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Passionworks | 
 enlarge | Artist: Heart
Label: Sbme Special Mkts.
Category: Music
List Price: $6.99
Buy New: $2.52
You Save: $4.47 (64%)
New (29) Used (7) from $2.52
Avg. Customer Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 73492
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 724950
UPC: 886972495026
EAN: 0886972495026
ASIN: B0012GN332
Release Date: March 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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| Tracks:
| • | How Can I Refuse - Heart, Andes, Mark | | • | Blue Guitar | | • | Johnny Moon - Heart, Ennis, Sue | | • | Sleep Alone | | • | Together Now | | • | Allies - Heart, Cain, Jonathan | | • | (Beat By) Jealousy | | • | Heavy Heart | | • | Love Mistake | | • | Language of Love | | • | Ambush |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 Thought I was one of only a few.. July 24, 2008
I have always LOVED this album since I first bought it when it came out. Anne's voice is awesome and the music is as well. I saw this tour and thought it was great! I have NEVER understood why this album didn't do well? They rock throughout rather it's a heavy guitar sound on "Sleep Alone" or arena anthem harmonious sound of "Allies"....this is a MUST for ANY Heart fan who hasn't heard it!!
Not the best Heart album, but far from the worst February 25, 2008
"Passionworks" is the last Heart album to have come into my possession, largely because it was regarded as the "forgotten" Heart album by reviewers. I began listening to it with lowered expectations, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised, even enjoying it more than their other albums from the same period ("Bebe le Strange", "Heart", and "Bad Animals").
"How Can I Refuse" is a standard rocker from Heart, equivalent to "If Looks Could Kill" from their eponymous album. There the comparisons mostly end - rather than radio-friendly, synth-driven singles, some solid songwriting follows: the rags-to-riches story of "Blue Guitar", the spacey and lilting "Johnny Moon", the pounding rhythm and vocal harmonies of "Sleep Alone". "Together Now" and "Allies" are rather boring attempts at depth, but then Heart comes back into their element with the funky and catchy "(Beat by) Jealousy", the slowed-down melancholy of "Heavy Heart", "Love Mistake", and "Language of Love". "Ambush" is a rather puzzling ending track, but it is fun to listen to.
"Passionworks" is catchy without being cliche, as their next two albums so often proved to be.
Good quality November 3, 2006
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was surprised by CD sound quality. Manufactured in Japan by Sony - exelent sound.
Passionworks Rocks! March 21, 2006
Heart's 8th album titled "Passionworks" was released in August of 1983. Today, this album is viewed by many fans as a "transition album". Having fired Steve Fossen and Michael Derosier after the "Private Audition" album sessions, the Wilson sisters regrouped, hiring Mark Andes on bass and Denny Carmassi on drums respectively. This lineup (including Howard Leese on keyboards and lead guitar) would go on to achieve great success from the mid eighties into the early nineties. However, at the time of Passionworks' release, the band's record label (Epic) viewed the album as a do or die effort given the lackluster sales of "Private Audition" and subsequent personnel changes.
Despite wonderful production helmed by Keith Olsen (famous for his work with Fleetwod Mac) and solid material mostly written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, and longtime friend and collaborator Sue Ennis, the album barely made the Top 40 album charts (it peaked at 39) and Heart was dropped from the Epic label.
This album, in my opinion, is far better than most of Heart's highly regarded releases "Heart", "Bad Animals", and "Brigade". An album doesn't necessarily have to have commercial success to make it good, high sales don't change the quality of the material. This album has, to quote Ann Wilson, "the soul-center" of Heart's previous heyday while making the adjustments in style to fit into the confusing and skewed music scene of the early eighties.
'How Can I Refuse', the album's first song and single (44 on Billboard's Hot 100) plants a strong foot starting off the album with a heavy guitar groove and drum beat. A sort of "story song" telling of a woman desperate for her lover's touch. Excellent guitar work and vocal performances should have pushed this song up higher on the charts.
'Blue Guitar', another story song, speaks of a young girl in a struggling band that hits the bigtime. The hectic pace and lonely nights force her to seek solace with her "man", a blue guitar.
'Johnny Moon' is not really a story song, but has an interesting story behind it. Originally recorded under the title 'Feels' for the "Dog & Butterfly" sessions, the song's lyrics were scrapped and the arrangement was slightly changed for it's resurrection on Passionworks. 'Feels' did end up seeing the light of day however, being released on the remastered version of "Dog & Butterfly" in 2004 as a bonus track. Both versions are so well done it's hard to choose a favorite.
'Sleep Alone' is another hard-rocker. A sassy, cheeky tale of a woman yearning to reaquaint herself with a one night stand. To quote the song, "Alone in his car/ You think of his name/ Took part of you with him/ It won't be the same/...You dream all day, climb the walls all night/ No satisfaction till he makes it right."
'Together Now' was released as the b-side to the album's second single...
'Allies'. A beautiful ballad written by Jonathan Cain of the band Journey. Only reaching 83 on the charts, it's obvious Epic had given up on promoting the album or it's singles, because this song had "hit" written all over it.
'(Beat By) Jealousy' is a solid song on the album, but not one of my true favorites.
'Heavy Heart' is a story of love lost and the turmoil inside that follows with trying to "get back in the game".
'Love Mistake' is inarguably the best song written and performed by Nancy Wilson. The first few lilting bars of the song always give me goosebumps. I assume the "K.C." the song refers to is longtime male friend of the band Kelly Curtis. The song is Nancy's consolation to a friend on a broken relationship, letting him know she'll always be there for him. An excellent accoustic version of this song appears on Nancy's solo album, 1999's "Live At McCabe's Guitar Shop".
'Language Of Love' shows Ann's frustration to write a steamy letter to her lover and how to get the words just right.
'Ambush' is about a "too cool for his own good", player type of guy getting the roles reversed on him and being pursued by a strong, seductive woman. A kind of opposite of 'How Can I Refuse' in a roundabout way. A fitting end to a truly superb and classic Heart album, at least to me.
 Fustrating Production - Great Songs December 6, 2005
Passionworks, released in 1983, is perhaps Heart's most fustrating album. The band is clearly in transtion here - longtime members Mike Derosier, Steve Fossen, and Roger Fisher are gone; replaced with Mark Andes and Denny Carmassi. Also gone is Heart's organic style of rock - replaced with a pop/rock sound dominated by synthesizers (you'll be hard-pressed to hear Nancy's acoustic guitar anywhere on this album) which they would perfect on 1985's "Heart" album. Annoying is the drum effects used on every single song - it sounds very dated today but I guess it was cool in the early 80's. If you can overlook this you'll find many excellent songs here: some of Heart's best like "How Can I Refuse", "Johnny Moon", "Sleep Alone", "Allies" (why wasn't this song a massive hit??), and "Language of Love". Also included are some of Heart's weakest songs: "Ambush", and "Together Now". They are not horrible - just not up to Heart's usual excellence. Heart would go on from here to totally transform itself into a corporate pop/rock hit making machine - - baffling long-time fans and gaining a bunch of new ones who thought the "Heart" album was thier first record. Had the production been more "real", this could have been a killer album since the songs are so good.
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