're a fan from the 1970s (i.e. you think that the band sold out after 1980), then there's little of interest here. If you're a fan of Heart's top ten era, well...same answer. No wonder it didn't sell. Even two new songs (You're The Voice and Way Back Machine) can't save this mess.

My only guess is that Capitol only put this out because after three consecutive top-five, multi-platinum albums, they figured anything with the Heart name would sell a boatload of CDs. Wrong again. The worst part of all of this (for me, anyway) was the screaming Mimi I sat next to at the concert, who was determined to screech at the most inappropriate moments - which mercifully didn't end up on the CD. Not that I listen to it often...

Rock The House Live! is recommended only for Heart fans who must have everything and for those who were there that night.

Rock The House? What house? It's been brought down

"Wild Child" and "Fallen From Grace" were two of Brigade's standout tracks and both rise in grace higher live. Basically, Brigade live, with a new song and a few old songs mixed in, performed live at Worcester, MA at the Centrum on 28 November 1990.

The two Heart selections are the heaviest ones from that album--"If Looks Could Kill" and "Shell Shock." If they'd included "The Wolf" and "All Eyes", the house would probably be rocked beyond tolerance. "Shell Shock" gets its rightful due live, but the speeded up heavy guitars in fact this version of "If Looks Could Kill" really outstrips its studio counterpart.

For a breather, they perform one of their favorite songs from Little Queen, "Love Alive" which becomes a powerhouse with Denny Carmassi's drum power. They keep the acoustic guitars for "Under The Sky", a new favourite of theirs and mine, with the dreamy feeling of "lying on your back, looking at the stars" as Ann says in introducing the song.

I described "The Night" with its heavily punctuated power chords. Well, the only way it could be outdone was it to have been done live. With the beginning power chords from Zeppelin's "Good Times Bad Times" introduced, followed by bluesy guitar solo, the song proper begins, and yes, those power chords are pounded.

There isn't too much variation in the Bon Jovi-like "Tall Dark Handsome Stranger" or "Call Of The Wild" from Brigade or "Who Will You Run To" from Bad Animals. These are the few weak moments in this album.

"How Can I Refuse," from Passionworks is really given the rocking treatment with the chugging guitar intro. Given the unjustified roasting Passionworks got from the critics, it's at least gratifying to see at least one of its songs represented live.

The new song "You're The Voice" is a power ballad whose guitarwork gives it a Brigade-era sound. The importance of making a difference is the theme here, with peaceful overtones: "We're all someone's daughter/We're all someone's son/How long can we look at each other/Down the barrel of a gun?"

Howard Leese's guitar solo, "The Way Back Machine," serves as a prelude to the ferociously done "Barracuda" which makes it more a shark than a Barracuda. The best track here.

The song selection here clearly favours the Brigade album, but whether or not one liked Brigade, this live album proves that Heart can still rock and roll and live treatments of studio tracks that were heavy before give them a major rousing makeover. My only question was, after this song, was there a lake or somewhere they the audience could cool off? Great live album, despite its weak spots.