Originally published by L.S. Media. October 17th 2010.

It can seem odd to hear an album by a band and think that they have finally gone full circle and ended up where they began, fresh faced and full of hope and a wonderful sense of naivety of how their lives would pan out over the following decades.

Red Velvet Car is the new album by 70’s American folk heroes and 80’s rock stars Heart, that crushed all before them and gave a breath of life to a dying genre before almost imploding themselves and becoming caricatures of what they had set out to preserve.

Coming from the embers of the band The Army and joined by all American girls Ann and Nancy Wilson, Heart thrilled a generation with songs such as Dreamboat Annie and Barracuda before reinventing themselves in the middle 1980’s as a band that the rock world took notice of, especially after their 1985 self titled album which confirmed their place in the hearts of the American music lovers with songs such What About Love, Nothin’ at All and Never. 1987’s follow up album Bad Animals further added to the weight of expectation with the radio friendly hit Alone.

After that the songs seemed to dry up and the band were not taken as seriously in some quarters again. Even with some critically liked albums to their name, including 2006’s release Jupiter’s Darling, the band as an entity, seemed over and the days of Ann and Nancy Wilson being among the top ladies of rock finished.

With the release of Red Velvet Car, the band has reached the top 10 for the first time in 20 years, not since the days of 1990’s Brigade have the band enjoyed so much critical and commercial success and it is certainly deserved in parts.

The fact that the band has turned the clock back to the days of Little Queen, Dreamboat Annie and Dog and Butterfly cannot be ignored and with musically intelligent songs such as Safronia’s Mark and Queen City having the two sisters unique treatment stamped throughout them helps sugar a pill that some may have disregarded as being well past its sell by date.

For those who grew up on one of the finest bands to have come out Seattle then this album will no doubt be amongst their favourites of the year, for the rest it might be too late to climb upon the moving vehicle, but we should try to catch it before its gone forever.

Ian D. Hall