Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab honors the 50th anniversary of Heart's Dreamboat Annie with a deluxe 45 rpm, 180 gram LP reissue of the band's classic debut. Initially only available in their native Canada, Dreamboat Annie at first failed to gain much traction—at least until the album's second single "Magic Man" hit the Montreal airwaves. It quickly became one of Heart's signature songs, fueling the nascent album's double-platinum sales in Canada¹. Upon reaching US record shelves in early 1976, Dreamboat Annie shot to the number 7 spot on the Billboard album charts, moving a million units in the process. The album was a huge hit worldwide, and helped launch the band's career that would eventually span five decades of enduring popularity.
Krieg Wunderlich remastered Dreamboat Annie from the original analog master tapes at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in Sebastopol, California. The remastered tapes were created using MoFi's proprietary GAIN 2 system, then were transferred to DSD 256. Lacquers were cut at MoFi's sister company, Fidelity Record Pressing (FRP) in Oxnard, California, where the pair of 180 gram, 45 rpm LPs were pressed on audiophile vinyl under close supervision of Rick and Edward Hashimoto. The reissue's heavy, tip-on gatefold outer jacket was created by Stoughton Printing in California, with the pair of LPs encased in premium rice paper inner sleeves. Dreamboat Annie is available as an individually numbered, limited-edition LP set; you can order one from MoFi's webstore HERE. An SACD is also in the works, and is currently available as a preorder from Music Direct HERE.
Heart, Dreamboat Annie. (2) 45 rpm Mobile Fidelity LPs, $59.99 MSRP
Originally based in Vancouver, Canada, Heart had signed a two-album contract with local label Mushroom Records; Dreamboat Annie was recorded at Mushroom's studio in Vancouver, between July and August 1975. At that point, the band consisted of Ann Wilson on vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute; Nancy Wilson on electric and acoustic guitars and vocals; Roger Fisher on electric and acoustic guitars; Howard Leese on electric guitar, synths, and percussion; Steve Fossen on bass; and Michael Derosier on drums. Mike Flicker produced the album for Mushroom Records, and engineered it as well with assistance from Rolf Hennemann. Dreamboat Annie was released to little fanfare a month later; of course, six months later, it was multi-platinum in Canada, and well on its way to platinum status in the US.
Despite Dreamboat Annie's enormous popularity, legal wranglings between Heart and Mushroom Records tied them up in the courts, temporarily slowing down the band's momentum. Apparently, the label saw the band as a "one-hit wonder," and refused to renegotiate royalties with the by then multi-platinum act. Heart eventually signed with CBS Records imprint Portrait, and got things under control; thankfully, this version of the band stayed together long enough to create the equally classic albums Little Queen and Dog & Butterfly.
Listening to Mobile Fidelity's Dreamboat Annie
You can check out the full complement of components in my dual audio systems by clicking my name in the header above. My all-analog system has recently gotten a significant upgrade, and now features a pair of Klipsch Heresy IV horn-based loudspeakers that run in tandem with a pair of Caldera 10 subs. The highly efficient Heresy IV's are a perfect match to my new Reisong Boyuurange A50 Mk III Single-Ended Triode 300B tube amplifier, which now features RAY Reserve and Select tubes. My table's Ortofon Quintet Bronze moving coil cartridge tracked MoFi's LPs perfectly, rendering playback of Dreamboat Annie with an intoxicating mix of visceral dynamics and sparkling transparency.
MoFi's remaster of Dreamboat Annie was a fully realized audiophile dream reissue, with the kind of sound quality that astonished me, especially considering the original tapes came from a small indie studio. Playback of FRP's LPs was glitch-free, with near-deathly silent backgrounds, and the 180 gram LP surfaces were pristine, beautifully glossy, and perfectly flat. I noticed right away that Krieg Wunderlich's new transfer had prodigious bass, but not so much that it overpowered the presentation. MoFi has a reputation for occasionally goosing the bass a bit on their remasters, but it was rendered here by my system with perfect control and impressive power. MoFi's new reissue offered levels of clarity, quiet, and nearly-unbridled dynamics my original couldn't come close to. The 1976 Mushroom Records LP pressing sounded almost monochromatic compared to Mobile Fidelity's new Dreamboat Annie; the original has definitely been displaced by MoFi's reissue, which has been in regular rotation since its arrival.
From Roger Fisher's instantly recognizable lead guitar figure at the outset of "Magic Man," it was clearly obvious that Heart had the chops to entrance the record buying public. Ann Wilson's note-perfect vocal was the icing on a song that was rock ‘n' roll ear candy, and a new order of rock royalty was on the verge of being christened. Fisher adds another extended solo in the song's center; at this point in rock, he was undeniably one of the finest guitarists of his generation. "Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child)" introduces the lyrical ocean theme that would thematically interconnect the entire album; it segues into "Crazy On You," with Nancy Wilson's classic acoustic guitar intro, which proved that Heart had more than one uber-talented guitarist onboard. Ann Wilson literally screams over the electric guitar leads of Roger Fisher and Howard Leese to thrilling effect. The sprawling "Soul of the Sea" provides liberal helpings of Nancy Wilson sparring on acoustic guitar with Roger Fisher's electric lead; it then segues into "Dreamboat Annie," where Ann Wilson's lead vocal is joined in perfect harmony by Nancy's equally entrancing voice, concluding an album side (sides 1 and 2 of the 45 rpm set) of near-perfection.
Sides 3 and 4 offer a mix of all out rockers like "White Lightning and Wine" and the propulsive "Sing Child," which also features a near-Jethro Tullian flute turn from Ann Wilson that's followed by Roger Fisher's searing guitar solo. The heavier tunes are interspersed with more lyrically-oriented songs like "(Love Me Like Music) I'll Be Your Song" and "How Deep It Goes," which features some really intricate acoustic guitar interplay from both Ann and Nancy Wilson. The record concludes with "Dreamboat Annie (Reprise)" which offers a more heavily orchestrated, fully fleshed-out version of the album's principal motif. And there's even more of Ann's excellent flute work, accompanied by an orchestra! The song fades out acoustically as it originally entered on its first appearance on side 1.
Mobile Fidelity offers Dreamboat Annie in its finest sound ever!
I had the opportunity to see Heart live during this period of the band's existence, at the point when the album Little Queen had just dropped. A college buddy had seen them on their first US tour, and would not shut up about how amazing this band was live, and how he'd drag me screaming to see them if necessary. Of course, they played most of Dreamboat Annie, but the song that would become the band's trademark, "Barracuda," had just hit the airwaves, and they played it as an encore. Nancy Wilson's timeless lead guitar riff that opens the tune grabbed me from the first note, and Ann Wilson screamed the song through her microphone—especially the final chorus. As Nancy, Roger Fisher, and Howard Leese's trio of guitars sparred with each other through the song's outro, I was totally transfixed! I had a newfound respect for this band—they blew me away with their impressive musicianship.
Dreamboat Annie is an album that totally rocks, but also contains intricate musical passages of almost ethereal delicacy. MoFi's new reissue allows everything to shine through like never before, easily besting my LP original, which lacked the transparency and quiet provided not only by the new transfer, but also by FRP's excellent 180 gram pressings. I've heard this music countless times since its original release, but never with the realism and immediacy of Mobile Fidelity's reissue. Ann and Nancy Wilson, Roger Fisher, and all of Heart were seamlessly spread across the soundstage as though they were actually present in my listening room!
MoFi's Dreamboat Annie provides a generous helping of peak-period Heart that has never sounded so good as on this excellent new reissue. Thanks to Bridget Citro Davis of Mobile Fidelity and Music Direct for making this review possible; Dreamboat Annie comes very highly recommended!
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
All images courtesy of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab and the author.
¹ Platinum sales in Canada equals 100,000 units sold.
