Heart’s classic debut album Dreamboat Annie will receive a special 50th anniversary reissue courtesy of UMe’s Vinylphyle series.
This new edition was pressed at the world-class Southern California-based audiophile vinyl record pressing plan RTI on 180g black vinyl. The release was cut from original analog tapes by Joe Nino-Hernes at Sterling Sound. This newly remastered, limited edition features a gatefold tip-on jacket and four-panel insert with all-new liner notes.
Dreamboat Annie, which was originally released in Canada in August of 1975, released its U.S. release on February 14, 1976. Highlighted by hits like “Crazy on You” and “Magic Man,” the Vancouver-based band fronted by sisters Nancy and Ann Wilson, notched up consecutive Billboard Hot 100 singles with those two massive hits.
Recorded with help from local musicians and producer Mike Flicker, Dreamboat Annie highlighted Ann Wilson’s versatile voice and the band’s array of influences: moving from Zeppelin-inspired rock to delicate folk throughout the LP.
In a 2025 interview with Louder Sound, the band and producer Mike Flicker discussed some of the influences they incorporated into the project: “We were children of The Beatles and Elton John. Sgt. Pepper and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road were the albums that influenced us,” said Flicker. “That’s why you couldn’t easily say Heart is a rock group or a pop group.”
Nancy Wilson added: “We wanted to be artsy and have a concept album. In the mid-seventies, that was happening. Songs with lots of departures and recurring motifs. So on Dreamboat Annie, we were ready to take on the world and be impressive and brave. Honestly, we didn’t know if we’d ever have a chance to make another record, so we thought: ‘Let’s blow the whole gamut!’” As it turns out, Dreamboat Annie was only the beginning for Heart.
Nancy also reflected on the innocence inherent in the band’s debut album. “The sound, the production, the way Ann sings. It sounds very pure and sweet,” she explains. “It’s beautiful, like a flower child of an album. We were young. As we used to joke: ‘Young and unburnt!’”
Buy the exclusive Vinylphyle edition of Dreamboat Annie here.
