HEART - THESE DREAMS

Llançament: gener de 1986  

Llistes: EUA: #1 (1 setmana) | Regne Unit: #8  

"These Dreams" és una cançó de Heart del seu àlbum homònim de 1985 que es va publicar com a single el gener de 1986. Va esdevenir la primera cançó de Heart a assolir el número 1 al Billboard Hot 100. Fins a aquest àlbum, Heart principalment havia escrit el seu propi material, però després de signar amb Columbia Records, van començar a col·laborar amb compositors externs. "These Dreams" va ser escrita per Bernie Taupin, lletrista d'Elton John, i Martin Page, en una de les contribucions destacades de Taupin fora de la seva feina amb John.

Nancy Wilson va prendre el paper de vocalista principal, cosa poc habitual, ja que normalment era la seva germana Ann qui liderava. La banda va considerar que el to de la cançó s'ajustava millor a la veu de Nancy. Durant la gravació inicial, Nancy tenia un refredat, fet que li va donar una qualitat ronca que va agradar al productor Ron Nevison. Quan va regravar la cançó després de recuperar-se, va intentar imitar el so ronc de les primeres preses, barrejant el seu to natural amb la textura única d'aquella gravació inicial.

Inicialment, "These Dreams" es va oferir a Stevie Nicks, que la va rebutjar. Després es va presentar a Kim Carnes, qui havia enregistrat altres cançons de Martin Page com "Invisible Hands" i "I Pretend". Tot i agradar-li la cançó, Carnes es va sentir incòmoda amb el seu rang vocal i també va declinar l'oferta. Finalment, la cançó va arribar a Heart a través del músic i productor Peter Wolf que va treballar en l'àlbum de Heart. Wolf, que havia col·laborat en "We Built This City" de Starship, va compartir la demo de "These Dreams" amb les germanes Wilson, que van decidir gravar-la.

Martin Page, que va escriure la música de "These Dreams," va descriure la seva inspiració com una mena d'"himne elèctric", combinant elements de "Candle in the Wind" d'Elton John amb un estil experimental influenciat per Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). Page volia que la demo evoqués un sentiment coral modern amb un toc de "Enola Gay". Tot i que la seva demo original era més complexa i experimental, Heart la va simplificar, un canvi que Page creu que va contribuir al seu èxit.

"These Dreams" va ser dedicada a Sharon Hess, una amiga íntima de Nancy Wilson que va morir de leucèmia. Sharon, una fan devota, havia fet construir una guitarra acústica blava personalitzada per a Nancy i va expressar el desig de conèixer-la abans de morir. El seu desig es va complir, i va passar temps a l'estudi amb Heart mentre treballaven en l'àlbum. Sharon i Nancy es van fer molt amigues, i Nancy la va descriure com la seva "ànima bessona del mar". Durant la seva visita, Nancy i el tècnic de guitarra Scotty Olson van portar Sharon a l'hospital quan es va trobar massa malalta per quedar-se a l'hotel. Nancy la va visitar a l'hospital i la va consolar, dormint al seu costat. Aquest suport va animar Sharon, que va poder tornar a casa seva, on va morir poc després, coincidint amb l'aniversari de Nancy. Nancy va decidir dedicar-li "These Dreams," ja que era l'única cançó de l'àlbum en què cantava com a vocalista principal.

El videoclip, dirigit per Jeff Stein i publicat per Capitol Records, mostra la versió més curta de la cançó, que elimina una estrofa. Es va emetre molt a MTV, cosa que va contribuir al seu èxit com un dels quatre senzills de Heart que van entrar al Top 10 als Estats Units. En el vídeo, Nancy Wilson apareix cantant davant d'un estany, tocant una guitarra Dean i una guitarra elèctrica amb forma de vela dissenyada pel luthier David Petschulat. Ann Wilson s'uneix cantant des de l'ombra, mentre altres membres de la banda fan breus aparicions tocant.

HEART - THESE DREAMS

Released: January 1986

Charts:  US: #1 (1 week)  UK: #8 

"These Dreams" is a song by Heart from their 1985 self-titled album and was released as a single in January 1986. It became Heart's first song to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Up until this album, Heart had primarily written their own material, but after signing with Columbia Records, they collaborated with external songwriters. "These Dreams" was written by Bernie Taupin, Elton John’s longtime lyricist, and Martin Page, marking one of Taupin's notable projects outside of his work with John.

Nancy Wilson took the lead vocals on this track, a departure from Heart's usual setup where her sister Ann typically sang lead. The band felt the song’s tone matched Nancy's voice well. Nancy had a cold during her initial recording, creating a raspy quality that producer Ron Nevison found appealing. When she re-recorded after recovering, Nancy tried to replicate the raspy sound Nevison had liked, blending her natural tone with the unique texture of the earlier takes.

"These Dreams" was initially offered to Stevie Nicks, who declined. It then went to Kim Carnes, known for recording other Martin Page songs like "Invisible Hands" and "I Pretend." Although she liked "These Dreams," she felt uncomfortable with its vocal range and also passed. The song ultimately reached Heart through musician/producer Peter Wolf (not to be confused with the J. Geils Band singer), who played on Heart's self-titled album. Having worked on Starship's "We Built This City," Wolf shared the "These Dreams" demo with the Wilson sisters, who decided to record it.

Martin Page, who composed the music for "These Dreams," described his inspiration as aiming for an electric hymn feel, blending elements of Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" with an experimental, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD)-influenced style. He wanted the demo to evoke a sense of modern choral music with a touch of OMD’s "Enola Gay." Although his original demo was more complex and experimental, Heart simplified it, which Page believes contributed to its success. 

"These Dreams" was dedicated to Sharon Hess, a close friend of Nancy Wilson's who passed away from leukemia. Sharon, a devoted fan, had a custom blue acoustic guitar made for Nancy and wished to meet her before she died. Her wish was fulfilled, and she spent time in the recording studio with Heart as they worked on the album. Sharon and Nancy became very close, with Nancy describing Sharon as her "soulmate of the sea." During Sharon’s visit, Nancy and her guitar tech, Scotty Olson, took her to the hospital when she became too ill to stay in her hotel. Nancy later visited Sharon in the hospital, comforting her by lying next to her as she slept. This support lifted Sharon’s spirits and allowed her to make the journey back home, where she passed away shortly after on Nancy's birthday. Nancy chose to dedicate "These Dreams" to Sharon, as it was the only song on the album with her lead vocals.

The music video was directed by Jeff Stein and released by Capitol Records, featuring the shorter single version of the song that omits a verse. It gained significant exposure on MTV, contributing to the track’s success as one of four Top 10 singles from Heart in the U.S. In the video, Nancy Wilson performs while looking over a reflective pool of water, playing both a Dean guitar and a unique sail-shaped electric guitar crafted by luthier David Petschulat. Ann Wilson joins in singing from the shadows, while other band members make brief appearances performing.