Fierce Heart

''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 at number 28, and "Living on the Edge" at number 75, became hit singles. The album itself reached number 91 on 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.

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 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."

Recording

Capaldi and Steve Winwood 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''. 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",Capaldi, Jim (1983). Song details, ''Fierce Heart'' press kit. though the song is officially credited as solely written by Capaldi."Living on the Edge" publication info
ASCAP database. Retrieved August 18, 2011.

''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. Capaldi used two songs ("Runaway" and "Bad Breaks") from the 1982 album '' Runaway'' by the Dutch band Solution, for which he wrote most of the lyrics.

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. Almost all lyrics written by Jim Capaldi.

#"Tonight You're Mine" – 4:09
#"Living on the Edge" – 4:40
#"Bad Breaks" (music: Willem Ennes) – 3:06
#"Runaway" (music: Solution) – 3:24
#"Back at my Place" – 3:02
#"That's Love" – 3:37
#"I'll Always be Your Fool" – 3:48
#"Don't Let Them Control You" (music: Macau) – 5:10
#"Gifts of Unknown Things" – 5:10

Bonus Track (Cassette)
# "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" – 4:41

Personnel

Musicians

* Jim Capaldi – lead vocal, drums (tracks 1-2, 5-8), acoustic guitar (track 5), percussion, glockenspiel (track 7)
* Steve Winwood – keyboards, guitar (tracks 1-3, 8), backing vocal (tracks 3-4, 6, 9), marimba (track 9)
* Pete Bonas – bass guitar (track 4), guitar (track 3), acoustic guitar (track 6), ovation guitar (track 9)
* Brent Forbes – bass guitar (track 3)
* Bryson Graham – drums (tracks 3-4, 9)
* Van Morrison – acoustic guitar (track 1)
* Chris Parren – keyboards (track 3, 0)
* Ray Otu Allen – congas (tracks 3, 7-9), percussion (tracks 7-8)
* John Mizarolli – lead acoustic guitar (track 5)
* Nicole Winwood – backing vocals (track 6)
* Mel Collins – saxophone (tracks 7-8)
* Stevie Lange, Simon Bell – backing vocals (track 7)
* Geoff Driscoll – saxophone (track 8)
* Martin Drover – trumpet (track 8)

Additional personnel

* Linn drum patterns by Jim Capaldi and Steve Winwood
* Engineered by Steve Winwood (except tracks 5 and 7), Nobby Clark (except tracks 5 and 7), Dave Belotti (track 9), John Etchells (track 9), Phil Bodger (track 6), Mark Freegard (except track 2), Jon Walls (except track 2), Graham Watts (except track 2), Keith Fernley (except track 2) and Tom O'Leary (track 4)

References

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1983 albums
Atlantic Records albums
Jim Capaldi albums
Warner Music Group albums