Is Street Angel really that bad?

[iamnotafraid]

Best words to describe it. Blah, lethargic and uninspired.
The album cover matched the music inside.

[Macfan4life]

I LOVE Street Angel and it ranks towards the top of my favorite Stevie solo albums. As others have pointed out Stevie hates the album and thank you to sorcerer who posted the off the record interview that documents the dislike of this album from Stevie. I believe there is a promo in that clip before a commercial that says something like "its almost Christmas but Stevie does not want you to buy and put her latest copy of Street Angel in your stocking." Others have already mentioned the many reasons.....album started with Klonopin then the painful rehab, her weight, and the poor record sales. But most important was her fight with the producer. The release of the album was delayed because of the rehab. When Stevie got out she was able to put the finishing touches on the album. But the producer threw down the law and they butted heads big time. I cant recall if this stuff is on that off the record segment. In a nutshell Stevie claims the producer kept her from changing vocals and other stuff on the record.
Now why do I love this record. I just love how diverse we all are. I can only laugh at some (in a good way) when I read someone hates Street Angel but loves Rock A Little. That stuff blows my mind but its a good thing we all have different tastes, likes and dislikes. Stevie says she is most disappointed with her vocals on this album and I think her vocals are strong and good.

The album starts off with Blue Denim which is a solid song. I like the extended intro version better but its a great song. Loved to hear songs still about Lindsey after all those years. Greta is a fantastic song with amazing lyrics. The drum beat is very catchy and she has a great vocal range in the song. Street Angel is ok. Bringing David Crosby in to sing back up on the song was very very cool! Docklands is a good song, not sure why everyone freaks out over the word laundromat. Listen to the Rain is one of the highlights for me and a real rocker. Stevie is on fire. Destiny is great and adds diversity to the album. Unconditional Love is the low point in this album. Not sure why it was picked to start the second side. Thousand Days or Mirror Mirror (which were b sides for the singles) SHOULD have taken its place. Love is like a River is another rocker and highlight. Rose Garden is a gem and it was one of the highlights of the Enchanted tour. Maybe love will change your mind is so catchy and I LOVE this song. I usually hate the songs that Stevie sings that she did not write. But this song is from the heart and Stevie translates this from the heart feeling very well. It almost sounds like she wrote it. It would be a tough song to sing but she nails it. I don't think she did a great job on Dylan's Just like a woman. Its a b side IMHO. But brining in Dylan to play harmonica... so freakin cool! Kick it is a dud IMHO. Jane is ok. When I first heart the song I thought it was about Jane Petty from Edge of 17 LOL.

Long story short........if you could add Thousand Days and Mirror Mirror that both almost made the album and dropped Unconditional Love and Kick it ... it would be stellar. But even still its my 4th most favorite Stevie solo album. Her writing is excellent. Her voice is strong and could hit ranges for the last time. Trouble came out 7 years later and her voice got flat. And the album rocks. Its part rock, part country and part pop. I love it. It sounds like Stevie is supposed to sound.... part rock, country, pop.

As someone pointed out....her performances on the Street Angel tour were amazing. She hit high notes and really performed well. I just wish people would give this album a second chance.


The lyrics really show what Stevie is going through during this period if you read between the lines (pardon the pun)

You're a frontliner (former management company) You put it all on the line
You've been everywhere and you live in dark shadows (that's the Stevie life)
Your consistent...hey that's good (IMHO that sounds like a sarcastic quip from a record person)
There's no Beauty and the Beast here (IMHO that is another quip from a record person... could mean there is no type song here)

If you listen and dig a little deep I think you can appreciate this album a little more.

[starshine]

Originally Posted by UndoingTheLaces

Album covers always add to or detract from an album experience to me. Which is sad everything is about downloads now and you really miss out on some wonderful photography or art work. But the SA album cover was so un-Stevie with all that pink, and the matte finish and nothing going on. I saw some outtakes of other shoots around that time which would have really enhanced the look and feel of it.

I loved Greta and a few others when it first came out but it wasn't until Enchanted that I really started listening to the songs from SA. Then I was really surprised to find that there were actually much better mixes on the actual album. Blue Denim had a bunch of different versions and there are a few that are way better than the one on Enchanted. And I've recently fallen in love with the TimeSpace version of Listen To The Rain, which has so much more oomph than the SA version. So if you gather up all the various bits of Street Angel there is a lot of great material there. I think it was just that end of the line way of throwing the pieces she did together to just get it out there that hurt it. I grew to love it a lot more in the following years as I put together the missing pieces.

I couldn't agree with you more esp. about the LP outtake photos. There are so many better one's that could've been chosen. I so LOVE the TS version of Listen to the Rain. The lyrics just everything was much better with that version. She changed the lyrics up on the SA version ugh. I'd heard that other version so much that when the official SA version came out I so didn't like it because it wasn't the version I'd loved so much. Stevie rocked the tour though. It was my first solo concert of hers and she was awesome really. So I may not have loved the LP but I loved the tour that's for sure!! Some of the outtake songs are much better than the version we did get. I loved hearing outtakes etc. from all her solo lp's. Sometimes I like those better than the official released versions.

[greendaze5]

I think Stevie dismissed the album after the critics and public did.

Stevie did some radio interview right when the album came out, and she was very upbeat and positive about it, and even singing along with the tracks. Her enthusiasm seemed very genuine.

She later commented how she had to promote an album she didn't like in the first place and put on a brave face, but I get that idea that that was simply said in retrospect. Had 'SA' been better received, she would never had said such a thing.

[StreetAngel86]

it is AWESOME.
end of story.

of course, there is some Suck on it ...
but all of her albums have some

[TheWILDheart]

Originally Posted by UndoingTheLaces

Blue Denim had a bunch of different versions and there are a few that are way better than the one on Enchanted

Agreed! The single remixes of both "Blue Demin" and "Maybe Love" are so much better than the album version. Heavier drums on both and the guitar doesn't get lost in the mix.

The stuff on SA that I love, I really love. But the stuff that's bad is awful. I made myself an edited playlist that I thoroughly enjoy listening to:

1. Blue Denim (single remix)
2. Greta
3. Street Angel (album version - love that roaring guitar)
4. Listen To The Rain
5. Destiny
6. Love Is Like A River
7. Rose Garden
8. Inspiration
9. Maybe Love (single remix)
10. Kick It
11. God's Garden

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by greendaze5

Had 'SA' been better received, she would never had said such a thing.

No matter if the album was well received, her genuine distaste for it would remain the same.
Between the negative experience of working with a producer she didn't get along with, her disappointment of the production, and her subsequent efforts to fix it, she really just wanted to put it all behind her.

[SpyNote]

Originally Posted by James89

I've been listening to Street Angel recently and I really don't think it's as terrible as Stevie makes out. I also find it strange how she absolutely loves TOSOTM and hates Street Angel. Yes, it isn't as good as her other albums and that magic isn't there. Also, her vocals seem very quiet and drowned out in the mix which is quite strange. I do think that tracks such as Blue Denim, Love Is Like a River and Destiny are good but yes, there are a few which are boring and lack talent in the lyric department.

HOWEVER. I think Stevie trashes this album more because of how it did commercially and what state she was in at the time. I simply don't think that this album is far worse than TOSOTM, it's not as good but it certainly doesn't deserve the trashing that it's had.

I wonder why she hates it so much? There's a few good songs there.

It was just a bad time for her to make an album. Dealing with drug addiction and working with a producer who was not a good fit for her, she just didn't have the right state of mind to create something inspired; the album didn't have a "crystal vision." So there are lot of good songs mixed with average to poor ones. Trouble in Shangri-La has a similar problem, but it benefits by having the strongest songs upfront in the album. I think that Street Angel could have made a bigger impact by having a different track order. Some of the best songs were left off the album, so I would have started by pulling those back in. Of course, my version changes the album name. I would have called it Destiny.

1. Blue Denim
2. Thousand Days
3. Mirror Mirror
4. Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind
5. Greta
6. Listen to the Rain
7. Unconditional Love (original version)
8. Destiny
9. Rose Garden
10. Love Is Like a River
11. Kick It
12. Jane (original version)

[Jondalar]

In my opinion, the best song from Street Angel never made it on a Street Angel and that was the atmospheric gem, Inspiration. Why she knocked it off the album in favor of that bland crap is beyond me.

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

In my opinion, the best song from Street Angel never made it on a Street Angel and that was the atmospheric gem, Inspiration. Why she knocked it off the album in favor of that bland crap is beyond me.

[DauphineMarie]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

In my opinion, the best song from Street Angel never made it on a Street Angel and that was the atmospheric gem, Inspiration. Why she knocked it off the album in favor of that bland crap is beyond me.

I can honestly say I have never, EVER, listened to Inspiration until just 30 seconds ago, and it was so cringeworthy I had to stop it the second it made it to the chorus... Worse than Unconditional Love by a LONG shot... Sorry though, to each their own. Many people dislike God's Garden, which personally never fails to make me cry tears of joy and sorrow, and is the most gorgeous song ever... Even though she didn't write it, to me it just screams Robin.

[He's So Unusual]

It's not all bad. It's just monotonous and uninspired. The tracks Kick It, Blue Denim, Rose Garden and Love Is Like a River are the jewels in amongst the many beige turds. I detest Jane, Unconditional Love, Destiny and Docklands with a passion. They offend me. God's Garden and Mirror, Mirror should have been included. I can’t believe the latter was overlooked. Stevie's vocals are on fire. The album artwork is as dull as 90% of the album. The only song I would love to hear live is Kick It.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by DauphineMarie

I can honestly say I have never, EVER, listened to Inspiration until just 30 seconds ago, and it was so cringeworthy I had to stop it the second it made it to the chorus... Worse than Unconditional Love by a LONG shot... Sorry though, to each their own. Many people dislike God's Garden, which personally never fails to make me cry tears of joy and sorrow, and is the most gorgeous song ever... Even though she didn't write it, to me it just screams Robin.

Well so you never listened to it.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by He's So Unusual

It's not all bad. It's just monotonous and uninspired. The tracks Kick It, Blue Denim, Rose Garden and Love Is Like a River are the jewels in amongst the many beige turds. I detest Jane, Unconditional Love, Destiny and Docklands with a passion. They offend me. God's Garden and Mirror, Mirror should have been included. I can’t believe the latter was overlooked. Stevie's vocals are on fire. The album artwork is as dull as 90% of the album. The only song I would love to hear live is Kick It.

Blue Denim isn't even a song. It's a guitar lick with a chorus.

[Jondalar]

Oh and Greta seems like a ripoff of Betty Davis Eyes.