So it's been a while since anyone's talked about "Storytellers."
I happened to recently get "Billy Idol Storytellers," which I didn't even know was on DVD, and really liked it. It included 8 songs that never made the version broadcast on TV, so all in all it was about 1 hour forty-some minutes. Really good performance.
It reminded me I had Stevie's broadcast version which I recorded on VHS (oh the VCR days) and transferred to DVD and I pulled it out tonight and gave it a watch. First thing that struck me was how good she was voice-wise. Aside from the piano version of "Rhiannon" (which I've never cared for...neither here or on the "Enchanted" box set), she was at the top of her game. Never was a huge fan of HAEWAFY, but I definitely dug the "Storytellers" version. Secondly, I chuckled out loud when she tells the audience how she's going to ease into the whole talking thing about her songs, as though it was something she never really did and wasn't used to, which I found funny considering how the "talking thing" these days has become such a grating, eye-rolling experience. But for "Storytellers" she was actually quite engaging and, dare I say, she had a genuineness (humor, even) that in my opinion has sadly faded from her.
Like others have previously mentioned, I can't understand why this was never released commercially, both as a DVD and CD. The performance happened on the heels of Fleetwood Mac's huge resurgence with "The Dance." You'd think a DVD/CD release would be no-brainer. And it's not like VH1 wasn't releasing other "Storyteller" performances (DVDs include matchbox twenty, Alicia Keys, Dixie Chicks; CDs include Meatloaf and Ringo Starr). Makes no sense to me. I see mention of a bootleg version, but I've yet to find it. But I can't help but wonder, after watching Billy Idol's, what songs would have been included on a DVD had it been released that didn't air on TV. Does anyone know what the full set list was?
Anyway, as someone whose fandom for Stevie has sadly waned somewhat in recent years like many other posters on this forum, it was nice to go back and experience this show and feel a little bit of that thing that made me at one time such an ardent fan of hers.
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