The worst of Stevie

[sodascouts]

Originally Posted by blemelin

"The Nightmare" is one of the worst "songs" set to record by anyone ever. I find it completely unlistenable. I think I made it through the whole thing only once, and I was horrified. It is garbage. I was working at Altantic Records when that album (Rock A Little) came out and everyone knew I was a huge Stevie fan. The "song" got passed around the company as a joke and after a little while, other artists on the label got in on making fun of it. They passed it around as an example of her self-indulgence and inability to edit herself. Everyone commented on how aptly-named it was. People started leaving cruel notes, horrific drawings and altered photos on my desk, poking fun at it and Stevie. At first I found the ridicule painful, especially because I knew how bad it was--which did hurt me--but I ultimately had to admit that if you put something that awful on a record that is released to the world, you have to deal with the repercussions. It's unfortunate, because I do think much of Stevie's output and longevity as a solo artist merits her a spot in the R&R Hall of Fame as a solo act, but to this day, there are still a lot of people in the industry who remember that song and some of the other dreck she has produced. It's really quite a shame.

Poor soul!

"The Nightmare" is my "winner" for Worst of Stevie Nicks. Even songs I dislike such as "Docklands," "Fire Burning," and "Cheaper Than Free" have a few redemptive qualities. By contrast ,when it comes to "The Nightmare" - I hear nothing but crap.

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

I believe this story. I find the song to be horrible, an embarrassment. She was so self indulgent.

I consider the alternate version an improvement over the album version. Not exactly sure what she was trying to achieve with this song. The nonsensical lyrical mishmash is in a style that reminds me of territory she explored with her unreleased obscure oddity Mable Normand.

That story is fascinating (and sort of sad) about how the song was passed around to industry insiders for a good laugh. It was ripe for mocking. It doesn't offend me so I don't avoid the song; it's uniquely Stevie, for better or worse.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

I consider the alternate version an improvement over the album version. Not exactly sure what she was trying to achieve with this song. The nonsensical lyrical mishmash is in a style that reminds me of territory she explored with her unreleased obscure oddity Mable Normand.

That story is fascinating (and sort of sad) about how the song was passed around to industry insiders for a good laugh. It was ripe for mocking. It doesn't offend me so I don't avoid the song; it's uniquely Stevie, for better or worse.

Well you can tell she was on drugs when she was making that album. It was self-indulgent. It was sorta of the beginning of the end. The big signal that she wasn't what she was.

[Autumn Ocean]

Thousand Days. Enough said...

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by Autumn Ocean

Thousand Days. Enough said...

For me, this one is like Not Make Believe. The song may have it's problems, but there's something in the chorus that really moves me. It seems like a thousand days actually sounds like yearning and distance and irrevocable loss.

The music, combined with the almost lethargic vocal just puts a little lump in my throat. I feel it. Michele

[Street_Dreamer]

I have many but Beauty And The Beast ranks at the top.

[chiliD]

I haven't the time, nor the space to post to accurately contribute to this thread.

[mitzo]

Originally Posted by Street_Dreamer

I have many but Beauty And The Beast ranks at the top.

OMFG!!!

[mitzo]

To me the overblown stuff like Thousand Days or Nightmare is classic Stevie 'cause of the high drama and big delivery. To me the faux "rock n' roll" stuff is junk unworthy of the goddess, like Blue Lamp, I Need to Know, Gold and Braid, Violet and Blue. Yuck. I mean, how does a Welsh Witch or a Gold Dust Woman end up in a trailer park and a pickup truck?

[TimeCastASpell]

Landslide
Silver Springs
Bella Donna
Gypsy
Edge of sevente... JUST KIDDING! :P

Funny how I'm trying to think of songs I don't like and I'm not really coming up with much. I do skip songs sometimes. Not a fan of Soilders Angel. Think it has potential but something about the music more than the lyrics bothers me. And not emotionally. I mean it literally irks me and I often skip it. Liked Desert Angel a lot growing up. Probably fulfilled my young idealistic "I care about the world" kind of teenage thing. Cheaper Than Free kind of makes me roll my eyes a bit. I enjoyed it a lot at first. Had it stuck in my head all the time when IYD first came out but so often I turn off the CD player/iPod before I get to it.

Perhaps because I'm younger than many fans (mid-20s) I'm especially fond of TISL because that's my teen years right there and IYD. I'm very very picky about 80's music. Love 70's and 90's but a lot of 80's is so over produced and lots of weird beats and electronic stuff going on. So as a whole I play more recent Stevie more often. But she's one of my 80s singers I adore and like many of you said- her lyrics are the music. So I often adore her 80s lyrics but am not so into "that 80s sound" if that makes sense? Many, many exceptions with Stevie though. And 80's Mac is delicious.


I kind of like the lyrics to The Nightmare. Kills me that she pronounces it "drown- Ding" and the bad 80s pop beat is whoa (just had to play it because I wanted to refresh my memory since its so reviled lol) and lots of cliches yet I don't know maybe I'm just having a rough time in life but shoot I found the lyrics relatable either way.

Gonna have to put more thought into this. Will say I love the song I Still Miss Someone. I must have 8 different covers of it by various different singers and for sure the original by Johnny Cash is my favorite but having often fallen for people I can't have who somehow always have blue eyes, can't tell you how many times I've cried to that one.

Also like the beat/tune/melody in That made Me Stronger for some reason. Ironically I've seen old poems I wrote in my early teens and I actually tried to copy that one more or less. But TISL as a whole has definitely grown deeper and deeper to me as I grew up so maybe that one appealed when I was younger for its transparency? We don't see a whole lot of that with Stevie and I absolutely think her complex (complex maybe isnt the word? but you all know what i mean, I assume!) lyrics have as big appeal and just make it such an experience to listen to her. It's not just listening to an incredible voice but really listening to the lyrics. Few other artists make me listen as hard as Stevie.

I think that also sums up my general view. Most any song I skip is usually because I don't like the music side of it but I can almost always find an absolute lyrical gem or just a darn good line in all her music.

[goldustsongbird]

Originally Posted by mitzo

To me the overblown stuff like Thousand Days or Nightmare is classic Stevie 'cause of the high drama and big delivery. To me the faux "rock n' roll" stuff is junk unworthy of the goddess, like Blue Lamp, I Need to Know, Gold and Braid, Violet and Blue. Yuck. I mean, how does a Welsh Witch or a Gold Dust Woman end up in a trailer park and a pickup truck?

I love all those, but have never been able to like Thousand Days or The Nightmare. I would erase the Time/Life edition line from Stevie's pages for good. I like the first block of lyrics from The Nightmare, but after that, it's like a line for a line -- it's just coked out.

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by TimeCastASpell

I kind of like the lyrics to The Nightmare. Kills me that she pronounces it "drown- Ding"

Her pronunciation of that word always bothered me too. It first appeared in the song Sara. I always wondered if she was unintentionally butchering the word.

Only just recently I had an epiphany. On occasion, Stevie sings a word or phrase that is interpreted/heard differently than she intended.

I want to believe that in Sara she is singing drowned in...in the sea of love
And in The Nightmare: Drowning in the sea...drowned in!

[He's So Unusual]

Garbo
The Highwayman
I Sing for the Things
Two Kinds of Love
Jane
Unconditional Love
I Still Miss Someone (Blue Eyes)
Destiny
Love Changes
That Made Me Stronger
Ghosts

[Dex]

This thread is fascinating because I always seem to agree vehemently with about 50% of everyone's lists. But those lists also have choices on them which are like a dagger to my heart. A pretty interesting mix of emotions.

[James89]

I can't believe somebody said 'Beauty and the Beast'. That song is simply beautiful and incredibly moving.

I have to say that I like the whole 80's sound of 'The Nightmare' but I agree with the people who say that they dislike the way that she pronounces and sings many words throughout the song. 'The Nightmare' is definitely not my worst Stevie track. In fact, it's not the worst from 'Rock a Little'.

My worst has to be 'Cheaper Than Free'. The lyrics are lazy and embarrassing and Dave's vocals simply aren't good enough or go well with Stevie's. That song was a mistake to put on an album that was overall very good.