I don't get the love for The Wild Heart album...
1.
Stand Back is a good song but I haven't listened to the album version in years since almost every live version is superior in every way.
2.
I Will Run to You has good atmosphere but Stevie doesn't sound great here, doesn't harmonize well with Tom Petty, and it doesn't fit with the rest of the songs on the album.
3. I'm actually a fan of the wannabe-Heartbreaker/E Street thing Stevie was trying to do for a while (Gold & Braid, SDMHA, BL) but I can't jam with
Enchanted. Her voice sounds so rough and uninvested, and the lyrics aren't engaging for me. I like the piano but it also doesn't fit with the rest of the album for me. I like some live cuts from around the turn of the millenium though!
4. I love the sentiment of
Nightbird... and actually like some of the spacey lyrics.... but I don't think it's executed very well. The drums are lame and it sounds like someone is falling on a keyboard the whole time. Don't care for the vocals either, her voice sounds like it's about to shatter into a million pieces and not in an emotional way. Her vocal when performing the song on Solid Gold is better though! Horrible choice for a third single.
5.
If Anyone Falls is a decent song with good lyrics (unfortunate that she didn't write it), a catchy chorus, and a fine vocal delivery but it's got the same problem as Nightbird with the keyboards. I think I may hate Sandy Stewarts playing
6.
Gate and Garden has great music but cringey lyrics and I don't personally connect with it. I'm glad for the people that do, but it feels like filler. It reminds me of a much inferior
Think About It from the previous album, which skirted that same line but came out on the right side where G&G did not.
7.
Sable on Blonde is a bright spot on the album for me, even if I always forget about it. It's got a WONDERFUL mood to it, 80s keyboards done RIGHT, and good drumming. I can connect with her vocal a bit better here than on most of the albums songs, even if the lyrics are a bit thick. The vocal blend with the backing singers is absolutely luscious. The alternate version is good too!
8. I love a good Stevie ballad but man I do not get the deal with
Beauty and the Beast. The music is pretty if unmemorable and, like many songs on the album, the lyrics are THICK to the point of being impenetrable and impenetrable. She is singing with definite emotion ("Where is my beast?"), but compare this to the similar Storms (very personal lyrics, slow pace, fragile vocals) and it can't stack up. It's okay background music but I can't actively listen to this one.
9. I like
Nothing Ever Changes. Her rough vocals go well with a song where she sounds so pissed off and she really brings the anger. Keyboards are cheesy but they go with the heated vibe of the song so they work better for me here. The saxophone is also an odd but welcome addition. Surprised this wasn't the third single and never done live, seems like it'd be fun.
10. The Wild Heart is okay. Decent music, okay vocal, okay lyrics, meandering structure. I could take it or leave it. I'd like it better if Bella Donna and it's title song didn't exist (like a lot of this album). I actually enjoy the session take more by far.
I'd like the album better if I could cut I Will Run to You for Sorcerer and Gate & Garden for Violet & Blue (an amazing song that doesn't get its due credit). I'd also boot Sandy Steward from the studio after nabbing the lyrics to If Anyone Falls and have the music rewritten and played with a different keyboard by a different Keyboardist for both it and Nightbird. I'd also yell at Stevie to get invested in Enchanted and send back for another draft of a couple songs.