
The next two months will have a whole lot of
Heart — the superstar rock band, that is — with three releases of classic and recent music coinciding with the group's three-month, 40-plus date nationwide summer tour. On May 13, Epic/Legacy will release a Heart two-for set that combines their landmark, multimillion selling albums Little Queen (1977) and Dog & Butterfly (1979) into one eco-friendly package as part of the debut of the X2 series. The X2 set boasts five bonus tracks, including a live recording of Heart performing Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven"; and the liner notes by critic Michael Hill for the Heart Playlist collection make the case that "You could call Heart the first great indie-rock band" — they debuted with Dreamboat Annie on a Canadian independent label — and observe how "The Wilson sisters flipped the script on male-dominated rock, fronting a group of guys while never acceding to the role of rock-chick window dressing. Their up-tempo numbers were loud, fast, and economically arranged, focusing on Ann's amazing pipes and some killer guitar licks, but they also displayed a gentler, more hippie-like side that was equally appealing."