Any ideas?

[StephenC]

Does anyone know why Gold And Braid wasn't included on Bella Donna or The Wild Heart?

I find it a bit strange that during the short Bella Donna tour, she played the song live so must have liked it, but a studio version wasn't released.

[SisterNightroad]

Originally Posted by StephenC

Does anyone know why Gold And Braid wasn't included on Bella Donna or The Wild Heart?

I find it a bit strange that during the short Bella Donna tour, she played the song live so must have liked it, but a studio version wasn't released.

I don't remember well but as Stevie has said in interviews, she had a lot of material for Bella Donna and it was inevitable for some songs to be left out.
However maybe Jimmy Iovine advised her on which songs to choose for the album depending on their marketability. I don't know if it's that, but he did say to put Stop Draggin my heart around instead of another song of Stevie because she didn't have a good single otherwise; at first she seemed dubious because "only" 10 songs could be put on the album and she wasn't sure she wanted one of them to be someone else's song, but then she was convinced.

[olive]

Originally Posted by StephenC

Does anyone know why Gold And Braid wasn't included on Bella Donna or The Wild Heart?

I find it a bit strange that during the short Bella Donna tour, she played the song live so must have liked it, but a studio version wasn't released.

she also sang Blue Lamp and that was buried on a soundtrack ,

[Macfan4life]

This happens all the time with different bands. In 1981 Stevie had too many good songs for just one album. It was hard to pick. Those days only 10 songs could fit on vinyl. She obviously loved the song to do it live and give it life. I love the song live but I am not sure what song I would remove from Bella Donna except maybe the Highwayman.
In 1984 Christine McVie did the same thing. She recorded a rocker for her solo album that did not fit on the album but included it on her solo tour. The song was "Too much is not enough." Its a great song and a rocker. She performed it on MTV too.
I think some songs make better live cuts than studio songs. This is why they include them in live sets.

I would love to know why Running through the Garden was not included on Rock A Little.

[pryderi]

I get chills imagining gold and braid and blue lamp included in the bella donna song lineup.

[Macfan4life]

Stevie had an explosion of great songs in the early 80's. Can you imagine if All the beautiful worlds and Sleeping Angel made it to The Wild Heart? I also think Garbo is a beautiful acoustic song that The Wild Heart desperately needed.

[bwboy]

I wonder if Gold and Braid was actually recorded- if it had been, wouldn't that version have been included on her Enchanted box set?

It would be great if the record company would do some rereleases of Stevie's albums, like what's been done with FM albums. A 2 disc Bella Donna with Blue Lamp included, along with demos and a full release of the White Winged Dove HBO concert on DVD would be awesome.

Rock a Little would be a fascinating rerelease- Stevie was a mess at that time and the album reflected that. I would love it if they included Reconsider Me, Battle of the Dragon, and all those other songs left off, along with a full release on DVD of her Rock a Little concert. I mean with all the songs that were left out, like I Can't Wait.

They didn't release the full version of the Mirage tour on DVD with the upcoming rerelease, so I know it won't happen with Stevie, but it sure would be nice.

[SisterNightroad]

Originally Posted by bwboy

I wonder if Gold and Braid was actually recorded- if it had been, wouldn't that version have been included on her Enchanted box set?

It would be great if the record company would do some rereleases of Stevie's albums, like what's been done with FM albums. A 2 disc Bella Donna with Blue Lamp included, along with demos and a full release of the White Winged Dove HBO concert on DVD would be awesome.

Rock a Little would be a fascinating rerelease- Stevie was a mess at that time and the album reflected that. I would love it if they included Reconsider Me, Battle of the Dragon, and all those other songs left off, along with a full release on DVD of her Rock a Little concert. I mean with all the songs that were left out, like I Can't Wait.

They didn't release the full version of the Mirage tour on DVD with the upcoming rerelease, so I know it won't happen with Stevie, but it sure would be nice.

I can't check properly since Ivory keys is currently down but gold & braid was recorded both for Bella Donna and Wild Heart. However I think neither of the versions were wholly finished so it could also be that at the time of publication of either album the song wasn't ready and that's why it's been left out.

[sadmabelnormand]

Gold and Braid definitely had a full-band version recorded for Bella Donna, I have a copy. I personally have never heard a version from The Wild Heart, but it would probably sound fantastic. However, I don't believe it was like Julia, where it was removed from Bella Donna at the last minute. I think the reason both Blue Lamp and Gold and Braid were performed live was because both are very rock-ish songs that helped boost her set.

[SisterNightroad]

Originally Posted by sadmabelnormand

Gold and Braid definitely had a full-band version recorded for Bella Donna, I have a copy. I personally have never heard a version from The Wild Heart, but it would probably sound fantastic. However, I don't believe it was like Julia, where it was removed from Bella Donna at the last minute. I think the reason both Blue Lamp and Gold and Braid were performed live was because both are very rock-ish songs that helped boost her set.

yes, it had a full-band version but very rough, it wasn't mixed and produced in the studio. I don't remember the dates of the tapes but it could be either that it wasn't completely ready at the time Bella Donna wrapped up or they had already decided before that it wasn't good for the album and they stopped working on it at some point.

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by SisterNightroad

yes, it had a full-band version but very rough, it wasn't mixed and produced in the studio. I don't remember the dates of the tapes but it could be either that it wasn't completely ready at the time Bella Donna wrapped up or they had already decided before that it wasn't good for the album and they stopped working on it at some point.

I agree with this. There are several master reels takes and mixes of Gold and Braid, and all are somewhat rough - almost complete but not quite. I would suggest that clearly, the song was *done*, but just not polished and mixed for album inclusion.

At various points, several songs in the works for Bella Donna were abandoned at different stages, including:

Starshine
Sanctuary
Gold and Braid
If You Were My Love
Baby Doll
Julia
Gypsy
All The King's Horses
Castaway
Sleeping Angel
Belle Flower
The Dealer
24 Karat Gold