Fanatic (album)

Fanatic is the fifteenth studio album by American/ Canadian rock band Heart, released on October 2, 2012, by Legacy Recordings. The album was recorded in hotel rooms and studios up and down the West Coast, with Grammy Award-winning producer Ben Mink, who had previously produced Red Velvet Car (2010), back at the helm.

Fanatic
Studio album by Heart
Released	October 2, 2012
Recorded	May 2011 – March 2012
Studio	Sunset Sound (Los Angeles)[a] The Village (Los Angeles)[b] Room 320 (Bellevue, Washington)[c] Ritz-Carlton (Chicago)[d] Sunset Marquis Villa (Los Angeles)[e] Jerry Don's bus (St. Louis)[f] Lochinkop (Vancouver)[g] Plumper Sound (Pender Island, British Columbia)[h]
Genre	Hard rock folk rock
Length	39:41
Label	Legacy
Producer	Ben Mink
Heart chronology
Strange Euphoria (2012) Fanatic (2012) Beautiful Broken (2016)
Singles from Fanatic
"Fanatic" Released: 2012

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	74/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	B−[3]
PopMatters	9/10[4]
Revolver	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]

Ann and Nancy Wilson drew from their own lives and personal experiences as inspiration for the album. "Dear Old America" comes from memories of a military household and is written from the point of view of their father, a Marine Corps officer, returning from war. "Rock Deep (Vancouver)" hearkens back to the city where Dreamboat Annie was written and "Walkin' Good" (a duet with Vancouver resident Sarah McLachlan) captures the joy of finding new life in a new love.

Fanatic debuted at number 24 on the Billboard 200, selling 16,000 copies in its first week.^[7] The album also reached number 12 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart. The song "Fanatic" peaked at number 24 on Billboard's Heritage Rock chart.^[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson and Ben Mink, except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Fanatic"	3:44
2.	"Dear Old America"	4:01
3.	"Walkin' Good" (with Sarah McLachlan)	3:46
4.	"Skin and Bones"	3:42
5.	"A Million Miles"	5:05
6.	"Pennsylvania"	3:10
7.	"Mashallah!"	4:07
8.	"Rock Deep (Vancouver)"	4:20
9.	"59 Crunch"	3:21
10.	"Corduroy Road"	4:25
Total length:		39:41

Best Buy exclusive edition bonus tracks^[9]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Beautiful Broken"	A. Wilson N. Wilson Mink James Alan Hetfield	2:40
12.	"Two Silver Rings"		2:57
13.	"Zingara"		3:56
Total length:			49:14

Japanese edition bonus tracks^[10][11]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Going to California" (live)	Jimmy Page Robert Plant	4:44
12.	"Misty Mountain Hop" (live)	Page Plant John Paul Jones	5:00
Total length:			49:25

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Fanatic.^[12]

Heart

• Ann Wilson – vocals (tracks 1, 2, 4–10); background vocals (all tracks); flute (track 3)
• Nancy Wilson – guitar (tracks 1–5, 7–10); background vocals (all tracks); mandolin (track 5)
• Ben Mink – guitar, programming (all tracks); sonic mangling (track 1); violin (tracks 2, 3, 5, 7–9); viola (tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 9); keyboards (tracks 2, 4–7, 9, 10); banjo, organ (track 3); mandolin (tracks 5, 10); field holler (track 5); background vocals (track 7); baritone viola (tracks 8, 10); string arrangements, strings (all tracks)
• Ric Markmann – bass
• Ben Smith – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Sarah McLachlan – vocals, background vocals (track 3)

Technical

• Ben Mink – production
• David Leonard – recording, mixing
• Alex Williams, Geoff Neal, Sam Hofstedt, David Eaman – engineering assistance
• Chris Potter – recording (Sarah McLachlan vocals) (track 3)
• Craig Waddell – mastering at Gotham City Studios (Vancouver)

Artwork

• Mike Joyce – art direction, design
• Norman Seeff – photography
• Ann Wilson – sketch
• Carol Peters – sketch
• Ben Mink – photography

Charts

Chart performance for Fanatic

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[10]	118
UK Albums (OCC)[13]	142
US Billboard 200[14]	24
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[15]	12
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[16]	16

Notes

1. December 2011
2. January 2012
3. Additional recording; May and November 2011
4. Additional recording; August 4–7, 2011
5. Additional recording; June 2011
6. Additional recording; August 10, 2011
7. Additional recording; June 2011 – March 2012
8. Additional recording; June–November 2011