This is my second question. It just came to me today. I can tell you are a positive and upbeat person and doubt you would down anyone else. I am curious, though, as to how you liked the direction Heart's music went into after you and your brother left the band. Do you think there would have been songs like Alone, These Dreams, and What About Love, etc. had the two of you remained involved with Heart?
Thanks,
Tracey H.
RF: Another excellent question Tracey, thank you.
I was baffled. I couldn’t believe they could take such a great riff that I had contributed to the song Bebe Le Strange, and lose its intensity and energy the way they did. Then they went on to abandon their own songwriting in favor of songwriting that was, in my opinion, below them. It was obvious why they made those decisions, and understandable - but not forgivable, from my artistic sense. They lost a lot of followers at that point, and had to scramble to dig up a “winning hand” again. To me, it was sad, but I always supported them publicly, encouraging people to buy their latest albums.
Any major fork in the road like what was taken when Mike and I left Heart would yield completely different outcomes. It’s not up to me to speculate whether those songs would have happened or not. I do believe that Heart’s popularity wouldn’t have plummeted, but only increased had we not left, but that makes me sound arrogant.
I think the specific chemistry of Ann and Nance and my composing, catalyzed by Mike Fisher’s insight, vision, and high standard of quality, would have yielded amazing music. I believe we would have broken new ground in music. I believe we could have been hugely successful - way beyond anything Heart ever achieved. I know… easy for me to say :-)
The proof of that statement could be in the response to Mike’s and my new album. We’ll have to watch and see how it’s received, because it IS groundbreaking.