One of my classic rock idols is Ann Wilson. This blog is named after one of her songs, “Crazy On You”. I relate to her a lot. When I was young I was overweight, and while I wasn’t bullied for that, I was bullied for other things. As well, I lived in Canada for a time as a young adult. Throughout my life, I had people tell me that I can’t do things, but I never gave up. I’ve been told that I’m too girly to like classic rock, but people take it back when I show my knowledge. I don’t let people’s opinions stop me from reaching my goals.
One of my favourite years of the 70s was 40 years old. Yes, that year is 1976. The year that punk rock and disco went big. It was a great year for classic rock as well. Even a great year for fashion. At the moment I’m trying to grow my hair past my chest and continue to straighten it, a popular hairstyle back then. Maybe I’ll grow out my fringe. I’ve had my fringe since I was 15. Like any successful band, you gotta change with the times.
Anyways, one of my favourite albums of 1976 was Heart’s Dreamboat Annie, released on Valentine’s Day. I am happy to say I have this album on vinyl. Ann Wilson described this album as having an ocean vibe. I can definitely hear that and as a kid I loved going to the beach so listening to this album definitely reminds me of all those good times. I remember my parents telling me it was time to go home and I wanted to keep swimming. I wanted to be a mermaid or a dolphin. It opens with the hit “Magic Man”. If my life had a soundtrack, this song would definitely be in it and it would describe the past year and some and even the near future. Like Ann Wilson, at the age of 20 I fell in love with a man who lived in a different country, although our stories are a bit different from each other. I met my boyfriend while I was studying abroad in Ireland and I practically lived with him when I was there. I went home 9 months into the relationship and the relationship stayed strong even being on opposite sides of the Atlantic. I will be moving back to Ireland in August and I’m so happy that we will be living together again. It’s a song I relate to and I think it’s wonderful to hear love songs that are written by women and are from a female point of view.
The album continues with “Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child)”, one of three songs on the album titled Dreamboat Annie. I think of these songs as the glue that holds the album together and that’s part of why I think it’s amazing. It reminds me a bit of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in that there’s multiple versions of the title track. All three versions are beautiful in their own way, but I like the “Dreamboat Annie (Reprise)” the best (I also happen to like the Reprise version of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” the best too) because of the flute and orchestra. “Crazy On You” follows the first version of “Dreamboat Annie” and Nancy Wilson’s guitar intro is classic and one of the best Heart moments ever. It’s a classic rock radio staple and it did well when it first came out, reaching the top 40 in multiple countries. “Soul of the Sea” comes next and this song reminds me a bit of Jefferson Airplane. I love how this song has two parts to it. It’s one of the underrated songs on the album. After the second version of “Dreamboat Annie” comes “White Lightning and Wine”, a funkier, slightly country sounding song. “(Love Me Like Music) I’ll Be Your Song” also is a bit country rock inspired, but has a soft rock song. You can really hear Nancy’s backing vocals on this and it’s really nice. Re-listening to this album, I realised I don’t listen to this song enough and I forgot how good it is. I can really relate because music got through me the most difficult times in life, like secondary school, when I first got into classic rock. This album is on my perfect albums list for a reason. “Sing Child” reminds me a bit of Led Zeppelin and to me it’s the hardest, heaviest sounding song on the album. The flute in the song especially reminds me a bit of Focus and Jethro Tull. “How Deep It Goes” is a softer song and it’s another song I forget that I like. I love how I can picture the story the song tells.
To conclude, I love how all of the songs are well written and the band do an amazing job and I love how there are multiple guitars and it all sounds good together. Two lead guitars (and in some cases on this album 3) are better than one!
The Diversity of Classic Rock 
Didn’t realize this came out Valentine’s Day. Isn’t that perfect? Great post.
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What a great debut. Thanks for the reminder.
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Hey! Just saw your post at Nationality Unknown and really liked to know that you are studying at University of Limerick. Could you write about this, tell about your degree, roomates, insecurities etc?
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I’d be happy to talk about my experiences and make a follow up post on my blog. I’ll try to post it today. 🙂
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Instead I’ll just reply. If you want to talk about it in more detail go to my Facebook page or Twitter and you can talk to me on there via private message.
I studied there in the 2014-2015 school year and I really enjoyed it. I liked it so much that I am going back there for a postgrad in Journalism.
There are a lot of very friendly people and it’s easy to make friends because there are lots of clubs and societies to join. There’s also a lot of events going on on campus so you won’t be bored. Events can be comedy gigs, plays, movie nights, trad music nights, dances, etc. Limerick itself is rather affordable, especially if you can live in off campus housing. I wouldn’t recommend living in the city centre because you’d have to take a bus and traffic can get bad. If you’re shy you may not like Plassey or Kilmurry Villages because it’s crowded living in a house with 8 people. Depending on who you’re living with and where you are in the villages, there might be a lot of parties and noise. If you’re outgoing, you’ll like it and you’ll definitely get to know people. Be nice to people and be yourself. You’ll have a good time and make friends. Studying abroad really does change your life.
The campus itself is very pretty and it’s nice to walk around. It’s also very safe. I walked alone around the campus a few times and I didn’t feel threatened. There are a few castles around there and there’s a river. Library gets crowded around exam time, so get there early if you want a desk to study at.
Classes themselves were fine and my professors were nice. Some professors do grade a bit tougher than what I’m used to. Be realistic with expectations and don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t get an A.
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