Forgotten series: True Hearts – The Other Stuff (1980)

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Coming to be in 1979 and known as the Flirts, this Houston, Texas-based band gained a rabid local following with their bang-up breed of rocking guitar pop.

A deal with the Counterfeit label resulted in an EP, which hit the shelves in 1980. Packs of praise, coupled with pockets of airplay ensued, suggesting the band was on the road to even bigger and better accomplishments.

To remind us how special the group was, Kool Kat Music roped together a fabulous collection of their nuggets, duly titled True Hearts last year. Sterling reviews flowed, causing one to wonder how and why the band failed to ascend to the next level.

Well, it’s common knowledge most groups have complicated histories. Personnel changes, aborted recording sessions, musical differences and so on and so on and so on. Such a situation claimed True Hearts, with the lead guitarist and drummer leaving the ranks shortly after the EP was issued. The band brought in new members, but the dynamics were not the same.

Although True Hearts crafted more material and planned to carry on, the shift marked the end of the band. Not available for purchase, Other Stuff features tracks recorded by the revamped version of the group. While these songs don’t thoroughly represent the true-hearted (sorry about the pun) style of the band, they are interesting to hear in hindsight and will hopefully encourage readers to check out the excellent retrospective released by Kool Kat Musik.

Shedding the original Who-, Raspberries- and Cheap Trick-influenced power-pop moves in favor of a harder edge, True Hearts lavish tunes like “Everytime” and “It’s Alright” with polish and perfection. Curlicue guitar licks, compounded by grand stadium rock vocals and super large hooks and harmonies define the efforts. To call these tunes early samplings of pop metal is fair. All the ingredients that characterized the likes of Night Ranger, Bon Jovi and White Lion are there. Slick arrangements and crisp instrumentation further cement the landscape.

The remaining numbers on the disc, “It’s Over,” “She Said” and “Oh California” are just as good and catchy. A professional demeanor fires the performances, feeding the songs with an air of confidence.

I personally enjoy everything by True Hearts and can only imagine what a greater impact they would have made had they hung in there a bit longer and shared similar goals.

‘True Hearts,’ featuring Terry Carolan, is available for purchase via Kool Kat Musik at this link.

Beverly Paterson