#46
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#47
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i don't mean to create a dispute, but NOTHING about RAL reminds me of prince. he was totally inventive, topical, and overtly sexual. Rock a Little seemed slapdashed together with multiple producers and no real focus. I like it as a Stevie recording, but it doesn't compare to what Prince was doing at the time.
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#48
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It was just a warning. After reading that you thought IYD is her best work,
I thought there might be need for an intervention. |
#49
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Rock A Little is literally the only Stevie album where I don't know half the tracks.
I just can't get into it at all! It's like someone entirely different wrote it! :/ I only like I Can't Wait, Talk To Me and Has Anyone Ever. Those are A+++ songs. |
#50
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Rock A Little was my first Stevie album, is still my favorite, and still gets the most play time from her catalog. Something doesn't have to be 'the best' to be 'the favorite'.
It's not that it's better than her other works (it's not). It's just a bit of nostalgia, I guess, for the period of time when all things Stevie were new and exciting. I still get that old feeling listening to Rock A Little - when Sister Honey or Imperial Hotel or No Spoken Word kick in - and no other album or song that she's ever recorded, except some of her demos, can give that same feeling. Mabel Normand is the same - it has that same energy that permeates most of Rock A Little. Rock A Little doesn't need to hold up, in my opinion - it's a time capsule and should be thought of as one. Not all music is timeless, and that's OK.
__________________
I'm not the man you think I am. My love has never lived indoors - I had to drag it home by four, hired hounds at both my wrists, damp and bruised by strangers' kisses on my lips. But you're the one that I still miss. Neko Case |
#51
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#52
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RAL is one of the three Stevie albums I have no desire to own (with TOSOTM and SA, obviously). The funny thing is that my order of preference among those three is always changing. Sometimes I think RAL is the worst of the trio because it's just so much of the kind of excess I don't enjoy, but sometimes I think it's the best because it's the most confident statement of its particular philosophy. I do like "No Spoken Word", but overall I feel like RAL is not only a whole lot of production I don't care for, but also where Stevie becomes so lyrically inconsistent. Her poetry starts to become mere diary entries in some spots.
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#53
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While I'm not surprised that Rock a Little has so many detractors, I'm almost stunned at the reaction to Talk to Me. That song blew me away the very first time I heard it, and I thought Stevie looked absolutely gorgeous in the video. She looked so good in purple and red, for a change. And even though she didn't write Talk to Me, she sang the hell out of that song- her delivery and passion is awesome. I'm a sucker for a good, 'anthemic' rock song and Stevie does it justice. I also enjoyed the slower, softer version that was recorded and released, too.
I Can't Wait is also incredibly catchy and I love that Stevie tried something new and different. I wish she would throw this song back in her set list. Talk to Me, I Can't Wait, and Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You is the perfect Stevie trifecta, imo. If I Were You is catchy and pleasant, The Nightmare is pure Stevie, and Imperial Hotel, No Spoken Word, and Some Become Strangers are also engaging. Even though Sister Honey is odd, I even find that song catchy, against my better judgement. Reconsider Me is beautiful and I wish it had been included on the CD. I know Stevie said in an interview she was trying to lighten up and make an album that wasn't as dark as The Wild Heart, and maybe she did go too far in the other direction, but I think Rock a Little holds up better than people think. |
#54
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I love this album. "...songs are written, stories are told, rumours have started..."
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#55
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Bella Donna is a masterpiece. The Wild Heart is fantastic. Both are tight and focused, filled with timeless (less so in WH's case) songs that rank among the best things Stevie ever did.
Rock a Little's focus is all over the place, the songs are funky, uneven and liberally smeared with '80s pop hallmarks such as drum machines and lots of synth. Timeless? Maybe, maybe not. Incredibly awesome? Hell yeah. RAL features some great songs, pure and simple, no matter how much cocaine is stuffed into the crannies (in fact it could be argued that it helped provide texture). The title track, 'I Sing For The Things' (so under appreciated!), 'I Can't Wait', 'Sister Honey', 'The Imperial Hotel', 'Talk to Me', 'If I Were You', 'Some Become Strangers' and 'Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You' are all hugely enjoyable songs in my opinion, filled to the brim with passion and character, which is more than I can say for OSOTM and Street Angel. Passionless! Bland! Though there are a few good songs on each album ('Ooh My Love' being the only really great one), I just get bored and sad listening to both. Not RAL. Never a dull moment. Not even with some of the weaker tunes. Hell, I even like the best songs on RAL more than a lot of Stevie's output that came after, even up to now. There a certain songs, like 'Thrown Down', 'Sweet Girl', the three '70s tunes on TISL and the aforementioned 'Ooh My Love' that match or surpass those RAL sings, but still that's a big thing to say.
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"No one ever leaves, everyone stays close 'till the fire fades..." Last edited by The Highwayman; 06-19-2016 at 01:38 AM.. |
#56
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I don't like the album but it's fascinating. You can hear her losing it on the album. She couldn't keep it together.
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#57
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I think Rock a Little would have been one of the best album of the 80's had there been more cohesion.. I think the "magic" is missing on RAL that had been present on her previous albums because Stevie was struggling with her producers who wanted a more commercial sound... Songs like Running Through the Garden, Thousand Days, All The Kings Horses, Love is Like a River, etc., could have made RAL more cohesive and mystical had they been produced well.
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~ You don't have to be around it, to go without it ~ It sheemed that he could shee right through my shoul |
#58
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My 2 cents. It's not that it hasn't held up well. For me the songs that I like from it (Rock a Little, I Sing for the Things, No Spoken Word, Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You, and to some extend, Imperial Hotel) are still the songs I like from it. And the songs that are think are embarrassingly bad (The Nightmare, Sister Honey) are still horrible. The songs that I think were middle of the road boring pop (I Can't Wait, Some Become Strangers, Talk to Me to some extent, and If I Were You) are still boring pop. I guess I don't really think of music as aging.
And it's kind of funny that other people were mentioning Prince in this thread. When the single Talk to Me came out, I was going to college and biked down to the one and only record store in Davis, CA to get it. It was late in the afternoon. I came home, put it on my turntable, and out came...Prince It was some song I'd never heard of. I guess they mislabeled a bunch of Stevie's singles. It was too late for me to go back to the record store, so I had to wait until the next day. Of course, the exchanged it for me, but if I had had any brains at all, I would have kept it. It would probably be worth something today. Kevin Last edited by pattyfan; 06-20-2016 at 10:02 AM.. |
#59
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I first became aware of Stevie during the RAL era. I wasn't very interested, and I thought she looked terrible during that era. Like a strange gothed out Tammy Wynette (even though I like Tammy as a singer). It was all the drugs and I think she knew she didn't look her best. She tried to hide it with too much makeup and the very big hair. But it didn't really work.
I was very young and at first didn't even know about Fleetwood Mac. I only discovered that history when she came to Australia. There was a feature about her on TV and that gave me a tiny glimpse of the Rosebud era which I found quite cool. Otherwise I took no notice of her until 'The Dance' or that documentary about the making of 'Rumors'. I was amazed that she was able to get herself together to make such a strong comeback. HAWAFY is still a great track but I never heard it at the time. I think that in the mid 80s she had started becoming tired of people calling her a witch etc and was trying something different. Then in the 90s she thought hell with it. People seem to get so nostalgic about the 80s. I don't. The music started becoming so overproduced towards the end of the decade. I was glad when they started doing the 'Unplugged' shows and when Guns N Roses first came onto the scene. It's a shame so many great artists of the 70s seemed to lose their way during the 80s. It wasn't just Stevie. I felt it was perhaps because they didn't quite know how to manage the transition to digital technology or how to redefine themselves in that decade. But a few seemed able to make a return to form during the 1990s. Last edited by Missy; 07-03-2016 at 12:32 AM.. |
#60
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I'm at a very strange point in my life *again* and as usual, I always seem to go back to Rock a Little to help me through things. I've been listening to it on repeat for about a week now, and I have just realized what this album is about...
Rock a Little is about moving on, going through life even when it's horrible, and determination. Just looking at it track by track, it all becomes so clear to me.. 1. I Can't Wait - moving on from something and being excited about new prospects 2. Rock a Little - (my favourite song ever) that also happens to be about keeping on even through the pain, and how something good can come from it 3. Sister Honey - Live life, have fun, try something new 4. I Sing For the Things - Identify what is important in life 5. Imperial Hotel - Finding independence 6. Some Become Strangers - Leaving behind those who no longer are good for us 7. Talk to Me - again moving on and reaching out to someone new 8. The Nightmare - the warning... understanding that life is not always going to be a dream, and becoming aware of unhealthy situations 9. If I Were You - Letting love into your life 10. No Spoken Word - Learning how to make difficult choices and decisions 11. HAEWAFY - Sharing your love with the world
__________________
~ You don't have to be around it, to go without it ~ It sheemed that he could shee right through my shoul |
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