Roadcase Royale (Heart’s Nancy Wilson, New Power Generation’s Liv Warfield) Put “First Things First”

On their debut album, First Things First, the band, led by Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson and R&B vocalist Liv Warfield, a former member of Prince’s New Power Generation, conjure an affecting rock-and-soul sound that nods to each musicians particular musical past while also looking ahead to explore new sonic frontiers. From the laidback groove and liquid guitar chording of opener Get Loud to the piledriving heavy blues riffing of Not Giving Up, the sultry—and slightly Stones-y—love letter Cover Each Other to the hushed, hymn-like inspirational closer Never Say Die, First Things First draws from a diverse well of styles and sentiments

The roots of Roadcase Royale stretch back to 2015, when Heart had two shows scheduled at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. “We were looking for an opener, Wilson recalls, and we just happened to see Liv on Jimmy Fallon, performing with the Roots and singing a song called Why Do You Lie? Her energy, her power, her presence, it was so overwhelming. It was like, Oh my God…” Heart invited Warfield and her guitarist and musical director Ryan Waters—another alumnus of Princes band—to play the two dates at the Hollywood Bowl, and the seeds of Roadcase Royale were planted. “I ended up talking with Nancy and we just connected really quickly”, Warfield says. “Like, seriously, from hello”.

First Things First also features reworkings of two of Heart’s classic songs—the smash 1985 ballad These Dreams, and the hard-rocking Even It Up, which is given a slinky, funkier reading here. Its sort of like a transfer of power, Wilson says about bringing her past into her present. “You know”, she says, “doing this brand-new band after working with one rock group since I was 19, basically its been kind of an emotional and artistic lifesaver for me. AndI never expected it. When we first got together to do Roadcase Royale, I thought, Oh, its just a side project. And now I’m thinking, maybe not so much. Now I’m thinking, This is my calling.”

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