Heartland - Heartland III
Heartland have been on the go for some time. This is their third album. The CD that comes with the AOR fanzine 'Frontiers' had a track on it listed as being by Chris Ousey called 'Voodoo Eyes'. On the basis of that track I decided to check out the Heartland album. The track is actually on the album. My first impression was that the album felt very lightweight and I still feel that the production could be better. The album contains slow numbers with some more uptempo ones. If you like your albums to rock hard, then this definitely isn't the album for you. The standout tracks are the 'Ready To Receive.', 'Don't Say Goodbye' and 'When Angels Call'. These are all slower numbers. On the more uptempo, rockier numbers they fail to impress.
Before I purchased this album I had always thought of Heartland as fitting in the same category as FM. A competent band who write some good songs and will have moderate success. However, you know that they're never going to make it into the big time. After listening to this album, I haven't changed my mind. I hope I'm wrong, because I would really like to see the UK produce a top notch AOR band.
Rating : 7
