Top 10 Fiona Songs

Feature Photo of Fiona: photographed by Andrew Greto ©

Our Top 10 Fiona Songs article presents the music of Fiona Flanagan who first arrived on the music scene in the 1980s. Hands down, Fiona has always been one of our favorite rock and roll artists. The simple goal of this article is to celebrate some of her finest recordings while hopefully turning on some younger music fans to her music.

Many music fans who grew up in the New York Metropolitan area in the 1970s were big fans of the Good Rats. That Long Island based group will always be regarded as one of the most exciting rock and roll bands to perform in New York rock clubs for years. Additionally, the band was also signed to Atlantic Records where they released a series of fantastic albums. The connection between Fiona and the Good Rats is fueled by the fact that the Good Rats band leader, songwriter and lead singer the late Peppi Marchello produced Fiona’s debut album.

Radio stations like WBAB on Long Island and others began playing the Fiona album often mentioning the fact that Peppi Marchello produced the album. This caught the attention of Good Rats fans like myself immediately. However, what caught the attention even more so of music fans, was the fact that this new voice on the music scene going by the name Fiona had recorded a killer album that spawned the single “Talk To Me,” that rock fans could not get enough of. The song also went into rotation on MTV which helped Fiona begin to develop a national audience.

I remember hearing the song “Talk To Me,” on the radio and instantly being hooked to the passionate rock voice of Fiona. There was a grit to it, especially on the high notes that was simply captivating. Fiona was pure rock and roll. She was completely genuine and delivered a sound that seemed to blur the lines between 70s rock and 80s metal.

Fiona has released five studio albums. Her self-titled debut album Fiona was released in 1985. Fiona followed up her debut album in 1986 with the release of Beyond The Pale. It would be another three years before Fiona fans got a new Fiona album. However, fans did get some new music as Fiona starred in the film Hearts of Fire with Bob Dylan. The soundtrack album contained four new Fiona songs. In the middle of her successful music career, Fiona had not only starred in a major motion picture opposite one of the greatest musical artists of all time in Bob Dylan, she also appeared as the character Jackie in one of the hottest tv shows of the 80s in the Miami Vice episode “Little Miss Dangerous.”

In 1989, Fiona released her third album entitled Heart Like A Gun. Another three years would go by until Fiona released her fourth album called Squeeze. As the years went by it seemed as if Fiona fans had enjoyed their last Fiona album with Squeeze. However, almost twenty years after the release of Squeeze, Fiona returned with a new album in 2011 entitled Unbroken.

Below are ten songs that we have chosen from across her entire career that we feel should serve as a starting point for fans looking to get into the music of Fiona.

# 10 – Hang Your Heart on Me

We open up our top 10 Fiona songs list with the cooking song entitled “Hang You Heart On Me.” This seemed to be the perfect choice to open up our Fiona songs article since this song was the opening track on Fiona’s debut album. The song opens up with the Good Rats drummer Joe Franco exploding out of the gate knocking the tweeters out of the speakers. Guitarist Bobby Messano lays down a slick guitar riff, and the rides all set for Fiona to deliver her scorching vocals.

Fiona’s debut album was released in 1985. The album’s opening track “Hang You Heart On Me,” was composed by Fiona Flanagan, Donnie Kisselbach, and Harry Reilly. Donnie Kisselbach played bass on the album The song was never released as a single, but it did receive a lot of airplay on FM rock radio.

# 9 – Everything You Are

Continuing with our top 10 Fiona songs list we take a jump from her 1985 debut album to her latest release in 2011. The song “Everything You Are,” was released on the album Unbroken. Fiona can knock a ballad out of the ballpark just as well as she does the rockers. This beautiful song was originally released by the band Prophet in 1985. Fiona sounds so good on this one. She sings this ballad with such a perfect tenderness that the song calls for. Yet, what always made Fiona stand out, was that behind the sweetness on the ballads, was an intensity that you knew was going to hit you in the heart at any second. She never misses……

# 8 – Hopelessly Love You

Fiona’s second album Beyond The Pale was a dramatically different effort than her first. As with any new musical artist that comes swinging out of the gate with an album that captures the attention of millions of rock fans, record companies, management and anybody else involved in an artist’s career will always try to take that artist to the next level. That usually entails bringing in big-time producers, legendary session players, hit songwriters, and a better coffee machine. Many rock artists could get lost in the middle of all those changes. However, Fiona’s vocal talent and passion were far too strong to be overwhelmed by any sort of stylistic changes. The result was an album that sounded like the time period it was recorded in. Heavy uses of synths, big style production and a very slick sound. That was the sound of 1986.

The song “Hopelessly Loves You,” defines our point. Listen to the song’s opening. It’s very keyboard dominated. The Nile Rodgers’ sound looms heavily on this track. Nile Rodgers‘ guitar playing creates the groove. His guitar is low in the mix, but it’s essential to the rhythm of the song. David Rosenberg’s drums are loud in the mix which is a key element in that big 80s sound. This is an interesting song in Fiona’s catalog. It showcases an entire team of players surrounding an extremely talented artist in trying to catapult her to superstardom. This is a common story in rock history. “Hopelessly Loves You,” was released as the album’s second single. The song was written by Michael Stewart and Dan Williams. The album was produced by Beau Hill.

# 7 – Ain’t That Just Like Love

In the number seven position on our top 10 Fiona songs list is the song entitled “Ain’t That Just Like Love.” The song was released on the album entitled Squeeze. The album was released in 1992. This was an interesting album that started with the album cover. For the first time, a Fiona album cover did not only feature Fiona. The cover seemed to indicate that Fiona had now become the name of the band. Basically, the intent of recording the album was to do it as a band with the musicians featured on the cover. Nonetheless, the music is all Fiona Flanagan. The band is fantastic, but it’s still the Fiona Flanagan show as it should be.

There were so many great songs on the album but we felt that the album’s second track was a good representation of the album and the sound that Fiona was delivering in 1992 while being surrounded by dark depressing grunge music that everyone was going crazy over. It didn’t matter to Fiona what else was happening, she continued to do her thing, her own style, her own music, despite the success and popularity of grunge in 1992.

# 6 -Rescue You

Every once in a while a rock and roll vocalist will hit a note in a song that hits with so much power and passionate energy that the moment just leaves the listener breathless. Fiona hit such a note in the mesmerizing song “Rescue You.” It happens toward the end of the song when she had just about had it with the subject of the song and sings “in the blackness of the night.” It’s her final notes of the song and you are left wondering who is still standing. The powerful rocking ballad was written by Peppi Marchello. The Good Rats frontman wrote four of the eight songs released on Fiona’s debut album.

# 5 – Hearts Of Fire

At the halfway point on our top 10 Fiona songs list is the stunning movie soundtrack song entitled “Hearts Of Fire.” Fiona hit a grand slam with this one. This is such a great song that Fiona recorded The song was issued on the soundtrack album to the motion picture Hearts Of Fire. The film was released in 1987. The movie starred Fiona Flannagan as rocker Molly McGuire. Hearts of Fire also starred Bob Dylan as Billy Parker and Rupert Everett as James Colt. There were many other great artists in the film including the man who opened Woodstock in Richie Havens as Pepper Ward and Ian Dury as Bones. “Hearts Of Fire,” was a perfect soundtrack song for the 80s.

# 4 – Love Makes You Blind

At the number four spot on our top 10 Fiona songs list we turn once again to the most heavily represented Fiona album on this list. The song “Love Makes You Blind,” was released on Fiona’s 1985 debut album titled Fiona. The song was also featured in the motion picture No Small Affair which starred Demi Moore and Jon Cryer.”Love Makes You Blind,” stands as one of the most powerful rock ballads Fiona ever recorded. Fiona lays it all out on the line on this one. Her vocals will cut right through you. The song “Love Makes You Blind,” was written by Peppi Marchello.

# 3 – Loved Along The Way

As we travel through Fiona’s catalog we jump ahead again to her most recent album Unbroken. One of the album’s strongest tunes was the mid-tempo heavy rocker “Loved Along The Way.” Almost thirty years since her debut album, the rock and roll world finds Fiona still releasing fervent rocking tunes.

Fiona’s long awaited fifth album was produced by Fiona’s husband James Christian who many rock fans will know from the band House Of Lords. Besides producing the album, James Christian also played bass on the record. The album also featured the return of Bobby Messano on guitar as well as Tommy Denander also on guitar. The rest of the musicians on the album included Jeff Batter on Keyboards, James Jamal on drums and Robin Beck on backing vocals. Robin Beck also performed a duet with Fiona on the track “This Heart.”

# 2 – Everything You Do (You’re Sexing Me)

No other song in Fiona’s catalog sounded as glam metal as this one. We couldn’t make a top 10 Fiona songs list and leave this one off. With Kip Winger on board, this one was heavy glam metal. In fact, it wasn’t just Kip Winger singing a duet with Fiona on the track. Kip Winger played bass on the entire album along with Rod Morgenstein on drums who also played drums in the band Winger. Many rock fans also knew Rod Morgenstein from his time in the fabulous Dixie Dregs. Fiona went back a long way with Rod Morgenstein because it was the demos she recorded with members of the Dixie Dregs in the early 1980s that helped her secure a record deal. The video for this one is also a lot of fun. This is major league world series glam metal that is just so jaw-dropping with these two.

# 1 – Talk To Me

We close out our top 10 Fiona songs list with the song that started it all for Fiona. The exhilarating song “Talk To Me” was released on Fiona’s debut album entitled Fiona. The song’s slow keyboard introduction quickly breaks away into a full-fledged rocker that spares no time in introducing the electrifying voice of Fiona. There is no waiting around for the song to start to captivate the listener, this one grabs you by the neck the second Fiona steps up to the microphone.

All that rock fans came to love about Fiona is featured in full force in the song “Talk To Me.” The resonance in her voice is striking. Every syllable, every word sung is delivered in such stunning fashion, You believe everything she is singing about. She puts you in the moment, a moment we all know well when she screams “just give it to me straight.”

The song “Talk To Me,” was written by Beau Hill. Rock fans who loved to read the liner notes on albums will recognize that name. Beau Hill produced many big-time albums including releases from the bands Ratt, Warrant, Winger, Alice Cooper, Kix and more. At one time Beau Hill and Fiona were also married.

The song “Talk To Me,” was a hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number sixty four. The song was an even bigger hit on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks breaking into the top 20 and hitting the number twelve spot. Regardless of chart success, it remains the song that turned so many fans onto the talents of Fiona turning them into lifelong fans.