A few weeks ago I developed a minor obsession with this song. Not "Barracuda" (even though it does kick ass!), "Crazy on You" or "Magic Man", but little ole "Dreamboat Annie." It's not espcially folk, especially here when lipsyched on the Captain and Tenille show (two 70's celebrities I really had forgotten about, despite the fact that they were part of my t.v. diet when I was a full on pre-teen with a mouthful of braces and a Dorothy Hamill meets Moe Howard hair do).
When I mentioned this to someone recently, they said something like 'Isn't one of them still good looking and thin' 'cause you know, that's what it's all about, right? Ok, they were both pretty hot back in the day (well, not so much in the 80's when they went hair band) and yes - Ann did gain weight, but apparently she still has a good voice, and she had a pretty great one back then. And it was distinctively hers. I heard them do a version of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeOHssaIJbM&feature=related) and if anyone could match Robert Plant's shrill, it was Ann Wilson. They had great songs in the 70's and a presence that lacked gimmick or pretense.
"Dreamboat Annie"(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5qsO9Ms7Ns) is a pop song I guess, with a perfect intro from Nancy (the clip here has her first playing "Silver Wheels" - usually the intro to "Crazy on You"), and a little banjo thrown in. Melancholic and sung gorgeously by Ann, and with perfect harmonies by Nancy, her voice mellowed down and nuanced. It's not slow pop in the old AM way, an FM hit for sure. Melancholic, escapist and mellow - a much needed salve for my life as it is this summer.
3 comments:
Believe it or not I've loved Heart's seventies stuff since day one, and find it unfair that they're slagged off as a "chick" band despite rocking just as hard as anybody this side of Fanny (remember them? Betcha don't). Your Zeppelin comparison is definitely accurate, and when Heart was at their seventies peak I often considered them on par with or at times better than Zeppelin (being thankfully rid of Plant's annoying "I wish I was Legolas" preening).
I say all of that as a preamble to the shocking admission that I, a staunch supporter of all that is loud and raucous in rock, love "Dreamboat Annie" for its ability to lyrically transport me to someplace soft and pleasant. Damn, I love the Wilson sister...
Make that "Damn, I love the Wilson sisters."
somehow i knew you liked it bunche. i just did.
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