“Liking the Solo albums”

[David]

Originally Posted by BLY

I think that the “fans” that dislike (or hate)some of Stevie’s solo albums are the fans that weren’t fans from the beginning. I do have my favorites but being a fan from 1981 I like all of them. I think if you became a fan later and went back into her catalog you can’t appreciate the progression .....agree?

I used to think there was something to hearing the albums for the first time in the order in which they were recorded. It might be true sometimes but not always. I think what's really going on with those of us who first heard the albums when they were brand new (and thus in chronological career order) is that we experienced that pit-in-the-stomach excitement in the weeks or months leading up to a release. So when the album finally hit, you may have been disappointed in some of it, but you still were coming down emotionally from an elevated state where you were super excited about what was coming—and you lived for three or four weeks with a hit single, a B side, a radio interview or two, and that was all. You were waiting, waiting, waiting. It's that anticipation that stuck with you and marked your experience of that album in a way that going back to an album years later didn't do for you. (When Hold Me was on the radio before Mirage was out, a few of my buddies and I thought the name of the song was Haunt Me. We had to wait for the 45 to stand corrected.)

I remember waiting and waiting for Tusk and Bella Donna—in the latter case, knowing Stop Dragging My Heart Around, reading L.A. Times reviews before the thing was released, and then walking into a record store (buildings that sold records in the olden days) and hearing the clerks playing Edge of Seventeen on the store system and, because you had never heard anything by Stevie that sounded like that, not even being terribly sure it WAS Stevie. I remember waiting for The Wild Heart after having Stand Back for about six weeks (and a date at the US Festival 2). Waiting with anticipation for an album alters your experience of it forever. You're more inclined to hold it in a more positive light many decades later.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by David

I used to think there was something to hearing the albums for the first time in the order in which they were recorded. It might be true sometimes but not always. I think what's really going on with those of us who first heard the albums when they were brand new (and thus in chronological career order) is that we experienced that pit-in-the-stomach excitement in the weeks or months leading up to a release. So when the album finally hit, you may have been disappointed in some of it, but you still were coming down emotionally from an elevated state where you were super excited about what was coming—and you lived for three or four weeks with a hit single, a B side, a radio interview or two, and that was all. You were waiting, waiting, waiting. It's that anticipation that stuck with you and marked your experience of that album in a way that going back to an album years later didn't do for you. (When Hold Me was on the radio before Mirage was out, a few of my buddies and I thought the name of the song was Haunt Me. We had to wait for the 45 to stand corrected.)

I remember waiting and waiting for Tusk and Bella Donna—in the latter case, knowing Stop Dragging My Heart Around, reading L.A. Times reviews before the thing was released, and then walking into a record store (buildings that sold records in the olden days) and hearing the clerks playing Edge of Seventeen on the store system and, because you had never heard anything by Stevie that sounded like that, not even being terribly sure it WAS Stevie. I remember waiting for The Wild Heart after having Stand Back for about six weeks (and a date at the US Festival 2). Waiting with anticipation for an album alters your experience of it forever. You're more inclined to hold it in a more positive light many decades later.

Very true. Even though RAL is my least favorite Stevie album the cultist and tribal ritual worship while waiting for the album's release is exactly what you say....hits you in the pit of your stomach. Every day I festered and dreamed of the album. I can remember the first time I heard Talk To Me on the radio. Halloween night 1985. The station kept talking about the premiere and I was 15 and at my parents house giving out candy. I was so excited. I liked the song but was not blown away. Soon I heard I cant wait and was blown away. I bought the album the first week of release. It was not until a few weeks later that I realized the album was mostly crap. But the energy and excitement and anticipation was really crazy. I can laugh about it now. I miss buying a new album, reading the album cover and insert for hours and memorizing the lyrics. It truly is a special time when you get an album as a baby.

[petep9000]

Originally Posted by David

Waiting with anticipation for an album alters your experience of it forever.

I remember the long wait for The Other Side of The Mirror, and my horror when I got it home and played it.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by petep9000

I remember the long wait for The Other Side of The Mirror, and my horror when I got it home and played it.

I had the complete opposite reaction. I was 19 and bought the cassette tape at National Record Mart. I played it as I drove home. I loved it so much. Some songs I am not crazy about but the album as a whole is very magical IMHO: Rooms on Fire, Long Way To Go, Oooh My Love, Whole Lotta trouble, Escape from Berlin. And yes, I even loved Two Kinds of Love. The album is so autobiographical where Stevie reveals so much about herself.
We are all different and have different likes and dislikes. I love OSOTM. However the tour was my least favorite tour. I disliked the sequence of songs and what she played.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by petep9000

I remember the long wait for The Other Side of The Mirror, and my horror when I got it home and played it.

I had the same reaction. I threw it in the trash. I was devastated at how bad it was. I figured because of the success of Tango in a be Night, she would make a comeback. That album is an embarrassment - horrible.

[BLY]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

I had the same reaction. I threw it in the trash. I was devastated at how bad it was. I figured because of the success of Tango in a be Night, she would make a comeback. That album is an embarrassment - horrible.

I had the exact opposite reaction. I loved it! After only getting minimum Stevie on Tango it was amazing to me. I loved her voice in eighties and I have a lot of favorites on that album. I didn’t really care for the album cover much.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by BLY

I had the exact opposite reaction. I loved it! After only getting minimum Stevie on Tango it was amazing to me. I loved her voice in eighties and I have a lot of favorites on that album. I didn’t really care for the album cover much.

I agree. Even the worst song on OSOTM is better than any Stevie song on Tango. Her voice was in such better shape and I felt almost as if it was a comeback album. Some very deep, personal, and intense lyrics which are only better on Bella Donna. Even better is the musicians she worked with on OSOTM.

[HoursAndHours]

I like OSOTM as much as the other three from the 80s. I'm guessing I like the songs most people hate (Fire Burning, Ghosts), but the whole thing is gold to me these days. Regarding the cover art, it looked like one of the photo shoots in the Enchanted set was an alternate idea for the cover (based on the black and white floor tile). Idk if it's really better, but she looks happier in those pics too.

Oddly I guess, I like the arrangement of Juliet on the Tango outtake much better than the OSOTM album arrangement.

[AnthonyMI]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

I agree. Even the worst song on OSOTM is better than any Stevie song on Tango. Her voice was in such better shape and I felt almost as if it was a comeback album. Some very deep, personal, and intense lyrics which are only better on Bella Donna. Even better is the musicians she worked with on OSOTM.

Back in 1998, when I forst became a Fan, RAL and OSOTM were totally uncool cheesy 80s. Yuck.

But. Osotm has grown on me and I like it a lot now. RAL is so... hodgepodge. Too many chefs in the kitchen. And some really bad crapola. Osotm was unified and consistent and very well produced by Holmes. Its very atmopsheric and mystical. I dont know how she pulled off the vocals though in her Klonopin phase. Her demos from that era were TRASH. (Tradedy of ones own soul/Lilly Girl) how Holms pulled any emotion out of her was a miracle. Im sure it wook the co-writers on that album a lot to make a purse out of those sows ears.

Her first two albums are classic “Heartbreakers” rock, so they stand the test of time a lot better. They also faired better in the late 90s and beyond because that “sound” never really went out of style except for the mid to late 80s. Grundge brought back the accoustic sound that enabled acts like Sheryl Crow, And late 90s bands like Oasis and Verve and the jacob Dylan band to have hits with real instruments. That lasted into the early 2000s with Santana making a comeback and Stevie to have TISL make top 3 with a Sheryls Crow “sound” wnd demos from the Belladonna era. The big mistake with TIsL was same as RAL where she couldnt decide in a cohesive “sound” and mixed the Belladonna era songs with cheesy early 2000s synth pop crapola that sounds dated. Of course it ALL came crashing down when Pop music strayed toward Britney Speaks, NStnc and american Idol garbage.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by AnthonyMI

Back in 1998, when I forst became a Fan, RAL and OSOTM were totally uncool cheesy 80s. Yuck.

But. Osotm has grown on me and I like it a lot now. RAL is so... hodgepodge. Too many chefs in the kitchen. And some really bad crapola. Osotm was unified and consistent and very well produced by Holmes. Its very atmopsheric and mystical. I dont know how she pulled off the vocals though in her Klonopin phase. Her demos from that era were TRASH. (Tradedy of ones own soul/Lilly Girl) how Holms pulled any emotion out of her was a miracle. Im sure it wook the co-writers on that album a lot to make a purse out of those sows ears.

Her first two albums are classic “Heartbreakers” rock, so they stand the test of time a lot better. They also faired better in the late 90s and beyond because that “sound” never really went out of style except for the mid to late 80s. Grundge brought back the accoustic sound that enabled acts like Sheryl Crow, And late 90s bands like Oasis and Verve and the jacob Dylan band to have hits with real instruments. That lasted into the early 2000s with Santana making a comeback and Stevie to have TISL make top 3 with a Sheryls Crow “sound” wnd demos from the Belladonna era. The big mistake with TIsL was same as RAL where she couldnt decide in a cohesive “sound” and mixed the Belladonna era songs with cheesy early 2000s synth pop crapola that sounds dated. Of course it ALL came crashing down when Pop music strayed toward Britney Speaks, NStnc and american Idol garbage.

Yes its a miracle Stevie got to complete OSOTM before her lights went out completely. Writing wise, its her second best effort after Bella Donna IMHO. The songs are so autobiographical where she is subtle and direct at times. Long Way To Go about drug addiction with her lover Joe Walsh and then breaking up. Two Kinds of Love, the lust and love of Joe Walsh and staying up at parties for days, Ghosts - living in the past and a bit afraid of the future, Escape from Berlin - incredible writing about addiction. The album does come with a few duds - Cry Wolf - a song that was passed around to almost every singer in CA and Blue Eyes - a lame cover.
Bella Donna and Wild Heart did have Heartbreaker feel. RAL is just so scattered. OSOTM was definitely a chance in a different direction. Her first album with no Heartbreakers. Being on tour with Fleetwood Mac she was inspired by songs she heard on the radio by Bruce Hornsby and Kenny G. She wanted to work with them and have them on her next album. Mistake? Not sure. They definitely contribute to the album in a constructive way but their sound is so distinctive it distorts her sound a bit. I heard Stevie on Rockline in 1989 and when she described the meaning of each song, I liked them even more. I think OSOTM would have been more successful if released in 1987 (impossible I know). Just like I believe Sometimes Its a Bitch would have been a top 10 single if released in 1988 at the peak of Jon Bon Jovi mania.
Back to your point, OSOTM does have a cohesive sound. I also agree her demos for OSOTM are horrible. I hate to copy Stevie's words but I do agree its her magic album. Besides the writing I love the music. Rick Marotta pounding on the drums on Oooh My Love is just incredible. He really makes that song so good.