Passionworks

Passionworks is the seventh album on which Heart, around Ann Wilson’s powerful singing and Nancy Wilson’s guitar, boldly steps into a harder, more refined production in the 1980s manner. While surely keeping the former folk/hard-rock sense, more powerful rhythm and the then-fashionable synthesizer create a new musical outline for the band. An important record showing the process of change heading toward the next great success. From the powerful drive of the opener “How Can I Refuse” and the drama of “Allies” to the deep shading of delicate ballads, the Wilson sisters’ rich expression runs consistently through the songs, while cuts like “Johnny Moon,” “Blue Guitar” and “Sleep Alone” convey the work’s fullness. Content in which a sure adaptation to the 1980s sound can be felt. A record with a distinctive transitional texture as a great turning point heading from the good old 1970s style toward the more refined arena rock of the 1980s. On the following work, the band switched labels and achieved its record-breaking great revival. Thus it is an intriguing work capturing the figure just before that leap — a record where the Wilson sisters’ sure talent shines.