Dreamboat Annie

iTunes Review

An exceptionally confident debut, Dreamboat Annie launched Heart as a platinum rock act on the very first try. Mixing gentle folk-style ballads with surging uptempo rockers, the album still packs a wallop today. Ann Wilson’s commanding vocals — blending silken coos with banshee wails — bring Robert Plant to mind without falling into slavish imitation. Radio listeners became familiar with the lusty thump of “Magic Man,” the strutting leer of “White Lightning and Wine” and (most of all) the soaring, mood-shifting mania of “Crazy On You.” But the softer numbers on this album are just as vital to the band’s identity as the more aggressive material. Introspective pieces like “Soul of the Sea” and “How Deep It Goes” find Heart working in a delicate mode that highlights Nancy Wilson’s polished acoustic-guitar touch. The wistful title tune is a late-blooming Summer of Love hippie effusion. Roger Fisher’s piercing lead guitar work gives able support to the Wilson sisters throughout these tracks. Muscular and misty-eyed, Dreamboat Annie captures the raw intensity of a band destined for decades of glory.