On August 14, Wilson will be performing with Paul Rodgers and Jeff Beck at the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh. “Deborah Bonham comes out and does a 30 minute set, and then I come on and do a set of 45 minutes. I am not doing as much the old Heart songs. I am here to support my new album, Immortal, which comes out in September, so I will be doing songs from that,” she said. “Then, Jeff Beck and Paul Rodgers are alternating with who closes the show each night.”
She revealed that the only Heart song that she will do in her set on the “Stars Align” Tour is “Barracuda.”
Her album Immortal will be released on September 14 on BMG. “I looked at a list of artists that had recently left their bodies. I looked at their bodies of musical work and picked the songs that I liked the most, not just the hits. That’s how I selected the songs,” she said.
From the new CD, Wilson shared that, at the moment, her favorite song is the Leonard Cohen-penned “A Thousand Kisses Deep.”
Wilson will be touring for the rest of the year, and then she will be headed to the United Kingdom, to support her Immortal album. “My husband and I are also going to do some traveling soon,” she said.
This past April, Wilson inducted The Moody Blues into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “Justin Hayward is a great musician. I was very nervous to induct them,” she admitted. “That felt fantastic. Ever since I was a kid, The Moody Blues were one of my favorite bands and I followed them like a disciple for many years. Some of my own songwriting was influenced by Justin Hayward.”
Looking back in a rear-view mirror over the last four decades, Wilson said, “I see years and years of super-hard work and travel. I see a lot of love. Overall, a very good life.”
On staying connected with her fans, Wilson said, “I do it through social media these days.” For aspiring singer-songwriters, she encouraged them to write about what they really feel. “Don’t try to copy anybody else,” she said.
Her proudest professional moments include “doing my own solo shows the last two years.” “It has been a really nice voyage of self-discovery,” she said. “Those were some of my proudest moments.”
Digital transformation of the music business
On the impact of technology on the music business, Wilson said, “Technology puts music in the hand of everybody. There are some cons to it. There is no quality control anywhere, which could also be a good thing. Another con is that the music world is supersaturated. There is too much content out there to weave through.”
Wilson is pleased with the fact that vinyl is coming back and noted that Immortal will also be available on vinyl. “The album will sound really good,” she promised.
On her use of technology in her daily routine as a musician, she said, “I have an iTunes library, but I am pretty old school. I like to choose music and buy it because I respect artists getting paid for what they do. I listen to music with my headphones and on my computer.”
For her fans, she concluded about her new album, “I hope they will check it out and take the songs in the spirit I intended them. They are great, well-written songs with a great message for today. They are an oral tradition from some fine poets to be passed down. The songs on this album are ‘immortal.’ It’s not about the artists or me, it’s about the expression that they left behind.”
Immortal is available for pre-order on iTunes.
To learn more about Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ann Wilson of Heart, her new music, and her touring schedule, check out her official website, and her Facebook page.