Ann Wilson Details Heart’s ‘Devil’s Bargain’ in the ’80s

Ann Wilson believes Heart made a “devil’s bargain” during the ‘80s.

At the time, the band was going through a tumultuous period. After enjoying success in the ‘70s, the group’s popularity waned. Heart endured several lineup changes, and Wilson found herself questioning what direction the band should take.

“We had a record contract with Capitol at that point,” the singer recalled during a recent appearance on the Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan podcast. “And it was the thing that picked us up from not being able to be arrested. You know, I think we got dropped from Epic. And we met this guy, Don Grierson, who's no longer with us, but he was A&R at Capitol at the time. And he said, ‘Well, I really believe in you guys. So come to Capitol and I'll help you find the right songs.’ And so it was come hither, you know. And it was sort of presented like, you can do this or you can just say bye bye.”

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Feeling as though Heart had no alternative, Wilson and her bandmates accepted the offer. The group signed with Capitol and agreed to use outside songwriters for the first time in their history.

“It was a complete devil's bargain,” Wilson noted. “The songs that we were presented with, you just kind of had to swallow real hard and go, well, there's something about the song I like, but it hasn't got any substance.”

Wilson found herself singing lyrics that she felt lacked depth or emotion. “That was the problem I had with most of the songs that we got in the ‘80s, that we did, even the hits.”

Ann Wilson Didn't Understand the 'Zeitgeist of the '80s'

At the same time, Heart was still writing originals, but the label often bypassed them for material from outside writers. In hindsight, Wilson admitted she misread the musical landscape of the ‘80s.

“That was a clear case of me not understanding the zeitgeist of the ‘80s at all,” she confessed. “Because if I had understood that, I would have known that the songs I was writing, we were writing together, were just, they were somewhere else… And they weren't artificial, they weren't glossy, all those things that the ‘80s music was.”

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Despite Heart’s huge ‘80s resurgence – which included such memorable hits as “What About Love,” “These Dreams” and “Alone” – Wilson said she would do things differently if she had it over again.

“I would have spent more time listening to the radio,” she admitted. “And understanding what it was [about ‘80s music] that was turning everyone on so much. And not just the sound of it, not to copy other records, but to get a feeling about the soul of what's there.”