Heart: In the Studio | 
 enlarge | Author: Jake Brown
Publisher: Ecw Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $12.45
You Save: $7.50 (38%)
New (22) from $12.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 146871
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 252
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 10 x 7 x 0.7
ISBN: 1550228315
Dewey Decimal Number: 782.421660922
EAN: 9781550228311
ASIN: 1550228315
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Product Description
Profiling one of the most popular and enduring female-fronted hard rock bands in rock 'n' roll, this book offers a backstage pass to the writing and recording of all of Heart’s hit albums and smash singles. Featuring exclusive interviews with band leaders Ann and Nancy Wilson, this rock history also includes insights from longtime guitarist Howard Leese, as well as interviews with the producers who helped craft Heart's hits, including Mike Flicker, Ron Nevison, Keith Olsen, and Ritchie Zito.
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| Customer Reviews:
 pass July 13, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I am a huge Heart fan and I found the book a little boring and full of errors. There are some great parts with insights by Sue Ennis, but that is about it. I was disappointed. If you are a Heart fan it will be nice to own, if not, then pass on this one.
 The Story Lacks HEART July 5, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is highly informative, especially if you're a producer looking to use certain equipment. Technical details tend to go on far too long. The casual fan/reader will easily get lost. There's little explanation as to why the equipment is used or as to the ideas behind the wiring techniques in some cases. Much of it means nothing to me.
There are glaring editing mistakes sprinkled throughout. For example, Wynonna's name is misspelled and spelled differently on the same page. Some of the album sales information is also a little bit off, as if the writer is interjecting wishful views into certain parts of Heart's ups and downs. Completely skipped over is the recording of Heart's stellar 1995 album "The Road Home", or the 2003 release of "Alive In Seattle".
The book is lacking strongly in two areas. The first, stories behind the songs. What was the inspiring spark? Not just of the best known 1970s hits any fan can recite, but the stories behind songs the band wrote in the 1980s to the present. The other missing link is Ann & Nancy's side of the story. Life-long friend and co-writer Sue Ennis fills in gaps wonderfully, as does long time guitarist Howard Leese, however, Ann & Nancy's comments are reduced to magazine article quotes for the most part, especially the further into their career you read. Did they have no interest in sharing the glory of their successes? They offer up none of their personal views of the pressures of recording. It's all second hand information, and praise for the most part. (What happens on an off day? How do you go about choosing the final tracks for an album if you've recorded two times too many to fit?) For example, there's a story about the recording of Mutt Lang's (of Def Leppard) material. In view of that story, what was his reaction to his music being completely rearranged into an acoustic setting on "The Road Home"? Or, why present the image the band loves a new album ("Heart, "Bad Animals", "Brigade", "Desire Walks On") upon its release, and years later, feel the need to look back on such incredible work with such disdain?
I recommend any fan pick up this book. Simply beware of holding some parts of it as definitive gospel. If you have a good memory, or stacks of magazines and fanclub newsletters to sift through, the mistakes will be very easy to find. The story presented in this book takes human beings and turns them into unapproachable gods simply because of the lacking parts. If those holes were filled in, this book might be a complete band autobiography. Maybe it's time something of that nature was penned. Otherwise, "Heart - In The Studio" still receives high marks from me! Even with its flaws, it's time the sisters Wilson were given the recognition they so richly deserve.
just what the title promises June 13, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
took off a star because this book badly needed some more editing, the chronology jumped around sometimes, there was repetition using quotes and stories, and sometimes a misspelled name, place or Heart song title that maybe only diehard Heart wonks like me will notice but should be correct in a book that's about Heart.
BUT four stars because Jake Brown really does exactly what the title says: it's a nice studio chronicle, with lots of fascinating surprising producer interviews, TONS of great technical details (if you're interested in mics, amps, etc) and good stories about how some songs (mainly the hits) were written & recorded. The title tells you it's not an in-depth biography, so don't expect that, but it has good basic Wilson and Heart history, personal insights, lots of nice photos, and because it's the first real book on Heart (and probably will be for a while) for that reason it's definitely an essential fan purchase, and worth every penny. At the price of an average CD, can't go wrong with that, for a closer look at Heart's studio albums. I loved that along with Heart classics, Brown focused a lot on the last few years' releases (Jupiter's Darling, Hope& Glory) and looking to future music.
Heart is a legendary and still vital band with a great story and hopefully soon someone will write an even bigger detailed bio of everyone involved.
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