Kicking and Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock and Roll

I'm not a fan of true life stories, but every now and then I've taken a chance. I read two books when I was in my 20s about The Beach Boys and about The Beatles. It really affected how I felt about them and their music, especially the one about The Beach Boys. To this day I can't stand their songs -- the very ones I used to like and enjoy before I read the book. When I got older I wondered if they were true biographies or just some trash someone wrote.

So I knew I was taking a chance with another rock'n'roll book. Yet this book was told by the people themselves: Ann and Nancy Wilson who I always knew as the sisters of the band Heart. Since I enjoyed the sample listen, I decided to download it and I enjoyed it. Parts of it I didn't care for -- the part that always seems to belong to the lives of those in the rock'n'roll bands, because I don't like hearing about drugs and sex. However, it wasn't lurid details they gave when recounting this part of their lives. It simply was.

As for the rest of the book, I really enjoyed it!! It was interesting to hear it told from both Ann and Nancy, as well as getting to hear memories by other people in their lives. If you were ever a fan of Heart, you know what excellent singers these women are and their reading voices were good, too. At first, even though an announcer tells you which person is speaking, it was difficult to distinguish their voices. Once I caught on, I could picture each woman as I've seen them performing on tv shows and videos throughout the years.

I first fell in love with Heart's music when I was in my late teens, so it was a thrill for me to hear the women tell of how "Magic Man," "Crazy On You," and "Dreamboat Annie" came into being. I followed their career and music for a while, then moved on. I came upon them later in their career and enjoyed "Barracuda" and "These Dreams" as well as others. Once again, I could remember the songs as they described the origin of the words.

I think what I especially liked about hearing the story of Ann and Nancy Wilson in their own words was realizing what I never knew before: they carved a pathway for lead female singers and lead female guitarists in the rock industry!! They really had a tough time dealing with stereotypes in a male dominated profession!! To their credit, they have continued their careers with its various ups and downs throughout these many decades, putting up with what might have broken lesser determined women.

I always dreamed about how that would have been me and my sister on stage, knowing which one of us would be which one of the Wilson sisters. Being so close to my sister, it made my heart happy to know how close they always were and still are!! It also tickled me to see how excited they were, no matter how old they were or how much success they had achieved, whenever they'd meet a rock idol of theirs!!

Any rock'n'roll fan, any fan of Heart, any fan of the Wilson sisters will truly enjoy this book!! They're so real, so down-to-earth, so loving and such gifted and talented artists!!

Although not a big fan of Heart, I really enjoyed listening to the sisters tell in their own voices about their experiences in starting the band and playing through the years. I found this to be a really solid listen.

I especially loved listening to the this audible book because Ann and Nancy read and recorded the story themselves. It's like sitting around a fire listening to true tales of their lives from childhood to now. It's a very intimate glimpse into their family life as well as their backstage and touring world. These are not frivolous women, they are as serious as Seattle. They tell of their failures and triumphs both equally and it makes one realize how dreams can come true even if they don't turn out exactly the way we imagined. These two women are sincere and authentic even after years of being pummeled by the things that fame and the entertainment business bring. They have always "had each other's backs" while remaining completely unique individuals. The two of them let us in on their feelings, insecurities and guilty pleasures. The listener time travels with Heart through the years of love and loss, adventure and excitement. I cried with them through some of the emotional experiences and was sad when the book ended.

It could be slightly compared to Keith Richard's Autobiography because they tell of their parents and family history all the way to present times and give answers to some of the urban legends and mysteries that have surrounded them. They have always been "rock and roll" and were immersed in the life fully whether they wanted to be or not. Keith and the Wilson sisters both always felt that the MUSIC was what mattered and never compromised that.

I've listened to their music for most of my life. It was interesting to hear the background story.

The same one used for the book - "The Story of Heart, Soul and Rock and Roll"

I think the book is better in audible form than the paper version because the REAL people that lived it are telling the story in real time! It doesn't get better than that if you are an autobiography fan.

First, let me start by saying I LOVE HEART. Great records, great songs, great performances, and a wide variety of music - what's not to like? The early history of the band is a great story of finding one's way and overcoming adversity (ie. weight, the perceptions of others, etc.) to carve out a truly great body of work. There's also a very clear sense of exactly how the Wilson sisters ultimately came to holding full control of the band, edging out the founders in the process - and that's actually a compelling and rational part of the story, which doesn't leave a sense of false ownership. Really, the band's appeal was always squarely focused on the sisters (for better or worse), not the various other members. Hats off to Howard Leese, quite frankly, for sticking around as long as he did; he clearly contributed significant amounts to Heart's legacy.

As the story makes its way into the 80's, however, the tone changes from empowerment to embellishment. It is awkward to hear a pair of trail-blazers for women in music (a term they are tired of hearing, I'm sure) describe their 80's-era output of music in such calculating terms - that the outside-written songs were terrible, that their outfits were involuntarily foisted on them, that the image and direction of the band was seemingly out of their hands, etc. It would be easier to respect that period of their career if they took responsibility for the choices that characterized it - and make no mistake: these were choices within their power to direct otherwise, and they instead opted to pursue an adulterated image and made-to-order song selections to maintain their profile and popularity in an ever-changing musical landscape. Others have opted to remain absolutely true to their musical integrity, which has led to bands being dropped, independent recording, and overall downsized fame (or even flame-out) and audience base - but I'll bet the audience that stuck around for those bands were the true believers that recognized authenticity and an unwavering sense of purpose.

The Wilsons will unfortunately probably never know how many of their 80s-era fans were fans of them or of the highly processed pop music they were recording at that time. And, again - I love Heart, and I really love a lot of what was on those Capitol albums (Heart, Bad Animals, Brigade, even Desire Walks On), because a great pop song is a great pop song, and a great performance is priceless. I just wish they were proud enough of that period to take ownership for their part in it, rather than suggesting they were involuntary participants, which seems a bit like having your cake and eating it too (enjoying the popularity, but disdaining the artistic compromises that made it possible). Hell, I'm sure Pat Benatar is sick to death of "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (an outside-written song, itself), but she still retains the pride of where that song took her to continue performing it in concert - a fact that I'm sure Eddie Schwartz (its writer) continues to appreciate.

Bottom line: this audiobook is a great story about a great band, then becomes a not-quite-apology for a period of their career they freely embraced at the time, to significant fame and financial gain. It seems that, if a band doesn't want to forever be defined by a song as mundane (my apologies, Mutt Lange) as "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You", they probably shouldn't have recorded it in the first place. Celebrity and adulation need to be actively pursued - no one has ever been forced to become popular at gunpoint.

I *did* listen to it again. I wanted to listen for the story between the lines stuff that gets left out per courtesy and/or legal department recommendations.

Ann and Nancy didn't want to be the Beatles' girlfriends, like their friends did - they wanted to be the Beatles; to play their own music, write their own songs, to be feminine and sexy and powerful.

K & S discusses Ann's struggles with her weight going back to pre-adolescence, and the pressure this put upon her, and the band - as if the ONLY accepted standard of beauty is thin, and the only measure of musical quality for a femme-led band is not voice, nor songwriting quality, nor musical performance, but the size and shape of the female members.

Ann talking frankly about her love/obsession for Michael Fisher. Quitting the band and taking off for Canada (whence M. Fisher had gone to escape the Vietnam draft), and living with him in a little round house over a stream, in a bed built on driftwood branches.

Nancy and her own similar but differing ideas and in the end, determination to find her own way.

* The intriguing details about the Magazine album, and finishing it under armed guard.
* I loved hearing about the "birth" of one of my favorite songs, Mistral Wind.
* The many stars who tried (and failed) to bed the Wilson sisters, either separately or together.
* Ann referring to "the song writing me," something I often feel about a story.
* The glimpses of the birth of the Seattle grunge movement, and Ann as one of its "mothers," down to sheltering its stars in her home and (platonically) in her bed.
* I cannot now remember which Heart band member wore unitards so as to show off his third nipple.
*The birth of the Lovemongers acoustic group.
* The 1995 official Heart hiatus as Nancy needed to work on babymaking.

Nancy's voice is sweet, and she has a way of inflecting sentences in the MIDdle, almost as if they are a QUEStion. Ann's voice is richer and lower in timbre, but was also somewhat raspy, and I wondered if she recorded her narration with a cold.

There are also sections read by their sister Lynn, and by others, like their co-songwriter Sue Ennis, and the band's former manager (and Ann's ex) Mike Fisher, lead guitarist (and Nancy's ex) Roger Fisher, Howard Leese, and more. It surprised me a bit that the exes would cooperate to the point of recording audio material.

When the music industry said they were finished, Heart was just getting started.

I suspect that genuine Heart fanatics who've followed every Rolling Stone and Circus and fanzine interview may feel like there's nothing genuinely new here. But for those like me, who genuinely enjoy the music, but haven't hung on every interview beyond the lyrics, there's a lot of insight here. It's also a fascinating look at the growth and changes in the music industry over the decades.

Close to the top

Just how much love they show for each other and their family.

It is like you are sitting there listening to them telling story's and you get the emotion through the way they tell everything. They were great.

Okay, as a female musician, I may be biased; I think Ann Wilson is one of the greatest singers in rock, and the songs Heart wrote in the 1970s are amazing. I recently saw Heart play live. These sixty-year-old women are still strong musicians and they can ROCK. So, I was prepared to really enjoy this book.

I loved learning about the music industry, and hearing the stories behind my favourite Heart songs -- all narrated by the actual Wilson sisters!

I am not a fan of Heart's 80s music, and it was particularly gratifying to learn that they didn't particularly care for some of those songs either -- it was the coke-fueled 80s 'star maker machinery' that was responsible for that egregious period. I could never correlate the talent that wrote the powerful "Barracuda" with the drivel that is "All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You". Makes sense now.

My only complaint was that I would have liked to have heard more about how the sisters' became musicians in the first place -- because the story begins when they are already in the fledgling incarnation of Heart.

A good listen.

A fantastic insight into the Wilson sisters rise to fame & how they survived the fame to become true artists. They paved the way for women in rock & have the scars to prove it.

This is a great behind the scenes look at one of the great rock bands. Ann and Nancy Wilson tell us a story that sounds true. Too many drugs, surprisingly little sex. Not that prudishness is rampant either.

The performance seemed dull compared to Tina Fey's and Penny Marshall's recent books. But then, Fey and Marshall are actors, the Wilson's are singers, musicians and songwriters.

I felt that this was an honest account but for most of the book you got a strong impression that it was simply overdone. There wasn't a joyous feeling through most of the book. Near the end of the book they hit a topic that really got them riled up - Sarah Palin. When the Palin camp tried to commandeer the song "Barracuda" the Wilsons fought back.

To be honest, if someone else read this book I probably would not have purchased it at all so I'm not suggesting that someone else read the book. But I bet they made a lot of mistakes when they did the first takes. I think I would put some of the mistakes into this performance.

Another thing, why not put into the performance some Heart songs - not the whole song, just a snippet here or there.

Not really.

Heart is important to me so I wanted every word. I just wish I felt a little more heart from Heart.

Even though each sister or contributor, was introduced when it was their time to speak, it didn't bother me. This is a TOTAL history of Rock N Roll from the early 70's to now....what a treat! I could just imagine how each of them felt when they met their idols! They connected with everyone in the music biz and it is amazing! I love how they get personal and tell their side of their lives, whether they were together or not....great family insight to their personal and VERY personal relationships. I have never been a BIG fan, but always loved their originals, like Barracuda, and always enjoyed their music. When they did All I Want To Do, I didn't like that era...and they felt it too....if you grew up with good and great rock in the 70's until early 2000's, then this is for you. Even if you hardly know or listened to them, for these ladies to lay it out there verbally, took ALOT of balls! You won't be disappointed!

BOTH!

ALL!

YES!

Loved it!