Street Angel - the original version

[AnthonyMI]

Originally Posted by Phil

I agree regarding the title and wonder if it was her attempt (ironically) at courting the public in response to the hit "Black Velvet"? Now that was a truly atrocious song... and to think Stevie ended up covering it four years after "Blue Denim".

I do not recall Stevie ever overing Black Velvet in 1998-ish. UNLESS it was recorded for TISL and never released. I DO recall that in the days of Napster that things were often mislabeled as being sung by another artist and showing up in searches. I STILL have old files floating in my MP3 collection that are mislabeled this way. I can totally see some person titling a Black Velvet as "Stevie Nicks - Black Velvet" out of ignorance, or some haughty little Ledgie back in the day as a "april fools" joke on the Ledge. Within minutes that file would have been proliferated across the globe.

[seekerj]

Originally Posted by SpyNote

I remember "pedestrian" coming up a lot when Street Angel was critiqued. I think "Blue Denim" has a good hook. It reminded me a lot of REM's "Losing My Religion" musically when I first heard it.

lol... I remember thinking "Blue Denim" sounded a lot like an Alan Parsons Project song from the early 80's... I think it was "Games People Play".

[johnnystorms]

Originally Posted by AnthonyMI

I do not recall Stevie ever overing Black Velvet in 1998-ish. UNLESS it was recorded for TISL and never released. I DO recall that in the days of Napster that things were often mislabeled as being sung by another artist and showing up in searches. I STILL have old files floating in my MP3 collection that are mislabeled this way. I can totally see some person titling a Black Velvet as "Stevie Nicks - Black Velvet" out of ignorance, or some haughty little Ledgie back in the day as a "april fools" joke on the Ledge. Within minutes that file would have been proliferated across the globe.

She covered it at a one-off event honoring songwriters, i believe. no recordings or video were allowed tho.

[Phil]

Thanks JohnnyStorms, that's the 1998 event I was recalling. If my memory serves me correctly, I thought there was a brief video snippet of Stevie's performance (perhaps from a news report) broadcast somewhere, albeit in very poor quality. Someone here may have a copy or it could be available somewhere online?

[drzubritsky]

Originally Posted by SpyNote

I remember "pedestrian" coming up a lot when Street Angel was critiqued. I think "Blue Denim" has a good hook. It reminded me a lot of REM's "Losing My Religion" musically when I first heard it.

I agree that BD has a pretty good hook. I hadn't noticed a resemblance to "Losing My Religion", but regardless of any melodic similarities, "Religion" has one crucial quality that BD lacks: an interesting and creative arrangement. Its prominent use of mandolin was surprising (and initially considered uncommercial by the label). BD and many of the other SA tracks could have used creative touches like that.

[BlueLight]

Bumping this thread in honor of the 20th anniversary of SA's release. It's by far my least favorite of Stevie's album, but it's grown on me over time, particularly the Master Mixes.

Here is my current SA-era tracklist:

Sometimes It's A B*tch
Blue Denim (CD single mix)
Street Angel (album mix)
Thousand Days (CD single mix)
Destiny (Enchanted mix)
Mirror, Mirror (1992 version)
Rose Garden (Enchanted mix)
Maybe Love (album mix)
Kick It (album mix)
Listen To The Rain (Timespace outtake)
Twisted (Enchanted demo)
Love's A Hard Game To Play

[seekerj]

Originally Posted by KarmaContestant

See, but that's the thing - the Glyn Johns mixes sounded great. The whole CD of Glyn's original mixes has been circulating for a couple of years, and a few of the tracks even got used on the Enchanted box set (Destiny, Rose Garden & Street Angel).

I really just believe Stevie is/was being melodramatic when she talks about this point in the birth of the Street Angel album. Let us not forget how many of her songs have been "ruined" by Lindsey for not sounding like the demos. Because Gypsy and Sara are are *so* terrible and Lindsey is so very mean to Stevie - or so she would have had us believe at various points in time.

I would not go so far as to say that Stevie and Thom Panunzio ruined the songs that Glyn produced, but I do honestly believe there was nothing wrong with them and that Stevie just wanted to scrub Glyn away because he was not enamoured with her the way other producers have been, and he ran a tight ship with actual rules and schedules. And admittedly, as a long-time fan I have many times myself thought that the last thing Stevie needs is Waddy Wachtel, so I guess I agree with Glyn in that respect.

I distinctly remember Stevie being asked about this at the time (why the versions on "Enchanted" were different from the album versions). I do not remember her exact words or which interview it was, but her answer was that they requested the songs they wanted from wherever the master tapes were stored, and these were the tapes they got. It was not a deliberate choice on her part. They just went with what they were sent rather than going back and digging.

When did Stevie ever complain about "Sara" or Gypsy"? Are these really the songs that she had issues with when it comes to Lindsey's production choices?

[seekerj]

Originally Posted by KarmaContestant

Oh Lord, how can anyone think that god-awful SA vocal on If You Were My Love is worthy of inclusion on an album is beyond me. It's terrible, truly. She sounds half awake and distracted by a pizza.

I personally love Street Angel (the song) but otherwise agree with your assessment, by and large. That part of the 90's was an odd time for music, with Salt & Pepa and Tori Amos and Ace of Bass toppng charts, I don't know that *anything* Stevie could have done would have sounded current.

You really nailed it! That is so true!

LOL LOL.... this is probably the best laugh I've had all year! Thanks!

(Plus, IMO, the arrangement of the music just doesn't support the emotion you feel with earlier reordings; it's like the emotion was just SUCKED right out of the song.)

[seekerj]

Originally Posted by Phil

As it stands, I would only rate four songs from the released album as being worthwhile excursions. Whilst none of them are perfect, Blue Denim; Greta; Street Angel (Abbey Road version as featured on Enchanted) and Kick It are all quite decent in my opinion and solid vocally, particularly Blue Denim and Street Angel (the latter featuring a rather alert and committed vocal from Stevie, which was definitely not typical of the album).

I won't get started on the dreaded Jane, but I must say that the Master Reel Version that I've heard with the piano intro (circa 1992 perhaps?) showed promise. Obviously, those unmentionable lyrics would need to be edited out, but this could have been salvaged with the correct approach.

Please mention them. Is it just the word "chimpanzee" that ruins the whole song for you, or are there other parts of the lyrics that you think are "unmentionable"? I think the lyrics are thought-provoking. I love them. I only care about lyrics (because I'm going to like any music, so it's the lyrics that make a song a good song for me), and I'm an animal rights activist, so I LOVE this song. But then again, I like all the songs that get trashed on this board, and I hate all the "lightweight" lyric stuff, like "Unconditional Crap" or "Maybe Love Will Make You Barf", or whatever it is called.

[mitzo]

Originally Posted by seekerj

Please mention them. Is it just the word "chimpanzee" that ruins the whole song for you, or are there other parts of the lyrics that you think are "unmentionable"? I think the lyrics are thought-provoking. I love them. I only care about lyrics (because I'm going to like any music, so it's the lyrics that make a song a good song for me), and I'm an animal rights activist, so I LOVE this song. But then again, I like all the songs that get trashed on this board, and I hate all the "lightweight" lyric stuff, like "Unconditional Crap" or "Maybe Love Will Make You Barf", or whatever it is called.

I am not sure why the line "the forgotten chimpanzee" is so horrendous used in song which is a tribute to Jane Goodall, the advocate for the jungle chimpanzees. I never had any problem with that at all.

I do have problems with:

understanding me understanding you is not an easy thing to do
love is like a river
I fell down the stairs a broken rag doll
It's got roses dangling down to the ground
...phantom of the opera...
just lay back and watch the rain
I'm waited for in Egypt

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by seekerj

You really nailed it! That is so true!

LOL LOL.... this is probably the best laugh I've had all year! Thanks!

It is a lovely song lyrically, but I don't know what she was thinking with that island beat.

[StreetAngel86]

Originally Posted by BlueLight

Here is my current SA-era tracklist:

Sometimes It's A B*tch
Blue Denim (CD single mix)
Street Angel (album mix)
Thousand Days (CD single mix)
Destiny (Enchanted mix)
Mirror, Mirror (1992 version)
Rose Garden (Enchanted mix)
Maybe Love (album mix)
Kick It (album mix)
Listen To The Rain (Timespace outtake)
Twisted (Enchanted demo)
Love's A Hard Game To Play

I JUST made a new track listing for my "ultimate" Street Angel the other day

1 - Blue Denim (single remix)
2 - Greta (RAL demo)
3 - Street Angel (album)
4 - Thousand Days (RAL outtake)
5 - Listen to the Rain (master)
6 - Rose Garden (Enchanted)
7 - If You Were My Love (SA outtake ... though the Mirage version needs proper FM recording)
8 - Love Is Like a River (album)
9 - Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind (master)
10 - Mirror Mirror (SA outtake)
11 - Kick It (album)
12 - God's Garden (album)
13 - Inspiration (album)

[StreetAngel86]

Originally Posted by mitzo

I do have problems with:

I fell down the stairs a broken rag doll

I'm waited for in Egypt

WHY ... Street Angel ends with her throwing herself down the stairs and killing herself. it's a tragic line and my favorite ... because it's so vivid and awful mashed up in a song about rainbows and angels

the 'waiting for in egypt' line

wasn't that discussed here years ago as being from a poem or something ... i forget. but i liked where she probably originally pulled it from. as all good poets do, they borrow from each other

[KarmaContestant]

Hopefully someday an expanded Street Angel will include the tracks we know about but haven't heard.

[Autumn Ocean]

I always thought Docklands was an absurd choice of song for her.

The go down to the laundromat line always makes me picture Stevie (in platform boots and batwing sleeves) pulling a wad of capes out of the washing machine to untangle before putting them in the dryer.