— Tom Hibbert
1987 has been a banner year for Singles of the Fortnight. If it isn't exactly stacked with killer records, at least it's loaded with name pop stars. The local independent labels that arose in the aftermath of punk were beginning to fade away and those that were still clinging on (Factory, Mute, Rough Trade) managed to do so with acts that were regulars on the charts. Curios like indie-jazzers Weekend or Dutch synth act Spectral Display weren't able to make the kind of impact with critics that they used to. The mainstream was taking over. With fewer independents around, the big acts were able to flex their muscle in the singles review page.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is well represented by the '87 crop of SOTF. So far, Aretha Franklin, Prince, U2, Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, The Beatles, Michael Jackson and Dusty Springfield have all been inducted in the hallowed halls in Cleveland, Ohio. Others have been passed over but have credible cases. George Michael hasn't received much consideration over the years but you have to think he'll be in someday — he was simply way too big for them to keep him out forever. Duran Duran seem similarly likely for eventual enshrinement but I'm not so sure with them; I suspect that the Hall's governing board will have to be populated by children of the eighties for their time to finally come. Boy George as a member of Culture Club seems like a longshot, his star having faded considerably since their year-or-so at the top. Pet Shop Boys? Now you're just being silly.
The 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class was headlined by Public Enemy, Rush and longtime snub Donna Summer. One of the other inductees that year was Heart — Ann and Nancy Wilson, as well as four guys I've never heard of. I don't know if there was much opposition at the time to the supposed Canadians getting in but they don't seem particularly deserving considering the above groups that have so far been denied entry (and, it must be said, all were eligible back then). George Michael and Duran Duran are out but Heart are in? I don't want to suggest a North American bias but that's the only explanation I can think of. (Either that or they're convinced the 'rock' in Rock and Roll is of utmost importance)
To be fair, the Wilson sisters were big in their own right and it may be easy to forget just how popular they were. They started off based in Canada (sorry Hibbs, but they're American, though they had a connection to Vietnam War draft dodgers fleeing north of the US border which is an important, if underexplored, facet of Canadian history and culture) and were much more of a folk-rock act on their debut album Dreamboat Annie, with just hints of what was to come. People who liked that early period of Heart may not have been fond of the way they evolved into a hard rock metal group over the next decade. Like Whitesnake, they were much more of a metal look than a sound and it's likely that folk who would be raised on the likes of Metallica and Slayer would deny Heart's place on the metal family tree. But that's the odd thing about metal: it constantly tries to out-metal what comes before to such an extent that it renders older acts as simply "rock". Nevertheless, they were in that metal sphere.
Heart's big hit in 1987 was "Alone", which was a global smash. One of those classic eighties weepies, it's the sort of thing people might scoff at — or be what they used to call a 'guilty pleasure'. I used to have it on a British compilation called Soft Metal and it sat alongside other eighties rock staples such as Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" and Starship's "We Built This City" which only reaffirmed it as a schlocky favourite. Out of curiosity, however, I put it on earlier this week and had I been British my astonished reaction would have been simply "Tune!" (As much as I am a lifelong Anglofile, there are some things I just can't do: I don't understand cricket, I can't sing a football chant without feeling like an idiot, I can't do any kind of British accent and I can't say 'Tune!' when I hear a song I like — and I'm fine with that)
Yeah, "Alone" is actually pretty great. Ann (or is it Nancy?) has a great voice, one she can let rip on when she so desires but also one where the words become merely a whisper in places. There's a touching vulnerability in her vocals as well. The power ballad was already fast becoming a cliche by '87 but the Wilsons transcend it with what is a superb composition and Tom Hibbert is right to make the link with an ABBA slow song (I guess he means either "I Have a Dream" or "The Winner Takes It All"; the extraordinary "The Day Before You Came" is simply too individual and sinister for it to have any connection at all). You may wonder what the jiggins old Hibbs is on about with this observation but I think he was trying to picture the sort of song Benny and Bjorn would have written had they been in the pop metal game. (A clue is found in the power ballad structure of the unofficial tenth ABBA number one "I Know Him So Well" by Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson from the musical Chess)
Alas, "Alone" isn't the song we're dealing with here. Its follow up was never going to be more of the same; hard rock groups had an iron-clad rule that ballads are to be followed by anthemic numbers. In metal that's normally for the best. Poison's "Nothing but a Good Time" is vastly superior to "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", Motley Crue's "Girls, Girls, Girls" is better than "Home Sweet Home" and every other song Kiss did is better than bloody "Beth". But Heart weren't quite a metal act and couldn't cut a decent uptempo single the way they could a tender love song. "Who Will You Run To" has a very metal chorus that you can sing along with right from the off but there's little else to recommend in it. Not bad but nothing I want to listen to again. Significantly, I've listened to "Alone" far more over the past week
I suspect that Hibbert would agree to some extent. It's notable that much of his review is about how much he liked "Alone". In addition to the ABBA comparison, he discusses the song's video and how the sisters looked in it. Plus, he really liked the song as well. His praise for "Who Will You Run To" is a little more guarded, pointing out the chorus as a highlight and that it's a rousing tune. Dubious charms? Absolutely. American rock of the eighties was a wasteland of power chords and living the rock 'n' roll lifestyle and Heart were certainly at home in this territory. But they knew a thing or two about writing a song and, again, Ann (or is it Nancy?) was a generational talent in terms of vocal prowess. She just put it to much better use on a love song than on some rip roarin' rawk. And who can argue with her? They're in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, you know.
~~~~~
Also Reviewed This Fortnight
Donna Summer: "Dinner with Gershwin"
Gosh, Donna wasn't going to play this dreck for Georgie Gershwin while having said dinner, was she? I somehow think the composer of "I Got Rhythm" and "Summertime" wouldn't be terribly impressed by this "tribute". Donna Summer weathered the end of the disco era better than most of her colleagues but her star had faded by the late eighties. Still, I guess it tells you a lot about her name recognition that this lousy single ended up making the charts. Proof that just because someone can sing the phonebook, it doesn't mean that should. Luckily, the queen of disco would soon hook up with pop's dominant songwriting team to record something that didn't shame the legacy of "Love to Love You Baby" and "I Feel Love".
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