HEART: What about love? 7″ 1988 CL 487 + Shellshock. Check video

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Description

“What About Love” is a song recorded by the rock band Heart, and released in June 1985. The bands “comeback” single, it was the first Heart track to reach the top 40 in three years, and their first top 10 hit in five. It was released as the first single from the bands self-titled 1985 album, Heart, as well as their first hit single on their new record label, Capitol Records.

The song was originally recorded in 1982 by Canadian rock group Toronto, of which songwriters Sheron Alton and Brian Allen were members. (The other songwriter, Jim Vallance, was not a member of Toronto, though he played drums on Toronto’s recording of the song.) However, Toronto elected not to release their version, upsetting Alton and Allen. They subsequently left the band and the song was offered to Heart who turned it into a worldwide hit.
Grace Slick and Mickey Thomas, co-lead vocalists of Starship at the time, provide additional background vocals on the song.

Reception:
The songs sound marked a considerable change in the musical direction for Heart, moving from the hard rock and folk rock of their earlier work to a more polished, power-ballad sound. “What About Love” received extensive airplay on MTV and returned Heart to the Top-10 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in five years, peaking at #10.
The song peaked at #14 on the UK Singles Chart upon its re-release in 1988.

Artist: Heart

Side 1: What About Love
Side 2: Shell Shock
Record label: Capitol
Catalogue no: CL 487

Songfacts®:
This was Heart’s first single under their new contract with Capitol Records. It marked a turnaround for the band, which after a triumphant run of hits in the ’70s got off to a rough start in the ’80s with a decline in sales and little airplay for their new material on radio or MTV. Capitol, determined to return them to commercial glory, paired them with a new producer, Ron Nevison, and had them record songs written by outside songwriters. “What About Love” is one of these outside tracks – it was written by Brian Allen and Sheron Alton of the Canadian band Toronto, along with Jim Vallance, who co-wrote many of Bryan Adams’ hits. The song was written for Toronto but they didn’t record it. The demo found its way to Heart, which turned it into their first Top 10 US hit since “Magic Man” in 1976. Their next two singles did even better: “Never” hit #4 and “These Dreams” went to #1.

In this song, Ann Wilson addresses a guy who is not returning her affections. Trying to get through to him, she warns him that he better open his heart and accept her love, because he might need it someday.

Ann Wilson’s vocal is much more dynamic on this track compared with previous Heart material. The verses are very restrained, but then she explodes into the chorus. She attributes this to producer Ron Nevison, who coached her to hold back her big voice at times to create more impact when she let it loose.

The video was directed by David Mallet, who was known for avante-garde videos like David Bowie’s “Ashes To Ashes” and Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga.” In “What About Love,” the band is in some kind of foundry, wearing lots of leather and lace. It was the first Heart video to get significant airplay on MTV.

This was the first Heart song to chart in the UK, where it reached #14.

Heart’s canon is split between rock classics from the ’70s (“Barracuda,” “Straight On”) and lite favorites from the ’80s like “What About Love.” Their legacy is pegged to their ’70s output when they disrupted the male-dominated world of rock with an uprising of classic songs mostly written by the Wilson sisters, who were the clear leaders of the band. When they entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013, it was with that ’70s lineup.

Additional information

Weight 0.09 kg

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