Rock A Little not holding up so well

[dontlookdown]

I remember really liking Rock A Little when it came out; but I just listened to it the other day -
and it really wasn't one of Stevie's best moments.
So much meandering weak writing and mostly not so great vocals.
It's amazing how much better her singing and writing is now.
She really didn't get her voice back until Street Angel, despite the mostly weak songs.

24 Kt. Gold, In Your Dreams, Bella Donna, and The Wild Heart are the essential albums.
Everything else - not so much.

Forgot to include most of Trouble In Shangri-La in the essential group.

[WildHearted]

I love it in all of its dated 80s glory. I like her voice on it, even. It was obvious not at it's pinnacle of healthiness but it had a lot of character.

I kept IYD in constant rotation in my car for like 2 years after the fact but I hardly ever listen to it now & I really have no strong connection to any of the songs, save for "For What It's Worth."

[DauphineMarie]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

I love it in all of its dated 80s glory. I like her voice on it, even. It was obvious not at it's pinnacle of healthiness but it had a lot of character.

I kept IYD in constant rotation in my car for like 2 years after the fact but I hardly ever listen to it now & I really have no strong connection to any of the songs, save for "For What It's Worth."

Rock a Little is my 2nd favourite album, behind Wild Heart. I think the writing is pretty good, but obviously the production can entirely influence the outcome of a song, so it was pretty good for it's time. I LOVE the vocals on the album, especially the title track. I Can't Wait is my FAVOURITE dance song along with Stand Back, and I love singing along to Sister Honey. Also, I do think some outtakes were better choices, like Love is Like a River, Thousand Days, and Ooh Ooh Baby.

[SisterNightroad]

At first I thought it was outdated just like you, but with time I eventually learned to appreciate it.
I think, just like the age it was born in, Rock a Little is an acquired taste: you have to enter in the 80s aesthetic and mindset to fully appreciate it.
Speaking of classics, there are eminent critics that think The Other Side Of The Mirror is Stevie's best work, it's a matter of viewpoints.

[olive]

Originally Posted by PenguinHead
Critical analysis should not be mistaken for hate.

[dontlookdown]

The title track is great - but as a whole, I don't think it's nearly as strong as her most
recent two.

I've always thought The Other Side of the Mirror is her worst
album. I think Street Angel now has that award, but I still cringe when
I hear much of TOSOTM.

She's come a long way. Still kind of shocking
that she's done some of her best work during the last few years.

[James89]

This is her most 'dance-y' album if you know what I mean. I love it, and I think the cover is the all time greatest.

[Machu]

Some albums are 'of a time' and Rock a Little is one of them. It doesn't sound timeless but it still shines in all of it's 80's awesomeness.

[Macfan4life]

I have the same opinion of Rock A Little from 1985 to today. I could not have been a bigger Stevie Nicks fan than when I was 15 and waiting for the album's "forever" release. I remember reading a Rolling Stone article in 1984 that said Stevie was putting her finishing touches on her album to shortly be released. Even though I was under the Stevie spell I could not help but be disappointed. Talk to me was a dud IMHO and clearly was a pop song given to her and there were no catchy beats. I loved I Cant Wait but the synch percussion was a bit too much even for 1985. While there are some good numbers like The Nightmare, Imperial Hotel, No Spoken Word, and HAWAFU, her vocals were weak and almost unheard on Rock A Little. Sister Honey was just too funky for a rock goddess. For the first time rock stations put Stevie on the back burner since RAL was considered more pop than rock.
Rock A Little is the ONLY Stevie album I don't have on CD. I had the album but never cared to get the CD. The demos from this era are better than the songs. Too many of them seem rushed when Jimmy Iovine walked out......sort of like....what do we do now.....quick get someone to write some songs and put the computer to do the drum track and get something on the album. I hated to see Stevie embrace the cheezy 80's sound. Just one year prior to Rock A Little being released the rock stations were playing Violet and Blue..... a good rocker so I had such high hope for a great rock album and sadly its an average pop album at best.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by WildHearted

I love it in all of its dated 80s glory. I like her voice on it, even. It was obvious not at it's pinnacle of healthiness but it had a lot of character.

I agree. Rock A Little is just fun because of it's unabashed & outlandish 80s-ness. There is just a certain honesty to it, both in it's sound and it's lyrical content. I just love it for it's high energy, too. There just aren't any dead spots, which is not typical for a Stevie album. Besides In Your Dreams, it's really the only Stevie album I will play when I have people over. There is just a continuity to it which makes it easy to listen to- again, atypical for a Stevie album.

While it's true that Rock A Little may not win any accolades from a critical point of view, I think it has other redeeming qualities. I think more than any of her solo albums, Rock A Little perfectly captures a moment in time. Not just of the 80s, but of Stevie herself. You can hear her coke addiction and the fact it's making the wheels come off of her life. The drastic change in her voice from Wild Heart to Rock A Little is proof.

As far as Rock A Little not aging well, I just disagree. When I first started getting into Stevie's solo albums in the 90s, Rock A Little sounded awful. But with time, I think it has really come into it's own. So many current artists these days are mining 80s sounds and looks. Albums like Rock A Little are the real deal. I think if anything, Rock A Little might just be more relevant now than ever because of that.

[Frankenstein]

To me, RAL is just okay; there are a couple of songs I really like but the rest I can live without. It's very 80s-sounding which I normally LOVE but I don't really care for that style when it comes to Stevie's music. I guess because up until then, most of her songs had a timeless kind of quality to them. Sure, you could argue that some were 70s/80s-esque but they don't sound dated to me... unlike RAL.

[priestofnothing]

How will we feel 30 years from now???

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...type=3&theater

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by SisterNightroad

Speaking of classics, there are eminent critics that think The Other Side Of The Mirror is Stevie's best work, it's a matter of viewpoints.

I like it better than Bella Donna. I don't like it as much as Wild Heart or IYD. Ha, maybe if the album cover was different people would OSOTM more.

Michele

[Dreamz19]

RAL does sound dated, but I love the album. Its my second favorite album by Stevie after Bella Donna. I will admit that Stevie's vocals floored me (and not in a good way) the first time I heard it about 9 years ago. It was a huge departure from what I had heard from Stevie up until that point. However, after learning more about her and what she was going through at the time of the recording, for some reason her voice became more acceptable to me. Her vocals on "I Sing For Things" sounded so bad at first, but overtime the frailness of her voice made the song more poignant.

[Dreamz19]

Originally Posted by dontlookdown

The title track is great - but as a whole, I don't think it's nearly as strong as her most
recent two.

I've always thought The Other Side of the Mirror is her worst
album. I think Street Angel now has that award, but I still cringe when
I hear much of TOSOTM.

She's come a long way. Still kind of shocking
that she's done some of her best work during the last few years.

I have tried to listen to TOSOTM multiple times, but I really can't get into that album. I rarely listen to it, but it does have some decent songs on it. I actually prefer Street Angel.