Dreamboat Annie

iTunes Review

Heart was either a late-blooming hippie-rock combo or a forerunner of 1980s-style mainstream heavy metal — take your pick. What’s clear is that the band’s 1976 debut Dreamboat Annie provided a refreshing injection of female energy into the era’s male-dominated rock scene. Singer Ann Wilson’s prodigious pipes earned her comparisons with Robert Plant — and, to be honest, her shrill high notes do bring Led Zeppelin’s lead shrieker to mind. But such similarities are offset by the group’s Jefferson Airplane-like trippiness and knack for pop hooks. Ann’s sister Nancy brings out Heart’s gentler aspects with her acoustic guitar work, highlighted on “Soul Of The Sea” and the billowing title number. Lead guitarist Roger Fisher unleashes crunchy riffs and searing fretwork, spurring Ann on to swagger through tunes like “Magic Man” and “White Lightning And Wine.” All of these elements come together in “Crazy On You,” a well-directed celebration of madness matching delicately poetic verses with a go-for-the-throat chorus. Beyond all this, there’s a genuine spirit and ambition to Dreamboat Annie that places it a cut above typical mainstream rock. Heart had soul at the dawn of their career, as this still-impressive first effort demonstrates.