Heart Album: “Dog And Butterfly”

If you are only a casual Heart listener you may be familiar with the title track and 'Straight On' thanks to the radio. However 'Dog & Butterfly' should be listened the whole way through to be appreciated. The second side should not be divided into separate tracks ('Dog & Butterfly', 'Lighter Touch', 'Nada One', and finally 'Mistral Wind'), but should be listened to the whole way through to truly reach the place where Ann's vocals want to take you.

You'll never hear finer vocal work than Ann Wilson, and you'll be hard pressed to find better Ann Wilson than 'Dog & Butterfly'. Her haunting voice brings forth such emotions as wanting, hurting, and yearning, but also demands attention, and can grow into a rage. If there is a better female vocalist than Ann Wilson I never heard her, and probably no one else has either.

I've been listening to this album for 20 years and have still not grown tired of it. The second half is a tour de force that still blows me away -- starting with the classic Dog & Butterfly followed by three of the most incredible songs to never get airtime -- Lighter touch, Nada One, and Mistral Wind. I would buy this album just to listen to Mistral Wind over and over again. If you don't have this album, buy it now! You will not be sorry.

This album is a dilemma for me; Loving the Wilson Sisters like I do, and knowing that they are the core of all editions of this great group, you still need to take a step back and realize how really great Heart was in this first incarnation, brilliant musicianship, amazing song writing and unique ocherstration. I love every song on this CD, which is why I gave it 5 stars but... As an album it lacks concept and cohesion which is the hallmark of the two first albums, so I will tell you how I make it all better.

I have long had a favorite mix CD that was made by rearranging the order of the songs of

and

into one 80 minute CD.

Here's what I propose to do next.

I take out Magic Man and White lightning and Wine and from Dreamboat, and Barracuda and Kick it out from Little Queen, and ad in Straight on, Dog and Butterfly, Lighter Touch, Nada One, and Mistral Wind from Dog and Butterfly, I order them as seems to flow best starting with Dreamboat Annie, put the transitional Dreamboat Annie in the Middle and the Reprise on the end. A perfect album (at least for me).

So what about the other songs in Dog and Butterfly and the great songs I have just removed from two of my favorite albums?

I make my next album... Adding Bebe le Strange, and Even it up from

and Heartless, Devils Delight, Just the Wine, and Magazine form

. Take the rest of the songs from Bebe Le Strange and put them with

as they fit more with 80's Heart than 70's Heart. Take the Cover songs from Live and Magazine and various other albums and add them to a separate collection of Heart and

CD's.

It is probably crazy to anyone else, but I bet any Heart fan would like my reshuffled CD's

But that's just me.

Even though you may not find many reviews that agree with this one, Dog & Butterfly was one of the greatest musical offerings and moments in time in all of rock history. After the '80 follow up Bebe le Strange, it would never be the same. The magic and chemistry could never be duplicated again. This is not a negative review but a very honest one. Heart did in their first 4 albums what most bands could or will never achieve- absolute brilliance,life changing music, and near perfection. In 1978 Aerosmith and Heart ruled the musical world. Look for California Jam 2, you won't be disapointed. Everyone has that special elite list of recordings they wish they could share with the world. Dog & Butterfly is very near the top of my list. This was one of those life changing records that do exist. You are familiar with all the stand out tracks,but how about this one? - Lighter Touch. After many hours of playing time, you will arrive to the same conclusion, that is of course if you consider yourself an expert with a greater level of taste than the average radio listener. Ann had a passion for her music possibly like no one ever has or ever will. Thanx Wilson sisters for enriching my life the way that you did. I can think of no higher praise than what is written in this review. If you haven't owned this in 20 years, do yourself a huge favor and purchase it again for the tenth time.

"Dog & Butterfly" was Heart's best rock album, and the last to feature Roger Fisher on electric guitar. Track for track, it's a tour de force of blistering guitar riffs, catchy lyrics, and impeccable vocals by Ann Wilson. While not the most Led Zeppelin influenced album of their career (that award goes to 1980's "Bebe Le Strange"), "Dog & Butterfly" does showcase two of their most Zeppelinesque compositions in "Nada One" and "Mistral Wind."

Heart kicks off their third studio album with the vamped-up, "Cook With Fire," recorded live at the Centroplex Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee. It's a high-energy rocker that sets the bar for the rest of tracks, and it's uphill from there. The songs are fun, quirky, introspective, and inspired.

"Straight On" features those signature choppy guitar chords, which Heart became famous for in songs like "Heartless" and "Barracuda." By contrast, "Dog & Butterfly" is an acoustic folksy Sylvan melody that reminds us why we put the album on in the first place. Another standout piece is the beautiful, "Lighter Touch," a precursor to their mid-80's power ballad phase (which I was never a big fan of), but this song yields more guts and rock-sensibility than those future lightweight pop hits.

This 2004 Sony reissue has been wonderfully re-mastered with three bonus tracks, including a live version of "Heartless" from the infamous "Magazine" album. The sound is fresh and clear, and well worth the minimal cost I paid through an Amazon re-seller.

Where the CD gets it wrong, however, is in the packaging. The liner notes by Nancy Wilson are scant, the lyrics have not been re-printed nor has the artwork on the inner sleeve, the album credits are missing, and the original album cover art has been altered to show the dog on the same cover as the butterfly. (The original cover art had the butterfly on the front cover and the dog on the back cover. This may sound like nitpicking, but the imagery was essential to the theme of the album. Side One of the album was called "Dog," which held the upbeat rock songs. Alternatively, the "Butterfly" side of the album was Side Two, which held the slower mid-tempo tracks.)

Heart was the first real "Seattle" rock band, and this album proves--over 30 years later--why they were so successful. Recommended.