Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
You shouldn’t judge anything by its cover; except arguably for art itself.
It is to art that one of the grand ladies of Rock, Ann Wilson returns to the centre stage with her brand-new album, Fierce Bliss. Art not only for art’s sake, but one that cements the course she has been on for a while, as a woman who is more than the Heart decrees, and to whom time itself has been cowed into submission by her continued presence in the minds and soul of the fans.
The longevity and scale of Ann Wilson’s career, like her sister, is her intense drive, the sheer beauty that adds to the drama of her voice and the understanding of the musicians around her; ones that never leave her isolated or scrambling to hold the attention of the listener or allow any sense of impinging on the depth of expression that the words require.
In Ann Wilson’s second solo album in four years, the sense of growth on the sound is impressive as is the album cover, and one that proves that occasion we should judge, or at least compare the art on both the inside and outside.
Striking on the outside, the reflection of prominence that is revealed from the inside as Ms. Wilson spreads her composed feelings outwards, those inner musings, turmoil, and joys being framed by her own sons, and the covers that grace the album.
From Roger Dean’s impressive and colourful presentation, through tracks such as Black Wing, Gladiator, A Moment in Heaven, and in sentiments of homage in Queen’s Love Of My Life, Robin Trower’s Bridge of Sighs, and Eurythmics’ Missionary Man, Ann Wilson, alongside musicians and collaborators such as Tom Bukovac, Warren Hayes, Sean T. Lane, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Vince Gill, Fierce Bliss is an album that is prominent in its belief, is captivating as it is aurally arresting and relevant.
A fierce bliss, a cacophony of experience coupled with a personal harmony entwined within, Ann Wilson offers a slice of paradise which is hard to do anything but be impressed by. Creatively cool, vibrantly raging with femininity and feminist strength, this is Ann Wilson outside of Heart but displaying hers with extreme and unbound confidence.
Ian D. Hall