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  #61  
Old 10-08-2020, 11:20 PM
BombaySapphire3 BombaySapphire3 is offline
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Originally Posted by mitzo View Post
It is rambling and sort of tuneless. It seems well produced but I think it deserved the runaway train feel of Mabel Normand rather than this calm and serious feel. Even Dance with the Devil was a bit more convincing and seemed to go somewhere unlike this. Her vocal lacks conviction and intensity too. Lyrics are so...American, I guess, doesn't really resonate with me. Overall it is meh and I won't download it or anything.

Yeah the production is excellent but you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
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  #62  
Old 10-08-2020, 11:54 PM
ricohv ricohv is offline
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I don't think anyone will ever be able to reign her in again as far as the illogical, clumsy, rambling, too-long lyrics. In Your Dreams could have been a great pop-rock album if this tendency had been curbed. But I do like the production! If she makes another album I hope it's produced like this.
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  #63  
Old 10-09-2020, 12:14 AM
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GypsySorcerer GypsySorcerer is offline
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I'd agree the production is good, but it's two minutes too long. The lyrics are a rambling, self-indulgent mess. (The Hamptons? Persian carpet??) She's long overdue for an editor.
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  #64  
Old 10-09-2020, 12:23 AM
BombaySapphire3 BombaySapphire3 is offline
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Originally Posted by GypsySorcerer View Post
I'd agree the production is good, but it's two minutes too long. The lyrics are a rambling, self-indulgent mess. (The Hamptons? Persian carpet??) She's long overdue for an editor.
She had one and she got him fired
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  #65  
Old 10-09-2020, 12:26 AM
ricohv ricohv is offline
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Why did her Youtube channel post this non-video a day before posting the real video??
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  #66  
Old 10-09-2020, 12:34 AM
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Netter75 Netter75 is offline
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Here are my unsolicited first impressions of the song:

1. The Production:
Props to whoever produced this. Similar to her other stream-of-conscious songs (most notably Mabel Normand), I can't imagine how daunting of task it was to make a song out of the source lyrics. They did a great job pulling everything they could have out of this song! I like the drumming and the piano a lot. Even if they aren't particularly noteworthy, they fit the song well and provide strong support for the message.

2. The Lyrics:
The lyrics are sometimes interesting but mostly incoherent. That might be what she's going for- a series of vague, barely connected lines and events. It relies on dream logic, I get it. It definitely could have used another rewrite to eliminate some of the awkward passages and trim some of the fat. Lines like "singing songs, doing benefits" are awkward, same with "the dress came across the Persian carpet". It is possible to evoke imagery without just bluntly describing the room, Stevie. Some lines are better: "Into my heart, I have a dream, And a door opened, I turned to face the music" and "All in shadow, all before me, overwhelmed by destiny" in particular. Overall, I find the lyrics much more difficult to connect with than similar songs like Mabel Normand and Illume.

3. The vocals:
Her voice on this is not going to be everyone's cup of tea but it doesn't phase me. It's much stronger than I was expecting, and on par with Mabel Normand or You Can't Fix This. Love her energy towards the end of the song.

4. The message:
I was not very convinced by the song at all- I felt nothing for it... until the last two minutes or so. It sort of tied the whole song together. Her end-takeaway from her dream is summarized with the line "don't forget what we were fighting for", referencing the efforts of all of the peaceful leaders. I love that message, its so timely in this period of horrible unrest but its not preachy or overtly political.

5. The most appealing thing about this song is its earnestness. Despite the clumsiness, you can tell that *Stevie* felt this was a beautiful story that needed to be told. It doesn't feel like a bid for attention- if it was it would have more direct references to the current climate. That doesn't mean its objectively great, but I can tell her heart was in it and that makes a huge difference in my appreciation for the song. Despite a rocky start, she was resonating with me by the end of the song when she was belting "set them free" and repeating the chorus.

So overall, I think the song is strong for her latter day efforts. The individual components are not particularly impressive (and even sometimes embarrassing in the lyrics) but the song achieved what it set out to do, and I'd call it a worthy addition to her catalog. I'll be curious to see if I'll warm to the lyrics over time like I did with Illume.

Sidenote: I love the single artwork
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"I am just one small part of forever" -Think About It (The song that got me into Stevie Nicks)

"The face of a pretty girl x1,000,000" -Isn't It Midnight (The song that got me into Christine McVie)

"The sun is bright, but not too bright to see. When the darkness comes you've got to fly into the light." -Doing What I Can (The song that got me into Lindsey Buckingham)

"I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain" -The Chain (The song that got me into Fleetwood Mac)

Last edited by Netter75; 10-09-2020 at 12:44 AM..
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  #67  
Old 10-09-2020, 12:41 AM
secondhandchain secondhandchain is offline
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It's like 3 notes!!!! LOL It is AWFUL. Remember when she said that Lindsey took a "melody pill" for Seeds we Sow? Stevie you need to OD on them.
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  #68  
Old 10-09-2020, 12:53 AM
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Jondalar Jondalar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Netter75 View Post
Here are my unsolicited first impressions of the song:

1. The Production:
Props to whoever produced this. Similar to her other stream-of-conscious songs (most notably Mabel Normand), I can't imagine how daunting of task it was to make a song out of the source lyrics. They did a great job pulling everything they could have out of this song! I like the drumming and the piano a lot. Even if they aren't particularly noteworthy, they fit the song well and provide strong support for the message.

2. The Lyrics:
The lyrics are sometimes interesting but mostly incoherent. That might be what she's going for- a series of vague, barely connected lines and events. It relies on dream logic, I get it. It definitely could have used another rewrite to eliminate some of the awkward passages and trim some of the fat. Lines like "singing songs, doing benefits" are awkward, same with "the dress came across the Persian carpet". It is possible to evoke imagery without just bluntly describing the room, Stevie. Some lines are better: "Into my heart, I have a dream, And a door opened, I turned to face the music" and "All in shadow, all before me, overwhelmed by destiny" in particular. Overall, I find the lyrics much more difficult to connect with than similar songs like Mabel Normand and Illume.

3. The vocals:
Her voice on this is not going to be everyone's cup of tea but it doesn't phase me. It's much stronger than I was expecting, and on par with Mabel Normand or You Can't Fix This. Love her energy towards the end of the song.

4. The message:
I was not very convinced by the song at all- I felt nothing for it... until the last two minutes or so. It sort of tied the whole song together. Her end-takeaway from her dream is summarized with the line "don't forget what we were fighting for", referencing the efforts of all of the peaceful leaders. I love that message, its so timely in this period of horrible unrest but its not preachy or overtly political.

5. The most appealing thing about this song is its earnestness. Despite the clumsiness, you can tell that *Stevie* felt this was a beautiful story that needed to be told. It doesn't feel like a bid for attention- if it was it would have more direct references to the current climate. That doesn't mean its objectively great, but I can tell her heart was in it and that makes a huge difference in my appreciation for the song. Despite a rocky start, she was resonating with me by the end of the song when she was belting "set them free" and repeating the chorus.

So overall, I think the song is strong for her latter day efforts. The individual components are not particularly impressive (and even sometimes embarrassing in the lyrics) but the song achieved what it set out to do, and I'd call it a worthy addition to her catalog. I'll be curious to see if I'll warm to the lyrics over time like I did with Illume.

Sidenote: I love the single artwork
This is such a well thought out critique. Thank you. I agree with a lot of it.
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  #69  
Old 10-09-2020, 02:40 AM
sue sue is offline
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She should publish a book of poetry and leave the singing alone now.
I like the words but not the song.
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  #70  
Old 10-09-2020, 05:01 AM
UnwindedDreams UnwindedDreams is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mitzo View Post
Even Dance with the Devil was a bit more convincing and seemed to go somewhere unlike this.
You mean You Can't Fix This?

This will be #1 on Billboard Hot 100!
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  #71  
Old 10-09-2020, 05:03 AM
UnwindedDreams UnwindedDreams is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jondalar View Post
Here is her poem called The Kennedy, which her new single Show Them the Way is based off of. (If this is the song, it sucks.)
Kudos for calling this as the lyrics for the song; you were right well before the release
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  #72  
Old 10-09-2020, 07:16 AM
On Ice On Ice is offline
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I agree with much of what Netter 75 says, but I overall I DO like it. The production is outstanding, great piano effect and fuller band sound towards the end. It does however have the same issues of her latter day writing, her inability to stick with what made her great- less is more! Imagine if players only love you when there playing had a full description of what they were playing? If you take out some of the middle of the song, where it does lose steam, the build towards the end would be much more effective. The last two minutes are really quite good and she turns on the vocals to a much greater effect. Timing out at about 3:30 we would have ourselves a winner. So if there's someone on here with good editing skills, we may have a good song become great.
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  #73  
Old 10-09-2020, 08:13 AM
Feather Blade Feather Blade is offline
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Hmm, not sure why she said she needed five hours to do her makeup for the video. Other than the old pictures she's barely in it and most of that was her back walking down a hall.
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  #74  
Old 10-09-2020, 08:32 AM
ricohv ricohv is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Feather Blade View Post
Hmm, not sure why she said she needed five hours to do her makeup for the video. Other than the old pictures she's barely in it and most of that was her back walking down a hall.
Maybe Cameron edited her out because he realized she actually needed 6 hours but had got lazy & quit (just like she did with the lyrics)
But she does sound inspired and manages to (mostly) avoid the terrible flatness that plagues her later work.
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  #75  
Old 10-09-2020, 08:36 AM
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Jondalar Jondalar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ricohv View Post
Maybe Cameron edited her out because he realized she actually needed 6 hours but had got lazy & quit (just like she did with the lyrics)
But she does sound inspired and manages to (mostly) avoid the terrible flatness that plagues her later work.
Whatever filter they are using on her voice worked. Her vocals were not terrible. I also noticed in Sheryl Crow's song Prove You Wrong that the filter they used on Stevie's vocal worked. She sounded good. It is possible for Stevie at 72 to do an album and sound good. Miley Cyrus and the rest of them are all using filters now.
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