Time Capsule: Heart, Dreamboat Annie

Every Saturday, Paste will be revisiting albums that came out before the magazine was founded in July 2002 and assessing its current cultural relevance. This week, we’re looking at the Wilson sisters’ blood-pumping debut, which showed how rock music could be tough and gentle, all while embracing an admiration for both the hard and soft rock palettes that were dominating the zeitgeist in the mid-to-late 1970s.

The title of “female Led Zeppelin” for Heart is a major disservice to the talents and sheer power of the Wilson sisters—and I say this as a Zeppelin fan. I grew up hearing “Crazy On You” play on the radio with my mom, and we both applauded Ann Wilson’s dominant vocal ability and Nancy Wilson’s trailblazing guitar work for future female rock stars. Dreamboat Annie’s cover spotlights the two forces of sibling nature standing back to back, seemingly naked, donning hairstyles I’ve been desperately trying to emulate for years. It’s a picture that’s burned into my brain, and I remember rediscovering Dreamboat Annie when I started trying to learn guitar in middle school. I would scream alongside Ann, trying to mimic the impressive guitar work of Nancy—to little avail. The record has remained a staple in my collection ever since.