Street Angel - the original version

[TheWILDheart]

Originally Posted by Oooh Missionary

I definitely like TISL more than SA but, yeah, there is some fluff there too.

Not to derail the thread, but "That Made Me Stronger" was such a disappointment. That little opening riff was nice and then the lyrics start pouring out and it just goes to hell from there.

Anyway, at least even the worst stuff on TISL was mixed well!

I love EVERYTHING on TISL. That album is perfection for me

[Phil]

As it stands, I would only rate four songs from the released album as being worthwhile excursions. Whilst none of them are perfect, Blue Denim; Greta; Street Angel (Abbey Road version as featured on Enchanted) and Kick It are all quite decent in my opinion and solid vocally, particularly Blue Denim and Street Angel (the latter featuring a rather alert and committed vocal from Stevie, which was definitely not typical of the album).

I agree that the vocal on If You Were My Love is rather lacklustre, but at the same time, I love the deepness of her voice and find it strangely captivating. I think the version we've heard sounds more like a working demo than a finished mix and just wonder where it could have gone with a little more work.

Christopher, I think the 1992 version of Mirror Mirror could have served as the epic title track we were all hankering after. Once again, it's not perfect, but is far superior to most of what was eventually released in my opinion.
(Concrete Blonde's Mexican Moon album was my absolute favourite album of 1993 and I always thought that Stevie could have done a killer version of the opening track, Jenny I Read.)

If I were to compile a listenable version of the album, I would choose the following:

Blue Denim (Album Version)
Greta (Master Reel Mix with the jangly guitar - I can't believe this was mixed out of the final version!)
Street Angel (Abbey Road Version)
Listen To The Rain (Timespace Version)
Unconditional Love (Abbey Road Version - I know it's far from perfect, but there's something enticing about the prettiness of the song and Stevie's wavering vocal. NB The version I'm referring to has not yet been posted in this thread - the one I'm thinking of features more prominent keyboards and what sounds like bells. I despise the more guitar-oriented acoustic mix.)
Thousand Days (Chris Lord-Alge Version with some judicious editing.)
Destiny (Abbey Road Version - I prefer the tinkling piano to the icky sax!)
Mirror Mirror (Chris Lord-Alge Version)
Maybe Love (Abbey Road Version)
Kick It (Album Version)
Plus I'd tack on the following for good measure as they were released soon afterwards:
Twisted
Fee Fallin'

I won't get started on the dreaded Jane, but I must say that the Master Reel Version that I've heard with the piano intro (circa 1992 perhaps?) showed promise. Obviously, those unmentionable lyrics would need to be edited out, but this could have been salvaged with the correct approach.

[StevieNicksfann]

Blue Denim has to be one or her most monotone deliveries of a vocal I have ever heard. I wish I could like the song but it's drivel to me. Just Like A Woman and Docklands should be thrown out.

Greta, Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind, and Listen To The Rain are the standouts to me. I would include Unconditional Love, Destiny, Mirror Mirror, and If You Were My Love, and Inspiration to the album and that's it.

[drzubritsky]

Originally Posted by KarmaContestant

Oh Lord, how can anyone think that god-awful SA vocal on If You Were My Love is worthy of inclusion on an album is beyond me. It's terrible, truly. She sounds half awake and distracted by a pizza.

I personally love Street Angel (the song) but otherwise agree with your assessment, by and large. That part of the 90's was an odd time for music, with Salt & Pepa and Tori Amos and Ace of Bass toppng charts, I don't know that *anything* Stevie could have done would have sounded current.

For IYWML, it sounds like they were going for a slow jazzy lounge vibe with the arrangement, sort of like some of the tracks on kd lang's Ingenue. Stevie may have been trying for the same feel with her vocal. That type of feel is tricky to pull off in a pop song and neither the production nor Stevie's vocal are successful.

I actually think there could have been a scenario for Stevie to achieve a moderately successful comeback at that time, but it would have taken a lot of work and luck. Apart from Stevie's personal issues, the biggest problem was that she was viewed as unhip by most of the music-buying public. But new female acts were quite popular in 1993/1994, such as Tori Amos, Natalie Merchant, Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, Lisa Loeb, Hole, etc. Stevie's camp could have positioned her as the godmother of those acts, with some smart, strategic publicity and alignment with some of those artists.

Along with the careful market positioning, find a producer that could provide a current, fresh sound (without straying too far from Stevie's roots). Most of those then-hot female acts were not utilizing overly trendy arrangements and the production approach used by Sheryl or Lisa Loeb would have worked fine for Stevie. With this combination, and some more thoughtful song choices, SA might have been a successful project.

Of course, Stevie was in no shape to pull off such a maneuver in that era, so it would have been a moot point.

[TheWILDheart]

Originally Posted by drzubritsky

Stevie's camp could have positioned her as the godmother of those acts

Which is precisely what they did in 1998

[Christopher]

Today I just happened across an old Blender magazine interview with Stevie from May 2007
The "Street Angel" quagmire was brought up. I found it funny.

Q: You recorded 1994's "Street Angel" when you were addicted to Klonopin. What did you think when you first heard it after you got out of rehab?

S: "I went back in and I tried to fix it! It wasn't that it wasn't good, it was just, if you're taking a lot of tranquilizers everyday, it makes sense that the music will be verryy tranquil. So I tried to fix it, which is kind of like trying to redo a house: You end up spending way more money than if you had just burned it to the ground and started over. It wasn't fixable."

Yes, she sould have burned it to the ground and started over

[drzubritsky]

Originally Posted by Christopher

Today I just happened across an old Blender magazine interview with Stevie from May 2007
The "Street Angel" quagmire was brought up. I found it funny.

Q: You recorded 1994's "Street Angel" when you were addicted to Klonopin. What did you think when you first heard it after you got out of rehab?

S: "I went back in and I tried to fix it! It wasn't that it wasn't good, it was just, if you're taking a lot of tranquilizers everyday, it makes sense that the music will be verryy tranquil. So I tried to fix it, which is kind of like trying to redo a house: You end up spending way more money than if you had just burned it to the ground and started over. It wasn't fixable."

Yes, she sould have burned it to the ground and started over

Well, I don't agree that SA should have been burned. I think that it's not without problems, but much better than Stevie's harsh assessment. But I do see what she's talking about...it's one thing to fix a stray vocal here or there but quite another when you're unhappy with virtually all of the production.

It's still puzzling, though, given that Stevie & co. were in complete triage/salvage mode, that she didn't put the Chris Lord-Alge tracks back in. Those were as strong or stronger than many of the cuts that were in the released version.

[Phil]

It's still puzzling, though, given that Stevie & co. were in complete triage/salvage mode, that she didn't put the Chris Lord-Alge tracks back in. Those were as strong or stronger than many of the cuts that were in the released version.

Exactly my thoughts and additionally, he could have done all of the remixing/fixing that was required. I think his ears could have saved the day.

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by Phil

Exactly my thoughts and additionally, he could have done all of the remixing/fixing that was required. I think his ears could have saved the day.

I'm guessing that Stevie turned to Thom Panunzio, because they had a long history going back to "Bella Donna" and the Jimmy Iovine days, along with Shelly Yakus as an engineering & mixing team. The three of them together had engineered, mixed, or produced several successful records under their belts including: Patti Smith (Easter), several Bruce Springsteen records, Lone Justice & Maria Mckee, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, and several more notables. I think Chris Lord-Alge working relationships with Stevie was new at this point in time. I believe her first time working with Chris was on the "Whole Lotta Trouble" radio remix single, & then the TimeSpace retrospective to remix/freshen-up her hits. Some of which I have to say had mixed results. I absolutely hate the mix on "Stand Back", it's too cluttered & he mixed out the essence of what was good about the song in the first place, needless to say I never play that mix. On the other hand his remix of "Rooms On Fire" is bliss & brought that song to life.

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by Phil

If I were to compile a listenable version of the album, I would choose the following:

Blue Denim (Album Version)
Greta (Master Reel Mix with the jangly guitar - I can't believe this was mixed out of the final version!)
Street Angel (Abbey Road Version)
Listen To The Rain (Timespace Version)
Unconditional Love (Abbey Road Version - I know it's far from perfect, but there's something enticing about the prettiness of the song and Stevie's wavering vocal. NB The version I'm referring to has not yet been posted in this thread - the one I'm thinking of features more prominent keyboards and what sounds like bells. I despise the more guitar-oriented acoustic mix.)
Thousand Days (Chris Lord-Alge Version with some judicious editing.)
Destiny (Abbey Road Version - I prefer the tinkling piano to the icky sax!)
Mirror Mirror (Chris Lord-Alge Version)
Maybe Love (Abbey Road Version)
Kick It (Album Version)
Plus I'd tack on the following for good measure as they were released soon afterwards:
Twisted
Fee Fallin'

I like where you're going with this, though I would have to include Rose Garden - which is, for me, one of the best tracks on the album. Also, Love is Like A River, which is oddly my favorite SA track, though I much prefer the RAL demos.

[DashingDan]

Originally Posted by StevieNicksfann

Blue Denim has to be one or her most monotone deliveries of a vocal I have ever heard. I wish I could like the song but it's drivel to me. Just Like A Woman and Docklands should be thrown out.

Greta, Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind, and Listen To The Rain are the standouts to me. I would include Unconditional Love, Destiny, Mirror Mirror, and If You Were My Love, and Inspiration to the album and that's it.

I always thought I missed something regarding Blue Denim, because so many folks list this as a favorite. I never understood the appeal. When she sang it on the tonight show, way back when, I got a little embarrassed for her.

[Phil]

I like where you're going with this, though I would have to include Rose Garden - which is, for me, one of the best tracks on the album. Also, Love is Like A River, which is oddly my favorite SA track, though I much prefer the RAL demos.

I really enjoy the Rock A Little takes of Rose Garden and Love Is Like A River, but don't care for the versions recorded during the Street Angel sessions. To be honest, I also preferred the faster, more intense RAL version of Greta as well.

I always thought I missed something regarding Blue Denim, because so many folks list this as a favorite. I never understood the appeal. When she sang it on the tonight show, way back when, I got a little embarrassed for her.

Regarding Blue Denim, I actually really dig this song and think her vocal is one of the most committed deliveries of that era. Plus I really loved the live performances she did on Letterman and Leno in 1994. The Letterman version was the stronger of the two, but she acquitted herself well on both occasions. I realise she appeared to have hit rock bottom at the time, but I was actually quite moved by these performances.

[drzubritsky]

Originally Posted by DashingDan

I always thought I missed something regarding Blue Denim, because so many folks list this as a favorite. I never understood the appeal. When she sang it on the tonight show, way back when, I got a little embarrassed for her.

I can see why some don't like BD because in some aspects it is a bit pedestrian. But I do feel that it's one of her catchiest songs of the post-RAL/pre-TISL period. And she does kick the vocal up a notch in the coda, which is nice.

One of the problems with BD is the song title itself, which sounded stale in 1994 and may have subconsciously conjured up images of the mid-70s, jeans-wearin' Fleetwood Mac, which was most certainly an unhip image in 1994. Not really fair to judge a song by its title, but I don't think releasing a song called "Blue Denim" was going to do much for Stevie's chart success at that time.

[Phil]

I agree regarding the title and wonder if it was her attempt (ironically) at courting the public in response to the hit "Black Velvet"? Now that was a truly atrocious song... and to think Stevie ended up covering it four years after "Blue Denim".

[SpyNote]

I remember "pedestrian" coming up a lot when Street Angel was critiqued. I think "Blue Denim" has a good hook. It reminded me a lot of REM's "Losing My Religion" musically when I first heard it.