Dreamboat Annie

Dreamboat Annie is the debut studio album by American rock band Heart. At the time, the band was based in Vancouver, British Columbia; the album was recorded in Vancouver and first released in Canada by the local label Mushroom Records in mid-1975.[5] It was released in the United States on February 14, 1976, through the subsidiary of Mushroom Records in Los Angeles. The album contains three commercially successful singles, two of which became staples on FM radio. Producer Mike Flicker helped the group to polish their sound and obtain a recording contract with the label.

Dreamboat Annie
Studio album by
Heart
ReleasedSeptember 1975
RecordedJuly–August 1975
StudioCan-Base, Vancouver
Genre
Length40:02
LabelMushroom
ProducerMike Flicker
Heart chronology
Dreamboat Annie
(1975)		 Little Queen
(1977)
Singles from Dreamboat Annie
  1. "How Deep It Goes"
    Released: 1975
  2. "Magic Man"
    Released: July 1975
  3. "Crazy on You"
    Released: February 1976
  4. "Dreamboat Annie"
    Released: December 1976
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[2]
Rolling StoneFavorable[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]

Recording

The album was recorded on an Ampex MM1000 16-track tape recorder (which formerly belonged to United Western Recorders) at the Can-Base Studios in Vancouver, which were later renamed to the current Mushroom Studios. It was the first commercially successful album recorded there.

Release

Heart's first single, "How Deep It Goes" (backed with "Here Song"), received little attention when released in Canada by the small Mushroom label in 1975. The second single, "Magic Man" (backed with "How Deep It Goes"), was first picked up for radio play by CJFM-FM 96 in Montreal,[6] while the band was on tour playing small club dates.

Dreamboat Annie was released in Canada following the success of the second single. The album cover was designed by current Emily Carr University of Art and Design communication design instructor Deborah Shackleton[7] Heart's first radio success earned them a spot opening a Montreal concert for Rod Stewart in October 1975.[8] More Canadian airplay soon followed, partly because Heart's recordings qualified for Canadian content broadcast requirements. The album sold an impressive 30,000 copies across Canada in its first few months.

Mushroom then formed a US division and released Dreamboat Annie on Valentine's Day 1976 in the Seattle area, where Heart's members had lived and played before relocating to Canada in the early 1970s.[9] The album was played by Seattle stations KISW and KZOK and promptly sold another 25,000 copies in the local area. The group and their label then began working together to build success for the album city by city. According to Flicker, this was part of a plan to convince record distributors that Mushroom had a hit record, so that the album would get national distribution. "Crazy on You" was the first single released in the US, around the same time as it was released in Canada, "Magic Man" was then released in the US as the second single there followed by title track as the third single (fourth in Canada).

Subsequent events

The success of the album indirectly led to a break between the band and label. The first cracks appeared when the group tried to renegotiate their royalty rate to be more in keeping with what they thought a platinum band should be earning. For this Michael Fisher, who was Ann Wilson's boyfriend at the time, stepped aside as de facto manager and Ken Kinnear was hired. Mushroom's tough stance in negotiations, and their opinion that perhaps the band was a one-hit wonder, led to Mike Flicker leaving the label. He did, however, continue to produce for Heart.[10]

The relationship broke down completely when the label bought a full-page ad in Rolling Stone mocked up like a National Enquirer front page.[11] The ad used a photo similar to the one on the Dreamboat Annie album cover, showing Ann and Nancy back to back with bare shoulders. The caption under the photo read "It Was Only Our First Time". The band had not been consulted and was furious with the double meaning of the caption.

Since the label could no longer provide Flicker as producer as the contract specified, the band took the position that they were free to move to another label and signed with Portrait Records. Mushroom insisted that the band was still bound to the contract which called for two albums. So, Mushroom released Magazine with incomplete tracks, studio outtakes and live material and a disclaimer on the cover.[10]

The band got a federal injunction to stop distribution of the 1977 edition of Magazine. Most of the initial 50,000 pressings were recalled from stores. The court eventually decided that the band could sign with Portrait, but that they did owe Mushroom a second album. The band returned to the studio to re-record, remix, edit, and re-sequence the recordings. Magazine was re-released in 1978 and sold a million copies in less than a month.[10]

Shelley Siegel, the promoter behind the "First Time" ad and vice president of the record label, died a few months after the re-release, and Mushroom Records went bankrupt two years later. The episode had at least one more repercussion. Not long after the ad appeared, a radio promoter asked Ann about her lover; he was referring to Nancy, thus implying that the sisters were incestuous lesbian lovers. The encounter infuriated Ann who went back to her hotel and wrote the words to what became one of Heart's signature songs, "Barracuda".[10]

In the 1980s, after Mushroom Records folded, Capitol Records acquired the rights to the album and re-released it in 1986.

Track listing

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

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Magic Man"5:28
2."Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child)"1:10
3."Crazy on You"4:53
4."Soul of the Sea"6:33
5."Dreamboat Annie"2:02
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."White Lightning & Wine" 3:53
7."(Love Me Like Music) I'll Be Your Song" 3:20
8."Sing Child"
4:55
9."How Deep It Goes"A. Wilson3:49
10."Dreamboat Annie (Reprise)" 3:50

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Dreamboat Annie.[12]

Heart
  • Ann Wilson – lead vocals (all tracks); flute (tracks 3, 8, 10); backing vocals (tracks 3, 7–9); acoustic guitar (track 9)
  • Nancy Wilson – electric guitar (tracks 1, 6); acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 3, 5–7, 9, 10); backing vocals (tracks 3, 5–10); 12-string acoustic guitar, 6-string acoustic guitar (track 4)
  • Roger Fisher – electric guitar (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6–9); acoustic guitar (track 1); lap steel (track 7)
  • Howard Leese – electric guitar (tracks 1, 3); synthesizer (track 1); orchestral arrangements (tracks 4, 7, 9, 10); bells (track 5); orchestra bells (track 7); backing vocals (track 8)
  • Steve Fossen – bass (tracks 1, 3–8, 10)
  • Mike Derosier – drums (tracks 6, 8)
  • Heart – arrangements

Additional musicians
  • Dave Wilson – drums (track 1)
  • Ray Ayotte – conga (track 1); percussion (track 4)
  • Mike Flicker – percussion (track 1); timpani (track 10); arrangements
  • Kat Hendrikse – drums (tracks 3–5, 7, 10)
  • Rob Deans – synthesizer (tracks 3, 9); orchestral arrangements (tracks 4, 7, 9, 10); piano (tracks 9, 10)
  • Geoff Foubert – backing vocals (tracks 3, 5, 7, 10); banjo (track 5)
  • Tessie Bensussen – backing vocals (tracks 3, 5, 10)
  • Jim Hill – backing vocals (tracks 3, 5, 10)
  • Brian Newcombe – bass (track 9)
  • Duris Maxwell – drums (track 9)

Technical
  • Mike Flicker – production, engineering
  • Mike Fisher – special direction
  • Howard Leese – production assistance
  • Rolf Hennemann – engineering
  • Patrick Collins – mastering

Artwork
  • Toby Rankin – photography
  • Jim Rimmer – signature lettering
  • Captain Paste-Up – layout

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[20] 2× Platinum 200,000^
United States (RIAA)[21] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

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References
  1. Henderson, Alex. "Dreamboat Annie – Heart". Allmusic. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: H". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 26, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Holden, Stephen (October 21, 1976). "Heart: Dreamboat Annie". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  4. Coleman, Mark; Berger, Arion (2004). "Heart". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York City: Simon & Schuster. p. 372. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  5. Read, Jeani (October 2, 1976). "Canada! Coast Industry Focuses on Its Uniqueness". Billboard. Vol. 88 no. 40. p. C-20. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  6. Shelley Siegel. "A Canadian Success Story Not To Be Forgotten". Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  7. "Deborah Shackleton". Ecuad.ca. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  8. VH1 Behind the Music
  9. See the Heart (band) page for the origins of the group.
  10. Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson; Charles R. Cross (2012). "Ch. 12 – Burn to the Wick". Kicking & Dreaming. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062101679.
  11. "Mushroom Records Ad" (JPG). Mushroom Records (Canada). Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  12. Dreamboat Annie (liner notes). Heart. Mushroom Records. 1975. MRS-5005.CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 136. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5086A". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Heart – Dreamboat Annie" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  16. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  17. "Heart Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  18. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1976". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 22, 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  19. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1977" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  20. "Canadian album certifications – Heart – Dreamboat Annie". Music Canada. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  21. "American album certifications – Heart – Dreamboat Annie". Recording Industry Association of America. November 5, 1976. Retrieved December 22, 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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