Fan Reviews!

[Jondalar]

I love when a new album drops and we get to share our opinions.

[Keith]

just to listen to 24 Karat Gold again. After three listens, the album is really solid on so many levels.. musically, vocally. I'm even starting to warm up to "Blue Water" a bit.

Also, checked on my Amazon.com order vinyl order and noted the album is being streamed (CD version) - different sequence than the vinyl, and scratching my head on why Watch Chain is not one of the 14 tracks.

[Tango]

Originally Posted by Keith

My first listen thoughts... about 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault (and a merry-go-round).

Get up, flip the groovy orange Reprise labeled vinyl to Side 2.

I enjoyed reading what you wrote Keith, and laughed out loud at the "Get up, flip . . . . "

I haven't used my record player in quite a while, but had to last night for Ms. Nicks new double album. It's always a special night when you get a new album and Stevie did not disappoint me at all. I was smiling, listening to Cathouse Blues--I loved the demo, and enjoyed what they did on this song on the new LP. I am grateful that we got this new "old" album with all the funky pictures, but I admit I had to use a magnifying glass in addition to my reading glasses to read along with the lyrics. It's sure not 1975 any more!

There is a pretty picture of Jessi and her aunt together with Stevie drinking what appears to be a GIANT coffee-- a special intimate moment with her beloved niece that she shared with us, along with the rest of this wonderful 24 kt gold album.

[deribish]

I too find it odd that WATCH CHAIN Is a bonus track. But my most head-scratching thought is about the difference sequence between the standard and deluxe version. The standard version (even though its missing 2 tracks) has a MUCH better running order. The Dealer sounds SO good after Starshine, as opposed to the immediate mood change that is IYWMY. The standard track list really makes it a better collection, IMO.

Starshine
The Dealer
Mabel Normand
Blue Water
Cathouse Blues
24 Karat Gold
Hard Advice
Lady
I Don't Care
All The Beautiful Worlds
Belle Fleur
If You Were My Love
Carousel
She Loves Him Still

[BlueLight]

Originally Posted by deribish

I too find it odd that WATCH CHAIN Is a bonus track. But my most head-scratching thought is about the difference sequence between the standard and deluxe version. The standard version (even though its missing 2 tracks) has a MUCH better running order. The Dealer sounds SO good after Starshine, as opposed to the immediate mood change that is IYWMY. The standard track list really makes it a better collection, IMO.

Starshine
The Dealer
Mabel Normand
Blue Water
Cathouse Blues
24 Karat Gold
Hard Advice
Lady
I Don't Care
All The Beautiful Worlds
Belle Fleur
If You Were My Love
Carousel
She Loves Him Still

I think the Deluxe running order reflects the space constraints of vinyl. I'm excited to listen to the 14-track order, but at least on vinyl, I think the sequencing works well - each sides tells its own little story, almost like 4 separate EPs.

[deribish]

Originally Posted by BlueLight

I think the Deluxe running order reflects the space constraints of vinyl. I'm excited to listen to the 14-track order, but at least on vinyl, I think the sequencing works well - each sides tells its own little story, almost like 4 separate EPs.

yes! agreed. When you think of it as 4 mini-eps, each one has a great running order.

[saradorna]

Originally Posted by Keith

Also, checked on my Amazon.com order vinyl order and noted the album is being streamed (CD version) - different sequence than the vinyl, and scratching my head on why Watch Chain is not one of the 14 tracks.

Thanks I'm listening to it!

[MusicInferno]

Originally Posted by saradorna

Thanks I'm listening to it!

I listened to it for the first time now! I'm not familiar with most of the song's demos, but I have to say I'm impressed. There is so much diversity and not one single track I don't like.

I have some concerns about the vocal mixing or rather the obvious change of quality of different vocal takes (especially audible on "The Dealer" and "Mabel Normand"), but all in all I have to say this collection of songs sounds fresh, timeless and interesting.

[markolas]

I'm listening to the streaming version on Amazon as I type!

Starshine - I like this song. In some of her phrasing, I hear Janis Joplin, who Stevie has always spoken of as a major influence, but I rarely hear it in her music.

The Dealer - The demo/outtake versions never seemed quite finished to me, and I've never been able to pinpoint exactly why. This is the first time I've ever been excited about this song. I like her vocal a lot - her more mature voice suits the lyrics very well.

Mabel Normand - Okay, here's the first song I haven't heard. It's starting out promising. Fierce vocal. Same rambling lyrics, but it rocks and that makes it work.

Blue Water - Here's the one everyone seems to be disappointed with. Starting out exactly like the demo...here are the drums and guitars and voices. Sounds great. Here's the Lady Antebellum guy. I could take him or leave him. It's not bad, though.

They could've done a few different things with this, and I can understand why some are disappointed. They turned it into a very country-influenced song, and I know some people here hate that, but I enjoy it.

Cathouse Blues - I always loved the demo of this and I'm happy she recorded it and fleshed it out. The vocal isn't great, but it's a fun song.

24 Karat Gold - This is my favorite of the singles. The demos were very bare bones, but it was always catchy as hell and they did really beautifully with it. Love, love, love.

Hard Advice - More country influence. Interesting vocal. It's not really grabbing me...some people seem to really love it, so I guess I was expecting to be more blown away than I am. Some of the lyrics are a little cringe-inducing ("stay out of music stores"?? Lordy.) Meh, I'm underwhelmed.

Lady - I really like this. The raggedy vocal is perfect, IMO. It's like she's shouting to the universe in exasperation.

I Don't Care - Starts out with kind of Joni Mitchell-ish guitar intro, but then it kicks into more of a Led Zeppelin classic rock song. Passionate vocal. Very "Ghosts Are Gone."

All the Beautiful Worlds - Very "Wild Heart" dark and mystical. The vocal is amazing...she rarely lets loose like that anymore. It's very faithful to the outtake without sounding dated. Another favorite.

Belle Fleur - Love the swampy intro. Kind of a Laurel Canyon feel to the song, which I love. It's nice, but I dunno if it's a favorite. Hmm.

If You Were My Love - Oh lord, this is the one I was waiting for. It's already better than the Street Angel outtake, which is promising. Atmospheric. It's like they took the best parts of all the different versions and put them together. The electric guitar really makes the song...it would sound very sleepy without it. I like it very much.

Carousel - I have never listened to Vanessa Carlton at all. It's a nice song and fits with the classic rock/'70s singer-songwriter feel of a lot of the album.

She Loves Him Still - The last song already? The demo was always "meh" to me, but I like this a lot so far, even if it is one of those classic, depressing Stevie album closers (The Highwayman, Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You, Love Is). Did the demo have the "sands of time like shattering glass" part at the end? Another one of those Stevie-isms where she sneaks in lyrics from another song(s). Love it.

This is a very strong album, certainly one of her best. I don't know that it blows IYD out of the water as some have said; they are both excellent, but I'd say this one has a couple of songs I'm not crazy about and there really isn't a song on IYD that I don't like. But these are my very first impressions.

[jkmaletic]

How can I stream tbis on Amazon? I can't find for the life of me how to do that. I tried signing in too. All it offers are samples. Can someone tell me where to go to stream it?

I'd love to be able to hear it thru headphones, because when I played it on my record player last night it sounded warbly. (Probably my player)


That said, I liked it, but I think a lot of the songs will grow on me versus loving them at first listen. A lot of the slower songs sound similar to me. There's a lot of steel guitar, which I'm not crazy about. A few of the songs seem to go in different melodic directions, which makes me feel, "where is this song going" kind of thing. A critic wrote that one of the strengths of this album is that it's not "overly-polished" like IYD was. Well, I guess I like overly-polished, because I LOVED 99% of IYD at first listen. This one, like I said, will likely grow on me.

[kak125]

If you go to this link and select the big green play button you can hear the entire cd. beware the songs are not in order.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M7LN7SM/...2061555&sr=8-1

[Danielle]

I *think* this should be a direct link to the player: http://www.amazon.com/gp/dmusic/publ...dgetHeight=260

[MusicInferno]

Originally Posted by kak125

If you go to this link and select the big green play button you can hear the entire cd. beware the songs are not in order.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M7LN7SM/...2061555&sr=8-1

They are in order, but it's the standard version playing and not the deluxe running order which is listed below.

[saradorna]

I've already listened the album for the first time and now I'm going for a second one. My first impression is that I really love this album a lot!! But there's one song that I don't get why Lori and Sharon are not singing and that's Blue Water and it shows. I don't think that the guys of Lady A did a bad job but I miss Lori and Sharon I'm gonna listen again to reviewed song for song.

[kak125]

Originally Posted by MusicInferno

They are in order, but it's the standard version playing and not the deluxe running order which is listed below.

oh ok i was wondering- thanks!