Quote:
Originally Posted by PenguinHead
I have to admit , like many others I was a little disappointed when Street Angel came out in 1994. But I did appreciate the "earthy" sound of it. I was unaware of all of the problems and issues Stevie had while recording it.
I was bored tonight, and I popped the CD in my computer and listened to selected songs at full volume with headphones. Isolating the songs I think come off best (as an EP) let me really appreciate certain songs.
Blue Denim
Listen to the Rain
Love is Like a River
Rose Garden
Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind
Kick It
I don't dislike the other songs, but collectively they dragged the entire album down.
Of the limited songs from the album she performed, she made some poor choices: Docklands and Destiny!
It's too bad some of of the interesting and decent songs in her catalog are obscured by the bad blood, execution and reputation of the record. Thankfully Chris Nick's career as an art director/graphic designer started and ended quickly (except for some really awful tour books).
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I too was very disappointed when Street Angel was released, especially because the release date was delayed a couple of times, which only served to amplify my anticipation. It collected dust for a number of years, and it was only in the following decade that I really grew to appreciate the songs, and the production, and the overall mood of the record.
I like most of the album, excluding Listen To The Rain (which has great vocals, but just isn't appealing to me) and Unconditional Love (though I like some of the early takes with more stripped down instrumentation). I *love* Destiny, and Street Angel is probably my favorite track. Docklands is OK, but not *great*, and was an unconventional choice for her to have made. I really like Love Is Like A River, but don't care for the excessive backing vocals from Lori and Sharon, and all the repetition of 'hey hey' really annoys me. I would have used Thousand Days on the album, and relegated Unconditional Love to being the b-side instead.
The fact that Stevie started the tour with Docklands in her setlist really speaks to how much the song meant to her...the fact that she dropped it and replaced it with Rooms On Fire speaks volumes about her sensitivity to audience reaction.
I'm really glad that both of the Ethan Johns tracks were omitted from the album. Admittedly, Inspiration isn't a bad song and might have been a better choice than Docklands, but God's Garden is just...no. Tacky.
The artwork could have been better, but I do like the album cover. I wish the black-and-white promo poster shot would have been used for the cover. This one:
http://stevie-nicks.info/wp-content/...omo-poster.jpg The pink shots would have been good for the art space normally reserved for the album inserts.
A vinyl reissue of this album is a Stevie holy-grail item for me, and I have pestered Rhino and Warner about it numerous times. I envision white vinyl, 180 gram double LP, with pink custom labels that have the STREET ANGEL lettering, and a gatefold sleeve, of course.
