Little Queen (studio album) by Heart

From llibnanoon 08/24/2020 14:08

Barracuda! Rating (81.50)

This is the album where the comparisons to Zeppelin really started to come out. Little Queen is similar in many ways to Led Zeppelin III with a balance between early metal and acoustic-on-electric styles. Like LZ III, this album includes a galloping metal classic (Zep's Immigrant Song and Heart's Barracuda) before moving into some of the best mystical folk of the era (Love Alive, Sylvan Song/Dream of the Archer). At this time Heart was known as a ferocious hard rock band, but hard rock doesn't dominate this album. There are definitely the more well known harder cuts like Barracuda and Kick it Out, but tunes like Treat Me Well and Cry to Me are softer more introspective cuts that balance out the harder material nicely. And while the ballads on Dreamboat Annie sounded almost like songs The Carpenters might have recorded, Little Queen's ballads are darker and more melancholy, and definitely more mystical and folky than the sugar sweet Dreamboat cuts.

This is a great album, a very strong sophomore followup, and in the eyes of many is Heart's strongest album. There has been a little polarization over the album's ending cuts, which is a mini suite of the ballad Cry to Me which segues into the psychedelic Pink Floyd-like Go On Cry which is mostly instrumental but with some awesome Ann Wilson shrieks throughout. For those who discovered Heart during their popular hair metal period in the 80s this album might bring a bit of culture shock, but whereas much of the 80s and 90s output sounds a bit dated now, Little Queen sounds as fresh today as it did back in 1977.

From Fischman 12/07/2018 20:57

This was a most worthy follow up to the blockbuster debut. Heart proved they could keep the pace with more killer tunes.

Great guitar work on barracuda and syvlan song/dream of archer. I like the two ballads that this record closes out on. An essential classic rock staple record.

An excellent pop/rock record from the 70's. When this band got it right they were great.

Though not quite as good as DA, still a worthy follow up. Love how sylvan song leads to dream of the archer. Love the photo of Ann/Nancy on cover.

Best Track: Barracuda

You wanna know my honest opinion? This is definitely not something I like. To be honest, I had to stop playing it because I got bored. This album definitely has pretty good individual tracks (depending on the track), but I just don't like it as an album. It's more of a collection of songs (and I'm ok with that) rather than an album.

From junodog4 12/02/2012 04:14

Is 'crunchy' a good way to describe a song and an album? That's what comes to mind...

Heart’s second record is nearly as good as their first, with a perfect first side—a great mix of acoustic and electric. I especially like “Sylvan Song/Dream Of The Archer,” with its rustic feel. Reminds me of Zeppelin’s “Battle of Evermore.” The second side falls off a bit, but it’s still quality material, and “Go On Cry” and “Treat Me Well” are particularly pretty. Makes my top 25 albums.