[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by Christopher

Well, to be fair, nobody will be able to fully critique the album until we hear all the songs and album as a whole. So basing any opinion on just a 15 secound clip is just guess work, and anticipation about what our individual expectations are. I don't really believe anyone wants an overproduced record ala TISL. IYD, imo, was not over-produced, maybe a little polished here & there, but not at all cluttered. Overall IYD was a well constructed & solidly produced body of work.

I'm anticipating that we are finally getting a Stevie solo record stripped down, perhaps somwhat similar to "Bella Donna", or even parts of "Street Angel"-production-wise. But probably we'll be getting her most bare record ever.
I have grown to love "The Dealer." And I loved "Lady" straightaway. In fact, I've grown to love the current "Dealer" over any of the BD outtakes. And "Lady" is superb in my opinion. Before it was just a sweet litlle song. But Stevie current performance & mature voice take it places it never went before! That's a song that simply doesn't need additional production. It's her torch song. Her voice, alone, with just a simple piano track is perfection. And her singing is so impassioned, and sage enough to not need anything to detract from that.

When you hear some calling out for a little more ambiance, or atmosphere on certain clips, don't mistake that for wanting over-production. Just a little nuance. A subtle string arrangement, or a backing vocal. I think most of us are loving the raw, unfiltered, feeling coming through the two songs we've gotten, as well as the clips (so far.) Stevie always did say that even her closet friends and assosiates would always ask to hear the demos after she fully recorded a song (either with FM or Solo) and they always preferred her demo. I think that was her goal & will be her ultimate achievement on 24 Karat Gold. To stay as true to the demos as possible, with a few exceptions.

I agree with this. I am a little surprised though at how little echo or reverb there is on her vocals in all her work with Dave. It was such a hallmark to a lot of her previous work, and on some songs it really did enhance the song-- it nicely complemented the sparseness of certain songs (the Blue Water demo, Forest of the Black Roses to name two). Maybe someone can think of one I am missing, but I don't think Dave has used it on any song he's produced for her.