Ann Wilson’s Battle Against Selfishness
Heart singer Ann Wilson discussed her battle against hero selfishness, admitting she had to push against the feeling that “the spotlight always had to be on me.”
She explored the situation in the new song "Greed," which appears on her upcoming solo album Fierce Bliss. In a recent interview with Eon Music, she explained its background.
“‘Greed’ was written in a bit of a mood,” Wilson recalled, “because I was looking around myself and reflecting on the absolute materialism of our culture, and how no one ever seems to have enough – myself included.”
She added that "being selfish has always been one of the things that I’ve fought against in myself, and needing so much attention, and the spotlight always had to be on me, and all that; that’s greedy stuff. So that’s what the song is about. Like when I say, ‘I’m an angel / I’m a lush / I want nothing / I want too much,’ that’s the struggle between the greedy self and the self that’s trying to withdraw from that."
You can hear the song below.
Wilson also reflected on the challenge of releasing an album distinct from her main band. "It’s only challenging really because people need to be convinced that they can enjoy my stuff without the Heart name on it.," she explained. "As far as songwriting and singing and everything goes, all points of Heart meet in me, so if I sing a rocker, it’s going to sound like Heart just because of that. When I write a song for a solo album I don’t go, ‘Well, this is going to sound way different from Heart.’ Or a song for Heart, ‘This is going to sound like Heart only.’ … I just write the songs for who they are, and where they land, they land.”
Working solo, she asserted, delivers a series of wins: “Musically it’s been just a joy and a pleasure, and it’s taught me a lot about what I can do. … It’s led me to be a better songwriter and a better singer, I think, just doing solo stuff.”
Meanwhile, she confirmed she’ll be regrouping with sister Nancy Wilson to mark Heart’s 50th anniversary next year. “It’s going to be a very cool event, and yeah, we’re going to make a really good thing out of the big birthday celebration, and maybe even an album,” she said. “It’s happening – I just can’t talk about it yet because it’s so early.”
Fierce Bliss will be released on April 29.