Music Review: Heart "Nothin' At All"

Heart

Nothin’ At All

Album: Heart

Year: 1986

         A casual interaction becomes a special moment for Ann Wilson in the cherishing  “Nothin’ At All.”

            A punchy guitar opens the single,  setting an awestruck tone. She remembers the first day she time she met her boyfriend. It was little past5 pm, and she had left work. On her walk to the subway, she pressed her coat tight to her and kept looking straight ahead. The only time she would talk is if she bumped into someone and apologized. the On the subway, she watched the lights flash while holding unto the pole, waiting for her next stop. She would return back to her apartment, make a quick dinner and then maybe read a book or watch some television, depending on her mood. She had decided to stop in at the bookstore that day and look around. While she was in the fiction section, she talked to one of the workers for recommendations. She enjoyed talking with him. After asking him about a particular book, his eyes lit up. On that day, she couldn’t respond back to him as usual. She was thrown by her inability to form a sentence and tried to hide her twitching hands underneath her sleeve. (“I would walk home every evening/Through the pyramids of light I would feed myself on silence/Wash it down with empty nights/Then your innocent distractions Hit me so hard My emotional reaction Caught me off guard.”)

           In the chorus, she could’ve touched his face in that moment, putting her head to his. Her feelings came in a rush, which she was unable to stop. She had imagined love at first sight to as two people sharing a slow gaze. Since then, they began to date and she often asks him where he learned to flirt so well. He tells her it was natural and he was being himself. (“It was nothing at all/Like anything I had felt before/It was nothing at all/Like I thought no it's so much more/No one else has ever made me feel this way/When I asked you how you did it/You just say It was nothing at all, at all.”)

             Now, at 5 pm, she wishes her co-workers a good night, walks out of the office and onto the street. Although her ankle is cramping from speedwalking, she gets past it, nearly leaping from the platform onto the train. She can’t wait to see him and talk about their day. She thinks back to how she kept him talking to her while at the bookstore. She was daring and put her hand on his as he put a book back on the shelf. She was determined to have his phone number before she left. (“Now I walk home every evening/ And my feet are quick to move/'Cause I know my destination Is a warm and waiting you/From our first communication/It was clear/Any thought of moderation/Would soon disappear.”)

             The chorus is sung again.

           The last half of the first verse is sung again. (“Then your innocent distractions..caught me off guard.”)

       The chorus is sung again.

     Wilson says “it was nothin’ at all” to end the single.

     Wilson’s gruff, rugged vocals are sensitive, softening from the tenderness who understands her. Despite her tough demeanor, she is vulnerable

        The lovesome “Nothin’ At All” doesn’t care if it’s cheesy or not, it’s still going to do what it wants, putting other AOR hits to shame.