ANN WILSON > Hope and Glory

Videos by American Songwriter

This record could be subtitled “War and Peace,” for that’s the underlying theme. But though one could infer that this is very much an anti-war record, Wilson has largely chosen to draw on the past, seeking out favorite songs that still have resonance today.Label: ZOË
[RATING: 4]

This record could be subtitled “War and Peace,” for that’s the underlying theme. But though one could infer that this is very much an anti-war record, Wilson has largely chosen to draw on the past, seeking out favorite songs that still have resonance today.

Wilson’s been a recording artist for more than 30 years, so it’s strange to realize that this is her first solo album-even odder, perhaps, that she’s opted to do covers, when she’s a more-than-capable songwriter herself. She’s also invited along a bevy of guest stars, and doesn’t hesitate to rework a song to her tastes, so “Bad Moon Rising” becomes a lively backwoods stomper (with a harmony vocal from Gretchen Wilson). She teams with Elton John for a charged “Where to Now St. Peter?” and turns “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” into a mother/daughter lament with help from Wynonna Judd. Nonetheless, she’s best on her own (or with sister Nancy); check out the way she holds the word “insane” on John Lennon’s “Isolation” (her beloved Led Zeppelin gets a nod on “Immigrant Song”). Then there’s the closing track, her own “Little Problems, Little Lies,” the lament of a dying soldier, that fully brings home the gravity-and the insanity-of war.

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