Maps of Music

Passionworks (1983)

Where the lyrics of Passionworks take you, and where it was really made.

Heart's move from hard rock to mainstream rock happened on the album that was also the band's last one with Epic Records.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

Carmassi and Andes replaced longtime members Mike Derosier and Steve Fossen
Final album with Epic Records before the band's comeback-fueled move to Capitol Records
Earlier albums were rooted in hard rock and folk; this one moved toward mainstream rock
Lead single 'How Can I Refuse?' peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100
The lead single also topped the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for one week
Second single 'Allies' peaked at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100

Keith Olsen handled production and engineering, and is also credited with arrangements
Brian Foraker and Dennis Sager are also credited as engineers
Mastering by Greg Fulginiti at Artisan Sound Recorders in California
David Paich and Steve Porcaro of Toto appear on several tracks
Paich plays piano on track 6 and synthesizers on tracks 1–3, 6 and 10
Porcaro plays synthesizers on track 11 and handles synthesizer programming
Lynn Wilson sings background vocals on track 6
Eleven tracks in total

Heart is an American rock band formed in 1974 in the Pacific Northwest, coalescing from earlier projects including the Army (1967–1969), Hocus Pocus (1969–1970), and White Heart (1970–1973).
By 1975 the lineup had settled with Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson, Michael Derosier, Howard Leese, Roger Fisher, and Steve Fossen.
The band rose to fame with music influenced by hard rock, heavy metal, and folk.

Ann Wilson (lead vocals, flute) and Nancy Wilson (rhythm guitar, vocals) are the only consistent members across the band's history.
Early members included Roger Fisher (guitar), Steve Fossen (bass), Michael Derosier (drums), and Howard Leese (guitar, keyboards).
Mark Andes (bass) and Denny Carmassi (drums) joined around 1982 after the earlier lineup changes.

Debut album Dreamboat Annie (1975) produced the hits "Magic Man" and "Crazy on You" and sold over a million copies.
The band split from Mushroom Records and signed with Portrait; "Barracuda" became a major hit in 1977.
A commercial decline in the early 1980s was followed by a mid-1980s comeback led by the album Heart (1985), which produced the No. 1 hit "These Dreams".
The 1987 single "Alone" spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Heart disbanded in 1998, reunited to tour and record several times afterward, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
The band has sold over 50 million records worldwide.

Rolling Stone's Errol Somay said the album seems like the soundtrack to an off-Broadway show that closed after two nights
Somay wrote that the album is almost totally lacking in hummable tunes and danceable rhythms
Somay concluded that the album does little more than showcase Ann Wilson's vocal pyrotechnics

AllMusic's Alex Henderson wrote about the album in retrospect
Henderson said it is not recommended to casual listeners
Henderson said serious Heart devotees will find it an enjoyable way for the Wilson sisters to end their Epic period

Reached number 39 on the US Billboard 200
Lead single 'How Can I Refuse?' peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100
Lead single topped the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for one week
Second single 'Allies' peaked at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100
Sales in the United States are reported at close to 500,000 copies (French Wikipedia)

Johnny Moon and Language of Love were re-recorded for Beautiful Broken (2016), Heart's sixteenth studio album, rather than reissued from this album.
Allies is the only song on the album written by someone outside the band: Jonathan Cain, then keyboardist of Journey.
The album reshaped the band's sound toward commercial, radio-oriented music.