Heartland - Bridge Of Fools

Tracks :-

Tomorrow Won't Wait
Castles In The Sand
Where The Pieces Fall
I Will Wait For You
Elena
Front Page News
Only A Heartbeat Away
Not Til Heaven Falls
Hardworking Man
Feels Like Magic
Still Got My Feet On The Ground
Don't Let The Fire Die

Total playing time : 50.26 m:s 

Producer : Steve Morris
Label : Escape Music Ltd
Year : 1997

It's been about a year and a half since the last Heartland album and now they're back with a new one. Heatland III was one of the first albums that I reviewed in Mood Swings. In that review I had Heartland labelled as a band of second division players. So, to be perfectly honest, my expectations for this one weren't that great. I was expecting another competent enough, but ultimately flawed, album.

The first track, Tomorrow Won't Wait, fades in and it looks like I could have been wrong. I didn't like the production/sound on Heartland III, especially on the uptempo numbers. This time out, they've got the production well and truly sussed. This FM/Whitesnake style number blasts from the speakers and this time round the bottom end thumps the message home.

The second track, Castles In The Sand, has me thinking back to singer Chris Ousey's old band, Virginia Wolf. This would make a good single and in years gone by it might have actually been a hit. I could go on describing the album track by track, but I'd run out of new things to say and you'd get bored. So I'll be a bit more selective from here on in.

Elena is a slow to mid-tempo number that would be at home on a Foreigner album. With it's glorious chorus, you'll be hitting the repeat play button on the remote before you move onto the rest of the album. The following track, Front Page News, is very Smuggler's Blues (by Don Henley) and adds some variety to what's on offer. By the time Hardworking Man arrives it's back to Foreigner mode again. Don't Let The Fire Die finishes off the album well. Whereas the previous couple of tracks see the band going off the boil slightly, this is Heartland going over the finish line at full speed.

I haven't heard the first two Heartland albums, but this is miles better than Heartland III and I suspect this their best album to date. As previously Chris Ousey's voice is the star of the show, but this time Steve Morris's production and the songs provide a suitable platform to show it off at it's best.

Rating : 8/9