Playing at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London is a historic event for any rock band, and none are more deserving of finally getting to grace that grand stage than US legends Heart. To add an even further intriguing element to this concert, which was recorded this past June, the band were joined by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for a selection of the songs played. Watching this new Blu-ray release from Eagle Rock, you can see all over the faces of Ann Wilson (vocals), Nancy Wilson (guitar, vocals), Ben Smith (drums), Dan Rothchild (bass), Craig Bartock (guitar), and Chris Joyner (keyboards) the absolute thrill & joy that they experienced on this historic evening, and the performances more than live up to the event.
Less about an evening of their 'greatest hits' and more of a introduction to their latest album Beautiful Broken with a smattering of staples, the longtime Heart fanatic might be a tad disappointed in the setlist, but with more than a few concert releases out there already, you have to give credit to the band for trying something a bit different here. Sure, "Magic Man", "Dreamboat Annie", "Barracuda", "What About Love", "These Dreams", and a magical "Alone" are all included here, each one delivered sensationally with Ann's still strong vocals and tight instrumentation from the band, but it's the emotion delivered in some of the newer tracks that makes this set worthwhile. Nancy's lead vocal on "Two" is just gorgeous, "Sand", a dedication to a fallen friend, is poignant, "I Jump" and "Beautiful Broken" both rock out, and "Mashallah!" has that epic feel that only Heart can achieve. The real surprise however is their version of Led Zeppelin's classic "No Quarter", complete with haunting keyboard tones from Joyner and the dual guitar attack from Nancy & Craig, Ann's vocals of course soaring over the top. While the Orchestra doesn't appear on every song, when they do they add a majestic flair to the old and new classics.
The camera work and hi-definition presentation here is outstanding, and though I've seen plenty of bickering about the audio quality, I found it to be very solid and crystal clear. Eagle Rock has done another outstanding job documenting a special live evening of music by a legacy band...do not miss this one!
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
1. Magic Man
2. Heaven
3. Dreamboat Annie
4. What About Love
5. I Jump
6. Sweet Darlin'
7. Two
8. These Dreams
9. Alone
10. Beautiful Broken
11. Mashallah!
12. Silver Wheels / Crazy On You
13. Sand
14. No Quarter
15. Barracuda
16. Kick It Out
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