Ann & Nancy Wilson
Kicking and Dreaming is the official memoir of
sister rockers Ann & Nancy Wilson. The book follows their journey from
humble beginnings to mega stardom, from crashing and burning to an unlikely new
millennium rebirth. Setup as a series of stories as told by both sisters,
former band members and managers, and close friends, Kicking and Dreaming reads
much more like a collection journal entries than a proper book. It’s that approach
that makes this such a strong offering though as you gain insight into the very
private world of Heart as well as what was happening in each of their lives
that caused them to unite, and sometimes divide, throughout their legendary
career.
Heart is one of the few bands that can very neatly
be categorized into decades. So, if you are a fan of a particular decade but
not another, it’s easy to just pick and choose what interests you here. I will
say though that as a fan who grew up on eighties Heart albums, I was
particularly fascinated by the portions of the book that deal with the
seventies. The band were much more of…well….a band…in the seventies than they
ever were in the eighties and as someone pushing forty, it’s much easier to
appreciate that reading this now. I love how both sisters spend so much time
discussing how Roger Fisher, and his brother Michael (their one time manager),
were such an integral part of Heart and it’s shaping in the formative years. As
a matter of fact, the sisters do their past proud through the entire book by
giving credit where credit is due and not downplaying the contributions of
others. This book could easily have focused entirely on them.
Overall, this book is certainly primarily for Heart
fans. In a bigger way though, this will appeal to any fan of biographies or
memoirs that loves music. The Wilson’s have a fascinating personal story and
their take on the music industry is spot on. These ladies may not have seen it
all but when they were seeing things they were entirely aware of what was
happening. A great example of this are their thoughts on their eighties work
(best summed up with the phrase “Leave it to cleavage”!). This is a great read
from start to finish and their recent albums leave me with high hopes that this
is just Volume 1 of Kicking and Dreaming!
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
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