[Macfan4life]

I LOVE Street Angel and it ranks towards the top of my favorite Stevie solo albums. As others have pointed out Stevie hates the album and thank you to sorcerer who posted the off the record interview that documents the dislike of this album from Stevie. I believe there is a promo in that clip before a commercial that says something like "its almost Christmas but Stevie does not want you to buy and put her latest copy of Street Angel in your stocking." Others have already mentioned the many reasons.....album started with Klonopin then the painful rehab, her weight, and the poor record sales. But most important was her fight with the producer. The release of the album was delayed because of the rehab. When Stevie got out she was able to put the finishing touches on the album. But the producer threw down the law and they butted heads big time. I cant recall if this stuff is on that off the record segment. In a nutshell Stevie claims the producer kept her from changing vocals and other stuff on the record.
Now why do I love this record. I just love how diverse we all are. I can only laugh at some (in a good way) when I read someone hates Street Angel but loves Rock A Little. That stuff blows my mind but its a good thing we all have different tastes, likes and dislikes. Stevie says she is most disappointed with her vocals on this album and I think her vocals are strong and good.

The album starts off with Blue Denim which is a solid song. I like the extended intro version better but its a great song. Loved to hear songs still about Lindsey after all those years. Greta is a fantastic song with amazing lyrics. The drum beat is very catchy and she has a great vocal range in the song. Street Angel is ok. Bringing David Crosby in to sing back up on the song was very very cool! Docklands is a good song, not sure why everyone freaks out over the word laundromat. Listen to the Rain is one of the highlights for me and a real rocker. Stevie is on fire. Destiny is great and adds diversity to the album. Unconditional Love is the low point in this album. Not sure why it was picked to start the second side. Thousand Days or Mirror Mirror (which were b sides for the singles) SHOULD have taken its place. Love is like a River is another rocker and highlight. Rose Garden is a gem and it was one of the highlights of the Enchanted tour. Maybe love will change your mind is so catchy and I LOVE this song. I usually hate the songs that Stevie sings that she did not write. But this song is from the heart and Stevie translates this from the heart feeling very well. It almost sounds like she wrote it. It would be a tough song to sing but she nails it. I don't think she did a great job on Dylan's Just like a woman. Its a b side IMHO. But brining in Dylan to play harmonica... so freakin cool! Kick it is a dud IMHO. Jane is ok. When I first heart the song I thought it was about Jane Petty from Edge of 17 LOL.

Long story short........if you could add Thousand Days and Mirror Mirror that both almost made the album and dropped Unconditional Love and Kick it ... it would be stellar. But even still its my 4th most favorite Stevie solo album. Her writing is excellent. Her voice is strong and could hit ranges for the last time. Trouble came out 7 years later and her voice got flat. And the album rocks. Its part rock, part country and part pop. I love it. It sounds like Stevie is supposed to sound.... part rock, country, pop.

As someone pointed out....her performances on the Street Angel tour were amazing. She hit high notes and really performed well. I just wish people would give this album a second chance.


The lyrics really show what Stevie is going through during this period if you read between the lines (pardon the pun)

You're a frontliner (former management company) You put it all on the line
You've been everywhere and you live in dark shadows (that's the Stevie life)
Your consistent...hey that's good (IMHO that sounds like a sarcastic quip from a record person)
There's no Beauty and the Beast here (IMHO that is another quip from a record person... could mean there is no type song here)

If you listen and dig a little deep I think you can appreciate this album a little more.