After more than 30 years in the music business, Heart vocalist Ann Wilson has released her first solo album, a highly enjoyable affair laden with guest vocalists.
At first, one has to question whether or not one original song and 11 covers really constitutes a solo album. Any doubts are quashed within a few songs, however, as there’s such a great vibe to this disc that the number of covers becomes a non-factor.
Things kick off on a great note with a delicate cover of Pink Floyd’s “Goodbye Blue Sky.” Covering Floyd is always a risky affair; as the band was such a musical anomaly, it’s a difficult task to do its songs justice. Ann nails it on this take though, offering a stripped-down version with some modern guitar tones scattered throughout, and some great vocal harmonies with sister Nancy Wilson. 
An upbeat take on Elton John’s “Where To Now St. Peter?” follows, with Sir Elton himself trading off verses with
There’s a definite theme about the covers that Ann Wilson chose for her solo debut. Neil Young, Bob Dylan, John Lennon…Hope And Glory is littered with politically-charged songs from the late 60s and early 70s. Thankfully, each of them are more subtle and artful affairs than the likes of System of a Down or Ted Nugent, for example. “War Of Man,” arranged as a duet with Alison Krauss, is simply gorgeous, while a fiddle-powered rendition of CCR’s “Bad Moon Rising” with Gretchen Wilson offers a surprisingly catchy and refreshing take on an old classic.
Admittedly, there are a few misses on this disc. How odd though, that they would be the more rockin’ numbers!