Fierce Heart
Encyclopedia
Fierce Heart is the eighth solo album by British musician Jim Capaldi
. The album has a far more synth
-heavy approach than any of his previous albums, though the songs are mostly in the same aggressive rock/pop vein that Capaldi had long been associated with. This synth-heavy pop sound was exactly what 1980s audiences were looking for, and the songs "That's Love
"(which broke the top 40 in the USA) and "Living on the Edge" became hit singles. The album itself reached number 91 in the Billboard 200
.
Capaldi was not as fond of Fierce Heart as his other works, and as little as five years after its release he was publicly professing that he thought it fell too much into the adult alternative
vein.
The album is dedicated to the memory of Rebop Kwaku Baah
, Jim Capaldi's former bandmate in Traffic
, who died in January of the year the album was released.
The minor hit "Living on the Edge" was written while on tour in Germany, with a lyric based on the Nagual
Don Juan
.
"I'll Always be Your Fool" dates back to Capaldi's time with Traffic. He says that the original idea for the song was "laid down with rhythm box and piano in 1972."
had maintained a working partnership since Traffic
's dissolution; Winwood played on at least one track on all of Capaldi's albums save Electric Nights, and Capaldi in turn had contributed to all of Winwood's albums. With Fierce Heart, Capaldi enlisted his old partner as a major collaborator. Winwood co-produced the album with Capaldi, co-engineered
it, played on every track (including solos on four of the tracks), and even arranged three of the songs: "Back at my Place", "Don't Let Them Control You", and the hit single "Living on the Edge". In a press release, Capaldi claimed that Winwood also co-wrote the music to "Living on the Edge", though the song is officially credited as solely written by Capaldi.
Fierce Heart was the first solo album by Jim Capaldi on which he played most of the drums himself. It was recorded at five different studios, with some of the songs containing tracks recorded at three different studios.
Most of the tracks were mixed to place emphasis on the synthesizers. Only "Runaway" was recorded without synthesizers, though "I'll Always be Your Fool" and "Gifts of Unknown Things" use them sparingly. Only three tracks use electric bass; the instrument is synthesized on the remaining tracks.
Jim Capaldi
Nicola James "Jim" Capaldi was an English musician and songwriter. His musical career lasted more than four decades. He co-founded Traffic in Birmingham with Steve Winwood, and the band's psychedelic rock was influential in Britain and the United States...
. The album has a far more synth
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
-heavy approach than any of his previous albums, though the songs are mostly in the same aggressive rock/pop vein that Capaldi had long been associated with. This synth-heavy pop sound was exactly what 1980s audiences were looking for, and the songs "That's Love
That's Love (song)
"That's Love" is a song by British singer/songwriter Jim Capaldi. Written mostly while Capaldi was in Brazil, it developed further over the course of recording sessions in England. It was recorded for the album Fierce Heart and released as a single...
"(which broke the top 40 in the USA) and "Living on the Edge" became hit singles. The album itself reached number 91 in the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
Capaldi was not as fond of Fierce Heart as his other works, and as little as five years after its release he was publicly professing that he thought it fell too much into the adult alternative
Adult alternative
Adult alternative may refer to:*Adult album alternative, a radio format*Modern adult contemporary, a radio format*Smooth jazz, a radio format...
vein.
The album is dedicated to the memory of Rebop Kwaku Baah
Rebop Kwaku Baah
Anthony "Reebop" Kwaku Baah was a Ghanaian percussionist perhaps best known for working with the 1970s rock groups Traffic and Can.-Biography:...
, Jim Capaldi's former bandmate in Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
, who died in January of the year the album was released.
Background
As with Capaldi's two previous albums, The Sweet Smell of... Success and Let the Thunder Cry, a significant portion of Fierce Heart drew inspiration from his new second home, Brazil. At least three of the songs ("Tonight You're Mine", "Back at My Place", and "That's Love") were mostly composed in Brazil and finished in England, and "Don't Let Them Control You" is actually a cover of a Brazilian song originally recorded by Sandra Ca, with new lyrics by Capaldi. In addition, the lyrics to "Gifts of Unknown Things" were inspired by the book of the same name, which in Capaldi's words "deals with the mysteries of life in Brazil."The minor hit "Living on the Edge" was written while on tour in Germany, with a lyric based on the Nagual
Nagual
In Mesoamerican folk religion, a Nagual or Nahual is a human being who has the power to magically turn him- or herself into an animal form: most commonly a donkey, turkey, or dog, but also other and more powerful animals such as the jaguar and puma.Such a Nagual is believed to use his powers for...
Don Juan
Don Juan
Don Juan is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra by Tirso de Molina is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630...
.
"I'll Always be Your Fool" dates back to Capaldi's time with Traffic. He says that the original idea for the song was "laid down with rhythm box and piano in 1972."
Recording
Capaldi and Steve WinwoodSteve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
had maintained a working partnership since Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
's dissolution; Winwood played on at least one track on all of Capaldi's albums save Electric Nights, and Capaldi in turn had contributed to all of Winwood's albums. With Fierce Heart, Capaldi enlisted his old partner as a major collaborator. Winwood co-produced the album with Capaldi, co-engineered
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
it, played on every track (including solos on four of the tracks), and even arranged three of the songs: "Back at my Place", "Don't Let Them Control You", and the hit single "Living on the Edge". In a press release, Capaldi claimed that Winwood also co-wrote the music to "Living on the Edge", though the song is officially credited as solely written by Capaldi.
Fierce Heart was the first solo album by Jim Capaldi on which he played most of the drums himself. It was recorded at five different studios, with some of the songs containing tracks recorded at three different studios.
Most of the tracks were mixed to place emphasis on the synthesizers. Only "Runaway" was recorded without synthesizers, though "I'll Always be Your Fool" and "Gifts of Unknown Things" use them sparingly. Only three tracks use electric bass; the instrument is synthesized on the remaining tracks.
Track Listing
All music written by Jim Capaldi, except where noted. All lyrics written by Jim Capaldi.- "Tonight You're Mine" - 4:09
- Jim CapaldiJim CapaldiNicola James "Jim" Capaldi was an English musician and songwriter. His musical career lasted more than four decades. He co-founded Traffic in Birmingham with Steve Winwood, and the band's psychedelic rock was influential in Britain and the United States...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
; Steve WinwoodSteve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
- synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
; Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
- acoustic guitar
- Jim Capaldi
- "Living on the Edge" - 4:40
- Jim Capaldi - vocals, drums; Steve Winwood - synthesizers, guitar
- "Bad Breaks" (music: Willem Ennes) - 3:06
- Jim Capaldi - lead vocal, miscellaneous percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
; Steve Winwood - synthesizers, guitar solo, backing vocal; Bryson GrahamBryson GrahamBryson Graham was a rock drummer, most notable as a member of Spooky Tooth, Girl and as a session musician.- History :Bryson Graham commenced his professional recording career, at the age of seventeen as a member of Mainhorse Airplane, with David Kubinec . He was later with Mainhorse with...
- drums; Brent Forbes - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
; Pete Bonas - guitar; Chris Parren - additional keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
; Ray Otu Allen - congaCongaThe conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
s
- Jim Capaldi - lead vocal, miscellaneous percussion
- "Runaway" (music: SolutionSolution (band)Solution were a Dutch progressive rock band that existed from 1970 to 1983, during which time they released six studio albums and one live album...
) - 3:24- Jim Capaldi - lead vocal; Steve Winwood - organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, piano, backing vocal; Bryson Graham - drums; Pete Bonas - bass, guitar
- Jim Capaldi - lead vocal; Steve Winwood - organ
- "Back at my Place" - 3:02
- Jim Capaldi - vocals, drums, acoustic guitar; Steve Winwood - synthesizers; John Mizarolli - lead acoustic guitar
- "That's LoveThat's Love (song)"That's Love" is a song by British singer/songwriter Jim Capaldi. Written mostly while Capaldi was in Brazil, it developed further over the course of recording sessions in England. It was recorded for the album Fierce Heart and released as a single...
" - 3:37- Jim Capaldi - lead vocal, drums, percussion; Steve Winwood - synthesizers, backing vocal; Nicole Winwood - backing vocal; Pete Bonas - acoustic guitar
- "I'll Always be Your Fool" - 3:48
- Jim Capaldi - lead vocal, drums, acoustic piano, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, percussion; Steve Winwood - synthesizers; Mel CollinsMel CollinsMel Collins is a British saxophonist and flautist and session musician.He has worked in a wide variety of contexts ranging from R&B and blues rock to jazz, but is perhaps known for his work in progressive rock, as with King Crimson, Camel and the Alan Parsons Project.-Career:Collins has worked...
- saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
; Ray Otu Allen - percussion, congas; Stevie Lange - backing vocal; Simon Bell - backing vocal
- Jim Capaldi - lead vocal, drums, acoustic piano, glockenspiel
- "Don't Let Them Control You" (music: Macau) - 5:10
- Jim Capaldi - vocals, drums; Steve Winwood - synthesizers, guitar; Mel Collins - saxophone solo; Geoff Driscoll - saxophone; Martin Drover - trumpet; Ray Otu Allen - congas, percussion
- "Gifts of Unknown Things" - 5:10
- Jim Capaldi - lead vocal, percussion; Steve Winwood - backing vocal, marimbaMarimbaThe marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
; Bryson Graham - drums; Jim Leverton - bass; Pete Bonas - ovation guitar; Chris Parren - synthesizers; Ray Otu Allen - congas
- Jim Capaldi - lead vocal, percussion; Steve Winwood - backing vocal, marimba
Additional personnel
- Linn drum patterns by Jim Capaldi and Steve WinwoodSteve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
- Engineered by Steve Winwood (except tracks 5 and 7), Nobby (except tracks 5 and 7), Dave Belotti (track 9), John Etchells (track 9), Phil Bodger (track 6), Mark Freegard (except track 2), John Walls (except track 2), Graham Watts (except track 2), Keith Fernley (except track 2), and Tom O'Leary (track 4)