Gotta have Heart...

Well, the odyssey is over—I finally managed to get through the Captain & Tennille DVD set in its entirety—do I get some sort of medal for this?  Actually, the last three episodes were a tad more tolerable—at least they weren’t loaded with guests from other ABC shows like the first half of the season.  Instead, viewers were treated to a mixed bag of impressionists (Rich Little, John Byner), singers (Leo Sayer, Natalie Cole, Dionne Warwick, Englebert Whats-his-dinck), toupee-wearers (George Burns, Roy Clark, Don Knotts) and old fart comedian Henny Youngman.  He was a has-been then—was that guy EVER funny in the first place?  There was also an appearance by David Gates & Bread, whose career was pretty much toast by that time.  Get it?  Toast!!!  Har-de-har-har...

And I finally got to see what I came here for in the first place—Heart’s first appearance on national TV, although it was rather underwhelming.  They lip-synched "Dreamboat Annie" after segue-ing from the acoustic guitar intro to "Crazy On You" (why they didn’t do that one or "Magic Man", I’m rather curious), and it was kind of odd to see a svelte and thin Ann Wilson in a blue dress.  Don't get me wrong, I’m not picking on her here like so many people did/do—I understand all the crap she’s been through on the weight thing.  And I can honestly say it didn’t bother me at all when she started getting big—I still thought she looked really cute circa. 1985-87 (although the multi-colored big hair was a bit of a detriment).  It wasn’t until she approached Mama Cass-size that there was cause for concern—I remember seeing Heart on David Letterman circa. 1991-92, and Ann was so obese that she no longer even looked healthy.  Happily, she’s in a lot better condition now.  Methinks you could make a good case for Heart for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame too.  Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.  Say no more…

My All-time Heart Top Five: 1) "Barracuda", 2) "If Looks Could Kill", 3) "Crazy On You", 4) "Kick It Out", 5) "Who Will You Run To?"

While I’m on Heart, a little trivia for you:  Next time you watch Fast Times At Ridgemont High, check out the girl driving the car that pulls up alongside Brad (Judge Reinhold) while he’s wearing the dorky pirate hat during his fish-and-chips delivery run—that’s Nancy Wilson of Heart.  You see, she’s married to writer/director Cameron Crowe, the man also kinda sorta famous for Almost Famous.