Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson is featured in a new interview with Guitar World discussing the band’s 1985 reboot, when they made the jump from Epic Records to Capitol with their self-titled album. Following is an excerpt
Guitar World: Heart was your first album for Capitol, and it saw the band undergo a major makeover. Was that part of the conditions on which you signed the deal?
Nancy: “I think we’d reached the end of the average lifespan for most rock bands by that point. We decided that if we wanted to survive, we probably needed to find a new manager and a new record company and have some kind of major reset. We saw the chance to sign with Capitol as an opportunity to reinvent the band. I guess it was almost like the old saying, ‘When in Rome…’ If we wanted to fit in with the whole new MTV era, we had to adapt to survive.”
Guitar World: You had four big hits with songs brought in by outside writers. Was that strange for you as a band who normally wrote their own songs?
Nancy: “They were great songs – timeless, really – and, of course, they brought us huge success, and we’d already fully embraced the notion that we would have to commit wholeheartedly to Capitol’s plan for it to work. We actually spent a couple of days at Ann’s house, with Ron, going through numerous songs to see if there were any we’d be happy to record. ‘Alone’ is a particularly strong song that could have been recorded at any time over the decades. I guess we were a little jealous, though, because we didn’t write them ourselves (laughs).”
Read the complete interview here.
Heart’s breakthrough debut, Dreamboat Annie, has often been framed in the context of a female-led band successfully matching the moves of its male counterparts during an era when women weren’t associated with rocking out — particularly on a mainstream level. While that take is true — Ann and Nancy Wilson practically stood alone amid a commercial age dominated by testosterone — it undersells the appeal, scope, and craftsmanship of an album that deserves to be revered strictly because of its merit, not because of the gender of the group’s principal members.
Mastered at MoFi’s California studio, housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 45RPM LP puts the record’s artistic significance in proper perspective. Presented in definitive sound, it invites you to hear with stellar clarity the diverse architecture, passionate playing, and fervent emotions that help make Dreamboat Annie an all-time classic. This 50th anniversary edition also marks the first time Heart’s opening salvo has been available in audiophile quality on vinyl in more than four decades.
Drop the needle and experience the textures of the guitars, full range of Ann Wilson’s voice, spacious backdrops of the arrangements, and rhythmic momentum — crucial components of Heart’s songs — free of veiled tones and artificial ceilings. Ample separation between instruments and black backgrounds bring the music into detailed focus, whether it’s the full decay of percussive accents, layered stacking of group harmonies, or depth of the bass lines. Helmed by Mike Flicker, Dreamboat Annie features advanced production that belies that of most independent releases of the time. The dynamics alone on this pressing confirm that fact.
Although the passage of time, as well as Heart’s Hall of Fame career, have nearly caused the historical tidbit to fade into obscurity, Dreamboat Annie was originally issued by the tiny label Mushroom Records after major imprints inexplicably took a flyer on the album. Released in Canada in September ’75, it hit shelves in the States in February of the following year. By the fall of 1976, Heart had a platinum LP and three hit singles. As well as an upcoming battle with Mushroom Records that, while another story entirely, further underlined the Wilson sisters’ toughness and determination.
Those traits resonate throughout Dreamboat Annie, which kicks off with the spellbinding “Magic Man.” Released in advance of the LP as the quartet’s second single, the Wilson sisters’ anthem partially doubles as an autobiographical tale based on Ann Wilson’s then-relationship with band manager Michael Fisher. His brother, Roger, turns in memorable lead-guitar passages that connect with the song’s funk-laden structures and Ann Wilson’s commanding singing. Mystical, rugged, sensual, persuasive, steady, edgy, well-composed: “Magic Man” possesses a majority of the elements that would define Heart’s finest songs and, fittingly, stands as the ensemble’s first Top 10 smash.
While the record’s debut Stateside single, “Crazy on You” didn’t climb quite as high, it cracked the Top 40 and demonstrated the authoritative momentum, melodic build, and contagious crunch that the group was capable of summoning without seemingly breaking a sweat. Heart’s now-trademark acoustic-electric frameworks, Ann Wilson’s ravishing power, and ace timing are all here in spades. Not to be overlooked, the declarative “Sing Child” and strutting “White Lightning & Wine” contain similarly aggressive elements, with the latter combining boogie riffs, cowbell-driven beats, and blustery vocals to remind anyone paying attention that Heart means business.
The band further separated itself from its rock contemporaries via a trove of lighter material. Eclipsing the six-minute mark, “Soul of the Sea” depicts Heart’s ambitious interest in psychedelia, blues, and folk. Heart’s tender side also emerges on the misty ballad “How Deep It Goes,” a prime example of Ann Wilson’s penchant to deliver softness with the same penchant she does heaviness — and a standout for Nancy Wilson’s prowess on guitar. Both sisters similarly shine on the crossover “(Love Me Like Music) I’ll Be Your Song,” whose mix of vulnerability, strings, and handclaps signal the extraordinary vision Heart had from the start. Decades later, it all sounds better than ever.
Features:
– Numbered, Limited Edition
– 180g Vinyl
– Double LP
– 45rpm
– Mastered from the 1/4″ / 15 IPS Dolby A Analog Copy to DSD256 to Analog Console to Lathe
– Pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing
– Stoughton Gatefold Jacket
Tracklisting:
Side A:
“Magic Man”
“Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child)”
“Crazy On You”
Side B:
“Soul Of The Sea”
“Dreamboat Annie”
Side C:
“White Lightning & Wine”
“(Love Me Like Music) I’ll Be Your Song”
“Sing Child”
Side D:
“How Deep It Goes”
“Dreamboat Annie” (Reprise)
BraveWords Records… home for Paul Di’Anno’s Warhorse, The Chris Slade Timeline, Rhett Forrester & Rob Robbins, Prophets of Addiction, Jack Starr, Crimson Glory, ASKA and Lillian Axe.
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The post HEART Guitarist NANCY WILSON Reflects On Songwriting For 1985 Self-Titled Hit Album – “I Guess We Were A Little Jealous Because We Didn’t Write Them Ourselves” appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
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Guitar World: Heart was your first album for Capitol, and it saw the band undergo a major makeover. Was that part of the conditions on which you signed the deal?
Nancy: “I think we’d reached the end of the average lifespan for most rock bands by that point. We decided that if we wanted to survive, we probably needed to find a new manager and a new record company and have some kind of major reset. We saw the chance to sign with Capitol as an opportunity to reinvent the band. I guess it was almost like the old saying, ‘When in Rome…’ If we wanted to fit in with the whole new MTV era, we had to adapt to survive.”
Guitar World: You had four big hits with songs brought in by outside writers. Was that strange for you as a band who normally wrote their own songs?
Nancy: “They were great songs – timeless, really – and, of course, they brought us huge success, and we’d already fully embraced the notion that we would have to commit wholeheartedly to Capitol’s plan for it to work. We actually spent a couple of days at Ann’s house, with Ron, going through numerous songs to see if there were any we’d be happy to record. ‘Alone’ is a particularly strong song that could have been recorded at any time over the decades. I guess we were a little jealous, though, because we didn’t write them ourselves (laughs).”
Read the complete interview here.
Heart’s breakthrough debut, Dreamboat Annie, has often been framed in the context of a female-led band successfully matching the moves of its male counterparts during an era when women weren’t associated with rocking out — particularly on a mainstream level. While that take is true — Ann and Nancy Wilson practically stood alone amid a commercial age dominated by testosterone — it undersells the appeal, scope, and craftsmanship of an album that deserves to be revered strictly because of its merit, not because of the gender of the group’s principal members.
Mastered at MoFi’s California studio, housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 45RPM LP puts the record’s artistic significance in proper perspective. Presented in definitive sound, it invites you to hear with stellar clarity the diverse architecture, passionate playing, and fervent emotions that help make Dreamboat Annie an all-time classic. This 50th anniversary edition also marks the first time Heart’s opening salvo has been available in audiophile quality on vinyl in more than four decades.
Drop the needle and experience the textures of the guitars, full range of Ann Wilson’s voice, spacious backdrops of the arrangements, and rhythmic momentum — crucial components of Heart’s songs — free of veiled tones and artificial ceilings. Ample separation between instruments and black backgrounds bring the music into detailed focus, whether it’s the full decay of percussive accents, layered stacking of group harmonies, or depth of the bass lines. Helmed by Mike Flicker, Dreamboat Annie features advanced production that belies that of most independent releases of the time. The dynamics alone on this pressing confirm that fact.
Although the passage of time, as well as Heart’s Hall of Fame career, have nearly caused the historical tidbit to fade into obscurity, Dreamboat Annie was originally issued by the tiny label Mushroom Records after major imprints inexplicably took a flyer on the album. Released in Canada in September ’75, it hit shelves in the States in February of the following year. By the fall of 1976, Heart had a platinum LP and three hit singles. As well as an upcoming battle with Mushroom Records that, while another story entirely, further underlined the Wilson sisters’ toughness and determination.
Those traits resonate throughout Dreamboat Annie, which kicks off with the spellbinding “Magic Man.” Released in advance of the LP as the quartet’s second single, the Wilson sisters’ anthem partially doubles as an autobiographical tale based on Ann Wilson’s then-relationship with band manager Michael Fisher. His brother, Roger, turns in memorable lead-guitar passages that connect with the song’s funk-laden structures and Ann Wilson’s commanding singing. Mystical, rugged, sensual, persuasive, steady, edgy, well-composed: “Magic Man” possesses a majority of the elements that would define Heart’s finest songs and, fittingly, stands as the ensemble’s first Top 10 smash.
While the record’s debut Stateside single, “Crazy on You” didn’t climb quite as high, it cracked the Top 40 and demonstrated the authoritative momentum, melodic build, and contagious crunch that the group was capable of summoning without seemingly breaking a sweat. Heart’s now-trademark acoustic-electric frameworks, Ann Wilson’s ravishing power, and ace timing are all here in spades. Not to be overlooked, the declarative “Sing Child” and strutting “White Lightning & Wine” contain similarly aggressive elements, with the latter combining boogie riffs, cowbell-driven beats, and blustery vocals to remind anyone paying attention that Heart means business.
The band further separated itself from its rock contemporaries via a trove of lighter material. Eclipsing the six-minute mark, “Soul of the Sea” depicts Heart’s ambitious interest in psychedelia, blues, and folk. Heart’s tender side also emerges on the misty ballad “How Deep It Goes,” a prime example of Ann Wilson’s penchant to deliver softness with the same penchant she does heaviness — and a standout for Nancy Wilson’s prowess on guitar. Both sisters similarly shine on the crossover “(Love Me Like Music) I’ll Be Your Song,” whose mix of vulnerability, strings, and handclaps signal the extraordinary vision Heart had from the start. Decades later, it all sounds better than ever.
Features:
– Numbered, Limited Edition
– 180g Vinyl
– Double LP
– 45rpm
– Mastered from the 1/4″ / 15 IPS Dolby A Analog Copy to DSD256 to Analog Console to Lathe
– Pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing
– Stoughton Gatefold Jacket
Tracklisting:
Side A:
“Magic Man”
“Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child)”
“Crazy On You”
Side B:
“Soul Of The Sea”
“Dreamboat Annie”
Side C:
“White Lightning & Wine”
“(Love Me Like Music) I’ll Be Your Song”
“Sing Child”
Side D:
“How Deep It Goes”
“Dreamboat Annie” (Reprise)
BraveWords Records… home for Paul Di’Anno’s Warhorse, The Chris Slade Timeline, Rhett Forrester & Rob Robbins, Prophets of Addiction, Jack Starr, Crimson Glory, ASKA and Lillian Axe.
Make sure you are following the label on Facebook. >> https://www.facebook.com/bravewordsrecords
The post HEART Guitarist NANCY WILSON Reflects On Songwriting For 1985 Self-Titled Hit Album – “I Guess We Were A Little Jealous Because We Didn’t Write Them Ourselves” appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
Continue reading...