My good comrade Chris Akin and I have been involved in the entertainment scene for over 10 years. As all music fans do, we’ve had many musical arguments, but we are musical brothers in arms on many things like Journey, Night Ranger, and Bruce Springsteen.

Chris first nabbed my respect by knowing that Survivor had three albums (Survivor, Premonition, and Caught in the Game) that were released prior to Eye of the Tiger – and he owned all of them.

Chris is also a fellow Heart fan, and here’s where we disagree:

He likes the stuff from the 70’s, while I am a fan of the stuff from the 80’s and 90’s (Brigade in particular.) We both agree collectively that if the band name Heart is on the album cover, we’re interested!

Chris got a chance to converse with author Jake Brown about his new book Heart: In The Studio, which was released in early June.

click here to listen

Over the course of a great 25 minute conversation, Brown discusses the legacy of Heart, including the connecting point between Heart in the 70s and their commercial resurgence in the mid-80s. Brown also discusses Heart as a band during the classic era (with Denny Carmassi, Mark Andes, Howard Leese,) and the working relationship that has been consistent between Ann and Nancy Wilson throughout every lineup and era of Heart.

Chris and Jake talk about producer Mutt Lange’s contribution to the Brigade album, and also about the chances of Heart being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Heart are on the road this summer (tour dates here) co-headlining with Journey on a bill that also includes Cheap Trick.

I’ve seen Heart one time in 2003 in Chicago on a fantastic two-day bill at WLUP’s Loopfest (check out a review here.) Alice in Chains bass player Mike Inez and GNR guitar player Gilby Clarke were in the lineup for that particular Heart performance, and it was a great show to mark down for one’s first Heart experience. So much so, that I am looking forward to seeing the band again when they return to Cleveland in September for a show at Blossom Music Center.

One of these days, I’ll share some 70’s Heart with you all, but for now, here is one of my favorite Heart radio broadcasts from the 80’s. Recorded live in Portland, Oregon on the Bad Animals tour, the broadcast captures a healthy slice of Heart’s best including the classics from the 70’s, and the blockbuster 80’s hits like “What About Love,” “Never,” and “Alone.” There’s also a Zeppelin cover, because no one covers Zeppelin better than Heart!

Heart
Portland Coliseum
August 2nd, 1987
Portland, OR

complete zipped download

Track Listing:

Bad Animals
Wolf
Barracuda
Nothing At All
What About Love
Dreamboat Annie
These Dreams
Straight On
Who Will You Run To
Never
How Can I Refuse
Crazy on You
If Looks Could Kill
Bebe Le Strange
Alone
Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin cover)

Relevant Links:

Visit Chris Akin at Pitriff.com

Visit the official Heart website

Purchase Heart: In The Studio from Amazon

Purchase Essential Heart from Amazon – CD or MP3

Purchase Heart – Brigade from Amazon – CD or MP3

Purchase Heart – Alive in Seattle on DVD from Amazon