Street Angel - the original version

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

"Running Through The Garden" has a 4/27/1992 copyright date on the US Copyright website. Same for "Mirror Mirror" and "Thousand Days."

In 1986 I got Mirror Mirror and A Thousand Days demos.

[Phil]

Upon reflection, it's astounding to me that Stevie actually relegated the likes of "Thousand Days" and "Mirror Mirror" to b-sides when, by her own admission, she had delivered a rather lacklustre album. I can understand that she may have been keeping the likes of "I Call You Missing" and "Running Through The Garden" up her sleeve for future projects if she wasn't satisfied with the 1992 versions, but she actually sanctioned the release of "Thousand Days"' and "Mirror Mirror" (remember the 1992 recording was intended, not the 1984 version), yet didn't consider them superior to anything that made the released album? What further mystifies me about this decision is that she actually wrote these songs and still didn't consider them superior to the likes of "Docklands", "Unconditional Love", "Maybe Love", "Just Like A Woman" or "Inspiration" and "God's Garden" (both of which were included on the Japanese edition of the album). That's six songs written by others that made it to the final album release (one way or another) at the expense of her own compositions. Stevie really must have been devoid of confidence during that period. I simply can not imagine her allowing such a turn of events occurring these days.

[Phil]

English singer-songwriter Charlie Dore's second album was produced by Glyn Johns, but she ended up re-recording the album with another producer, with Johns' version never being released.

[SpyNote]

Originally Posted by Phil

Upon reflection, it's astounding to me that Stevie actually relegated the likes of "Thousand Days" and "Mirror Mirror" to b-sides when, by her own admission, she had delivered a rather lacklustre album...

Stevie really must have been devoid of confidence during that period. I simply can not imagine her allowing such a turn of events occurring these days.

I think she generally tries to keep a positive spin on her material and keep the darker material off the final, enduring product. That's why I think she released songs like "Mirror Mirror," "Battle of the Dragon," "Thousand Days,""Violet and Blue" as b-sides or on soundtracks, where they will be heard but get less attention. Even though many of these songs are catchy and melodic, there's anger and bitterness attached to them, too. And she probably wouldn't want to sing them live if they became hits. Remember when she gradually stopped singing the line "Well, take your violet and blue mornings with you" at the end of "I Need to Know" in concert. I think that started with the Enchanted tour. She would turn away from the mic and sing "well take your violet and blue mornings" to her band and turn back to the mic just to sing "....with you!" Today she doesn't even sing the line at all.

[sparky]

Originally Posted by SpyNote

Remember when she gradually stopped singing the line "Well, take your violet and blue mornings with you" at the end of "I Need to Know" in concert. I think that started with the Enchanted tour. She would turn away from the mic and sing "well take your violet and blue mornings" to her band and turn back to the mic just to sing "....with you!" Today she doesn't even sing the line at all.

This line always seemed utterly nonsensical to me. Not only because the song from whence it sprung made no sense, but what does it mean?

Violet and blue marks on your arm from shooting up?

Violet and blue bruises on my body from having been punched?

I never saw a single interpretation of this this song lyrically. It is kind of obviously about JW. But still... any guesses out there?

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by SpyNote

""Violet and Blue" And she probably wouldn't want to sing them live if they became hits.

I forget the name of the movie right now but in it she sings this live. Some parts of the music are dimmed to account for the dialogue but at least the whole song is sung. Back in the 1980's I recorded it onto a cassette tape to play in the car and on the boombox.

[mitzo]

Originally Posted by vivfox

I forget the name of the movie right now but in it she sings this live. Some parts of the music are dimmed to account for the dialogue but at least the whole song is sung. Back in the 1980's I recorded it onto a cassette tape to play in the car and on the boombox.

Violet and Blue is on the soundtrack of Against All Odds but I do not recall her singing it live in the movie.

[TheWILDheart]

Originally Posted by mitzo

Violet and Blue is on the soundtrack of [I]Against All odds[I] but I do not recall her singing it live in the movie.

It wasn't live. IIRC, "Violet and Blue" wasn't quite finished in time for the production of the film, so the version in the film is more of a demo. It is different from the version on the soundtrack, but they're both studio versions.

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by TheWILDheart

It wasn't live. IIRC, "Violet and Blue" wasn't quite finished in time for the production of the film, so the version in the film is more of a demo. It is different from the version on the soundtrack, but they're both studio versions.

What does IIRC mean?Is it if I recall?

[TheWILDheart]

Originally Posted by vivfox

What does IIRC mean?

If I Recall Correctly

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by mitzo

Violet and Blue is on the soundtrack of Against All Odds but I do not recall her singing it live in the movie.

Somebody arrived at a nightclub in the movie but was prevented from entering. During that scene V&B was played on the sound system in the club in the movie. From what I remember at that time I had read it was recorded live at The Stark Club in Texas and was used in the movie. Stevie had part ownership in that club.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by sparky

This line always seemed utterly nonsensical to me. Not only because the song from whence it sprung made no sense, but what does it mean?

Violet and blue marks on your arm from shooting up?

Violet and blue bruises on my body from having been punched?

I don't think "violet and blue" is a negative thing. I think they spent beautiful mornings together and when he leaves she wants him to take those lovely memories with him, because when she's alone with them, they will only hurt. What felt good at the time, plagues you when it's gone.

Usually skies are just blue, but with him they were tinged with violet and had a rare twilight beauty, which hurts to remember.

Michele

[StreetAngel86]

Originally Posted by SpyNote

It's possible that the tape was mislabeled. By the end of February 1993, the Glyn Johns version of Street Angel was mastered, and "I Call You Missing" was not one of the master mixes.

so is there a Street Angel version AND a Rock a Little version of I Call You Missing?
because the RAL demo version that's out there is a hot mess and one of my fave demos

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

so I think it's a safe bet that there's a CLA produced version of "Running Through The Garden" in the vaults somewhere too.

WHAT ??????????? oooooh my. covet.

Originally Posted by Phil

Blue Denim
Greta
Street Angel
Listen To The Rain
Destiny
I Call You Missing
Mirror Mirror
Thousand Days
Running Through The Garden
Kick It
If You Were My Love

this is almost a perfect track listing.
but i'd leave in Docklands and God's Garden maybe as bonus tracks and have Greta sounding more like the RAL version

[SpyNote]

The Street Angel version of "Mirror Mirror" is posted on YouTube for those who haven't heard it.

Mirror Mirror, 1992

[Oooh Missionary]

Originally Posted by TheWILDheart

This is for PenguinHead and all the other fans who have never seen this. I know it was posted on here a few years back, but thought I'd bring it to the attention of the newer members.

This is a press release, dating from 1992, giving the original release details for "Street Angel" including the tracklist.

"God's Garden" and "Inspiration" both ended up as b-sides and were included as bonus tracks on the Japanese release of SA. "I Call You Missing" from the SA sessions has never surfaced.

Both "God's Garden" and "Inspiration" were written by Ethan Johns, Glyn Johns' son, and recorded at Glyn's insistence. After Glyn walked away from the project, Stevie scrapped both tracks (along with ICYM) and recorded "Docklands", "Jane", "Greta" and "Love Is Like A River" for the album.

"Unconditional Love" was originally planned as the first single and a video WAS shot for it. IIRC, the pics of Stevie in the Enchanted boxsett it in the tan/cream coloured outfit with the hood are from this shoot. I'm not sure if I video was ever completed, but there were sessions for it.

Here is what Stevie said of "Street Angel" and working with Glyn Johns from the infamous "Off The Record" interview - one of very few promotions for SA.

Announcer: "...Street Angel, the 1994 solo album that Stevie won't be putting in anyone's Christmas stocking"

SN: "No, I've really walked away from it. It's really over for me. It took...it was started in the summer of '92, I hope I get this right, and it went...um...we recorded through 'til after Christmas in '93, when the inauguration was, and then we went back and worked for like another six weeks on it, and then we finished it, basically. And then...all the English people that were involved went home to England and I listened to it for two months and I didn't like it.

And so I went back in, with Thom Panunzio, to try and fix what I was not happy with. And I didn't fix it while I was working with the person that I was working with [Glyn Johns]...who dosen't like to be talked about because he's not speaking to me, um...I didn't like it when he was there, and he knew it, and basically he told me to...like, in no uncertain english, very rough terms, to shut up and deal with it and this was the way it was going to be.

So I waited for him to not only leave, but be gone for two months, before I summoned up enough courage to say well, I know this isn't right, this is just not me. This is not my record. So I went back in for about eight weeks and I didn't mess with the vocals, which I should have. But I was so sort of overwhelmed with trying to fix the things that I didn't like about the music, which was like...there was no percussion, there was no Waddy Wachtel. Because I was told that the last thing that I would need was Waddy Wachtel. And I, you know...I mean, to that comment I was so speechless that I just didn't do anything, I said ok. So when I went back in, I had Waddy come in and play, and I had Peter Michael come in and put percusssion on, and Michael Campbell came back and put some more guitar on it, and we re-mixed everything, and we did a lot of other things besides that.

I should have gone back in and really worked with the album, with the vocals. Because that's something that...I guess that was the last thing that I knew was wrong with it, and after being in two months trying to fix everything that I thought was wrong about the music and the mixes, it was almost kind of like, you know, maybe you just need to let this go and go on. I mean, this is three years now. And this record should have been out a long time ago. It may be new for everybody else, but it's really old for me.

And, it's not my favorite record anyway, so, maybe it's just time to stop. So I did stop."

Thanks for sharing this again... I love stuff like this showing how projects developed.

"Greta" is my favorite song off of SA, so I'm glad the release was pushed back. I remember picking up the cassette the week it was released (oblivious to all of the delays and drama that went into getting the album out) and thought it was alright. I pretty much treated it as a "Blue Denim"/"Greta" single after that first listen, rewinding the tape back to the beginning before "Street Angel" could start.

She was working with Chris Lord-Alge and he remixed both "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind" and "Blue Denim" for single release with fantastic results. He'd already proven his remixing abilities -especially on TimeSpace- and I'll never understand why he didn't just rework the entire Street Angel LP with her given how unhappy she was with the initial mix.

Frankly, a world where the Street Angel album boasts a whittled-down, Lord-Alge mixed track listing complete with sleeve art that looks something like it's promotional posters is a world I want to live in. A world we should all live in.