The Other Side of the Mirror

[diamondsnake]

Let's talk about this record. What are your thoughts? I love TOSOTM- it is a feel good album and it makes me beleive in magic when I hear the opening song with the lyric "well there is magic all around you if I do say so myself". I just can't help but smile when the album starts out! I really don't know why this record is just swept under the rug as if it doesn't exist. Even on Stevie's box set TOSOTM gets less songs then Street Angel I think! Anyways this is my favorite Stevie solo album. Does anyone rank it up there as one of their favorites? Did you like it when it first came out back in 89? How often do you listen to the album these days? What's your favorite song?

Just trying to get an interesting conversation started! :wavey:

[GypsySorcerer]

It's not my favorite, but it ranks above Street Angel and Rock a Little. My favorites are Ooh my Love and Rooms on Fire.

[amber]

I think it's pretty good, but i've only had it for 3 months. So i like Street Angel a little better still. Not much though. and i thought street angel was lame when i first got it. Cept for Kick It. My first favorite on OSOTM was Cry Wolf. Now i've come to appreciate the other songs (i'm not counting WLT or ROF because i had them from Timespace) but overall, it's a nice little album. Nothing super dynamic is on there, though, which bums me out. You know, nothing on there really gets my pants in a wad, like Edge, or Stand Back...but yeah, it's pretty good, and lyrically it's better than average, for sure, possibly very good - you know, CONSISTENTLY lyrically good...
Amber

[TheBlueLamp]

The Other Side Of The Mirror is my favourite Stevie album, but I wouldn't say it's a feelgood album at all. I agree it starts out that way, and Rooms On Fire always lifts my mood, but on the whole I think it's a depressing album and Stevie's darkest. However I do think there's something magical about it (however corny that may sound :laugh: )

I find that Doing The Best I Can, Two Kinds Of Love, Ghosts, Alice, Cry Wolf, and Ooh My Love are all pretty depressing/full of despair. Whole Lotta Trouble and Long Way To Go are angry. I Still Miss Someone is wistful. Rooms on Fire, Juliet and Fire Burning are the only kinda cheerful songs.

I don't think there's one song on this album I dislike. I like Stevie's darker stuff so that's probably why this one's my favourite. Doing The Best I Can is one of the best songs by anyone ever.

It's pretty much never comes out of my cd player.

Nick

[GODDESS6]

this album 2 me is fabulous, very mystical & i love the cover shot :p ~ i think it is 1 of her better wrks & i listen 2 it quite often, but then again when am i not listeneing 2 stevie/fm or something related?!?!?~ LOL!!! :lol: :laugh: :lol: ~

blessed be :xoxo: ~
jill

[joe]

Let's talk about this record. What are your thoughts? I love TOSOTM- it is a feel good album and it makes me beleive in magic when I hear the opening song with the lyric "well there is magic all around you if I do say so myself". I just can't help but smile when the album starts out! I really don't know why this record is just swept under the rug as if it doesn't exist. Even on Stevie's box set TOSOTM gets less songs then Street Angel I think! Anyways this is my favorite Stevie solo album. Does anyone rank it up there as one of their favorites? Did you like it when it first came out back in 89? How often do you listen to the album these days? What's your favorite song?

Just trying to get an interesting conversation started! :wavey:

I bought the album, rather, tape when it first came out in May (or June) of 1989. I instantly loved it. I can't say that about RAL which is one of my least listened to albums of hers. With a few exceptions, RAL does not have that "Stevie" sound. And it wasn't cohesive, in my opinion. Now, OSOTM is one of the most cohesive albums of Stevie's solo career, IMO. I felt at the time that it was Stevie's finest. I mean, i really listened to that thing nonstop for the rest of that year (and maybe longer! i can't remember).

In March of 1989, i was 18 (almost 19) and had moved back to NY after being in CA for a year and a half and Chicago for 6 years before that. So, when this record came out, i was adjusting to the East Coast again. I was born just outside of Schenectady, NY and lived there the first 10 years of my life. My family was still up there. When i moved back (with my folks of course - i had no $$$ to stay in sunny CA which is what i really wanted....but NY was cool too) i just distinctly remember driving my '65 Malibu (which i purchased in CA and brought back with me....no rust!) all over and playing the tape in my car. I'd listen to it driving upstate to my family's for family events etc.

So, essentially, that's what i tie the album to. I always think back to that time and where i was working and living. And it's not a bad memory whatsoever.

I loved the entire album with the exceptions of Whole Lotta Trouble and I Still Miss Someone. I still skip over them. I probably didn't listen to OSOTM for a while and then started getting back into it a few years ago. For me, i seem to like certain records at certain times of the year. OSOTM has been a staple for me usually in July and August. Not sure why.

I saw her at SPAC in late August that year. I just remember telling people that I thought Stevie had stage fright cause she was sooooooo not like the previous solo tour. It was actually refreshing in a way at that time, although now i'd rather hear RAL bootlegs. There's more spontaneity, excitement, and unpredictability.

So, that's a little more info for you guys than you probably wanted to hear but i rarely get autobiographical around here.

And also, if i may be sensitive, let's try to avoid any record bashing here. This is an appreciation thread cause i said so! ;)

[markolas]

I just bought this a couple of months ago, and it's quickly becoming my favorite Stevie album. It's the one I've been listening to the most. I was never a fan of her cover of I Still Miss Someone, but I can tolerate it now. :)

I would agree that it's not a "feel-good" album, since most of the songs are about breaking up with somebody. And honestly, I wasn't expecting her to rock as much as she does on a couple of the songs here, like Ghosts and Long Way to Go.

Ooh My Love is a borderline masterpiece, I think. I love the part where she sort of raps the "There was a light that lighted the way to the chamber where they spent all their time" part...and then there's the keyboard part leading up to the "ooh my loves." Greatness.

[The Tower]

I was in college when TOSOTM was released. I was deeply, deeply into my Stevie/FM worship at the time. I spent hours and hours creating mix tapes from all my LPs. CDs were a relatively new thing at the time, most people were still largely buying cassettes. I was a die hard LP buyer- no cassettes for me.

I bought the LP version of TOSOTM and was floored from day one (unlike Tango in the Night). I bought the “Rooms on Fire” 45rpm and cassette single. I bought the gatefold 12” single for “Long Way to Go”. I saw this HUGE poster for the “Two Kinds of Love” single in Tower records on Ventura Boulevard and wrangled my way into getting that poster from the management (I still have it, albeit, rolled up in my closet).

Being in college, I wasn’t making much money at the time. I spent almost $1,000.00 on front row center tickets for several shows- the highlight of which was at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Stevie had a “special guest” show, with an altered set list. At the end of “Edge of Seventeen”, she did her customary (for that time) fan greet. She started at the left of the stage and slowly moved down the row. My friend had gotten split away from me in the crush, and was further up the row than I. She was able to reach her hands out and shake Stevie’s hands. Stevie kept moving down the row. I am 6’4” and generally many inches taller than most people around me. Stevie stopped right in front of me and took my face in her hands. She started talking to me, but with all the noise around I couldn’t hear what she was saying. She stood there with my face cupped in her hands for, I would say about 30-45 seconds. She let go of my and moved further down the line. I WAS FREEEEEEKED!!! I turned to look for my friend and she was looking right at me with her jaw dropped to the ground. It definitely was a high to remember.

The Other Side of the Mirror is very unique album for Stevie. Belladonna is an anthology of mostly overlooked songs from her early FM days. The Wild Heart is steeped in her songwriting partnership with Sandy Stewart. Rock A Little is a fragmented, broken hodgepodge of producers and styles, with some songs having no songwriting input from Stevie. TOSOTM was a departure. I would almost consider it a concept album. Most of the songs are about reexamining one’s life. Stevie had just turned 40 and had ended a ten year period of heavy cocaine and alcohol abuse. This album is definitely NOT a “feel-good” album.

The only songs from this album that I can’t handle are “Cry Wolf” and to a lesser extent “Fire Burning” and “Two Kinds of Love”- everything else is great. I even like the dreaded “I Still Miss Someone”.

The Other Side of the Mirror is Stevie’s best solo album. It is full of passionate songs, passionate singing, cohesive mental imagery and her voice was still in fine form.

Favorite song from this album: “Ooh, My Love”

Best lines from the album:

“In my distress...well I wanted someone to blame me
In my devastation...I wanted so to change
In my way...disaster was the only thing that I could depend on...”

“And the angel said, "Well you must have had a dream...
And you remember it..."Till the dream followed through...
Till the -- end of the dream...and the dream came true
When I want something...I get it
"You'd better go," he says, "Yes I think I better,"
Stop for a moment...I think you should think for a minute
Would you change your mind, at the very last minute
When I want something...I get it!”

“In the shadow of the castle walls
Wherever those walls were
In this land or in that land
Well the castles all seem to belong to her
And all this talk...about love and hate
And our separation way on down the line...
Well they just can't wait, can they?
No they just can't wait...”

“Let the crisis become a bridge...and cross that bridge tomorrow
Well let the time that goes between, baby...
Well let it let go of the sorrow”

(I still use this one as a life motto from day to day)

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[joe]

I was in college when TOSOTM was released. I was deeply, deeply into my Stevie/FM worship at the time. I spent hours and hours creating mix tapes from all my LPs. CDs were a relatively new thing at the time, most people were still largely buying cassettes. I was a die hard LP buyer- no cassettes for me.

I bought the LP version of TOSOTM and was floored from day one (unlike Tango in the Night). I bought the “Rooms on Fire” 45rpm and cassette single. I bought the gatefold 12” single for “Long Way to Go”. I saw this HUGE poster for the “Two Kinds of Love” single in Tower records on Ventura Boulevard and wrangled my way into getting that poster from the management (I still have it, albeit, rolled up in my closet).

Being in college, I wasn’t making much money at the time. I spent almost $1,000.00 on front row center tickets for several shows- the highlight of which was at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Stevie had a “special guest” show, with an altered set list. At the end of “Edge of Seventeen”, she did her customary (for that time) fan greet. She started at the left of the stage and slowly moved down the row. My friend had gotten split away from me in the crush, and was further up the row than I. She was able to reach her hands out and shake Stevie’s hands. Stevie kept moving down the row. I am 6’4” and generally many inches taller than most people around me. Stevie stopped right in front of me and took my face in her hands. She started talking to me, but with all the noise around I couldn’t hear what she was saying. She stood there with my face cupped in her hands for, I would say about 30-45 seconds. She let go of my and moved further down the line. I WAS FREEEEEEKED!!! I turned to look for my friend and she was looking right at me with her jaw dropped to the ground. It definitely was a high to remember.

The Other Side of the Mirror is very unique album for Stevie. Belladonna is an anthology of mostly overlooked songs from her early FM days. The Wild Heart is steeped in her songwriting partnership with Sandy Stewart. Rock A Little is a fragmented, broken hodgepodge of producers and styles, with some songs having no songwriting input from Stevie. TOSOTM was a departure. I would almost consider it a concept album. Most of the songs are about reexamining one’s life. Stevie had just turned 40 and had ended a ten year period of heavy cocaine and alcohol abuse. This album is definitely NOT a “feel-good” album.

The only songs from this album that I can’t handle are “Cry Wolf” and to a lesser extent “Fire Burning” and “Two Kinds of Love”- everything else is great. I even like the dreaded “I Still Miss Someone”.

The Other Side of the Mirror is Stevie’s best solo album. It is full of passionate songs, passionate singing, cohesive mental imagery and her voice was still in fine form.

Favorite song from this album: “Ooh, My Love”

Best lines from the album:

“In my distress...well I wanted someone to blame me
In my devastation...I wanted so to change
In my way...disaster was the only thing that I could depend on...”

“And the angel said, "Well you must have had a dream...
And you remember it..."Till the dream followed through...
Till the -- end of the dream...and the dream came true
When I want something...I get it
"You'd better go," he says, "Yes I think I better,"
Stop for a moment...I think you should think for a minute
Would you change your mind, at the very last minute
When I want something...I get it!”

“In the shadow of the castle walls
Wherever those walls were
In this land or in that land
Well the castles all seem to belong to her
And all this talk...about love and hate
And our separation way on down the line...
Well they just can't wait, can they?
No they just can't wait...”

“Let the crisis become a bridge...and cross that bridge tomorrow
Well let the time that goes between, baby...
Well let it let go of the sorrow”

(I still use this one as a life motto from day to day)

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

very nice post.

:thumbsup:

[dissention]

LI love TOSOTM- it is a feel good album

A feel good album? :shrug:

It's one of my faves, though. I like every song but Ghosts and Two Kinds of Love, those two are unbearable. I'm not too keen on Cry Wolf, but it's better than those two.

My favorites are Long Way To Go, Doing the Best That I Can, Juliet, and Ooh My Love.

[David]

The Other Side of the Mirror is Stevie’s best solo album. It is full of passionate songs, passionate singing, cohesive mental imagery and her voice was still in fine form.I guess one person's passion is another person's ... whatever (!). I'm not sure what "cohesive mental imagery" is exactly. I can't get into this album, although I like some of the songs, like "Ghosts." This album demonstrates once & for all that Stevie learned nothing from past arrangers & producers who served her so well. She turned the reins over to this guy named Rupert Hine, whose motto seems to be "If one Juno, one Prophet & one Oberheim sound good, then tripling them will triple the quality!" I appreciate the esteem in which many fans hold this album. Living in Sacramento at the time, I was getting ready to drive to Concord for Stevie's concert. It was a little after 5 PM & the earthquake hit. I called Concord Pavilion & learned the show was off. The next night, Stevie played Cal Expo Amphitheatre in Sacramento (where the state fair is held). Pretty good show, I guess, but I look back on it now & just don't have much to say about it. I went to the Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre show a few days later (& essentially saw the Cal Expo show all over again). People had been sending me tapes of other shows on the tour, & those sounded the same, too. The band that year, led by Carlos Rios, could have been backing a Vegas variety show, or a Celine Dion concert. The "rock" had gone out of "rock 'n' roll." Carlos & Co. turned "Edge of Seventeen" into a Depeche Mode dance number. Judgment was poor that year, let's say.

I thought the whole enterprise was getting stale at that time, but I bought the "Mirror" songbook & I will say that I have always enjoyed playing some of those songs on my own (when I don't have to contend with Rupert Hine's idea of an arrangement or a mix).

Always liked "Alice" live, by the way!! (maybe because it was a perfect melding of form & content)

[The Tower]

I'm not sure what "cohesive mental imagery" is exactly.

Castles, magic, ghosts, stilettos, armour, shadows....

Granted, Rupert Hine's synth-orgy is not exactly the best way to produce a Stevie album. However, it was one production idea (versus the five or six from Rock A Little). I think this enabled the songs to have their own strength, for lack of a better term. There is a definite thread that runs throughout this entire album that makes for a very good listen.

[joe]

The band that year, led by Carlos Rios, could have been backing a Vegas variety show, or a Celine Dion concert. The "rock" had gone out of "rock 'n' roll." Carlos & Co. turned "Edge of Seventeen" into a Depeche Mode dance number. Judgment was poor that year, let's say.


I Couldn't agree with you more there. I was incredibly bummed when i learned Waddy wasn't in the band. This is one of the reasons i really don't listen to any of the live recordings from that tour. It just lacked punch. It was too polished and clean. Waddy always added that "rock" to her live music.

[Nixxxed]

Stevie stopped right in front of me and took my face in her hands. She started talking to me, but with all the noise around I couldn’t hear what she was saying. She stood there with my face cupped in her hands for, I would say about 30-45 seconds. She let go of my and moved further down the line. I WAS FREEEEEEKED!!!

OMG! I've had nightmares about this scenario for years -- I finally get to meet my idol, and she's speaking a foreign language, or goes into the next room and the door closes and locks, etc. But I'm sure that the "touch of her hand" and the look in her eyes told you all you really needed to know... :)

Mirror for me is definitely a mood album - but I love it nonetheless. "Juliet", "Alice" and "Ooh My Love" are my favorites. And I love "I Still Miss Someone". I fell in love for the first time about 2 months after the album came out, and I "never got over those blue eyes" either... :distress:

Plus, a friend of mine was in London when the album came out, and she brought me back the UK LP, complete with the little Stevie hologram. I never ordered the hologram display stand that was advertised with the LP, and I wish I had -- unless you hold that sucker just right in perfect light, Stevie looks as though she's had a stroke. :rolleyes:

[dissention]

Castles, magic, ghosts, stilettos, armour, shadows....

Granted, Rupert Hine's synth-orgy is not exactly the best way to produce a Stevie album. However, it was one production idea (versus the five or six from Rock A Little). I think this enabled the songs to have their own strength, for lack of a better term. There is a definite thread that runs throughout this entire album that makes for a very good listen.

I think that album was a case of the material being so strong and heartfelt for some particular reason that even lackluster production didn't hinder it much. :wavey:

[amber]

I think that album was a case of the material being so strong and heartfelt for some particular reason that even lackluster production didn't hinder it much. :wavey:
Also, in a way, I kind of like the production *ducks* - I mean, it's a bit over, but it does add drama to the songs. :wavey: and the songs themselves don't have an incredible amount of vocal range on them, so that is good. They have an ok amount of vocal range, though, don't get me wrong...

[AliceLover]

Other Side of the Mirror is MY FAVORITE STEVIE ALBUM! I mean just look at my user name lol! I go through every song on this record without skipping one track, and i cant say the same for WH or RAL. The tour I thought was fantastic, even though she did have her bad nights. When she had her good nights (Ireland 89) she was really on fire. Im so glad she did Alice Live because it was done so well and it is my favorite.

BEST ALBUM EVER!

Jimmy

[rbs3676]

TOSOTM was, indeed, a concept album on many levels. It has a "magic" quality about it...both in it's packaging, it's themes and even in the production. While Rupert's "sound" is not my favorite (I'm a Tom Petty/Jimmy Iovine kind of guy), he brought out a new quality in Stevie that had never been heard of before and certainly hasn't come through again. TOSOTM is unique in that this was her last full Modern Records release of new material and it was the first release she'd had as a sober performer (if you dont include the Tango cd). The whole Alice in Wonderland imagery worked for Stevie and the Rooms On Fire video was fabulous. But, in all the press she did for this CD, she seemed very sad - not the upbeat, very funny Stevie that I had adored since '75. Something was very wrong -- we know now that Klonopin had her heavily sedated and it showed in the tour she did behind this record. I went to about 3 or 4 shows on that tour and it was her weakest band ever. I was in Houston the night she filmed the Whole Lotta Trouble video and that was a blast -- but other than that, this was a very lackluster tour and her performance level was not up to par and certainly NOTHING like the Timespace tour where she was ON FIRE!
TOSOTM was the CD that I was waiting for in regards to hearing Stevie tell of her rehabilitation from cocaine. There are glimpses here and there...but the overall theme from this CD was that she was struggling with many things..."So I'm going back..to the other side of the mirror...I'm going back". It worked very well. I think this is a fabulous release.

[DeadliestPoison]

Oh, please, do I even have to post in this thread? Y'all know I love this album. And her voice on it, etc. (Hi, diss! :wavey: )

So, uh. Love it. Best album ever, best Stevie album. Really good in wintertime. I'm surprised so many people like it - I thought it was seen as one of the "red-headed stepchild" albums. Aaaw.

Now where's the RAL Appreciation Thread? ;)

[diamondsnake]

A feel good album? :shrug:



Well I meant Rooms on Fire was a feel good song. When the album opens it makes me happy but by the end it is intense and depressing (but in a good way).

[Dreammms]

I LOVE this album. The only song I don't like is Cry Wolf.

[diamondsnake]

TOSOTM was, indeed, a concept album on many levels. It has a "magic" quality about it...both in it's packaging, it's themes and even in the production. While Rupert's "sound" is not my favorite (I'm a Tom Petty/Jimmy Iovine kind of guy), he brought out a new quality in Stevie that had never been heard of before and certainly hasn't come through again. TOSOTM is unique in that this was her last full Modern Records release of new material and it was the first release she'd had as a sober performer (if you dont include the Tango cd). The whole Alice in Wonderland imagery worked for Stevie and the Rooms On Fire video was fabulous. But, in all the press she did for this CD, she seemed very sad - not the upbeat, very funny Stevie that I had adored since '75. Something was very wrong -- we know now that Klonopin had her heavily sedated and it showed in the tour she did behind this record. I went to about 3 or 4 shows on that tour and it was her weakest band ever. I was in Houston the night she filmed the Whole Lotta Trouble video and that was a blast -- but other than that, this was a very lackluster tour and her performance level was not up to par and certainly NOTHING like the Timespace tour where she was ON FIRE!
TOSOTM was the CD that I was waiting for in regards to hearing Stevie tell of her rehabilitation from cocaine. There are glimpses here and there...but the overall theme from this CD was that she was struggling with many things..."So I'm going back..to the other side of the mirror...I'm going back". It worked very well. I think this is a fabulous release.
I think Alice and Doing the Best That I Can are both obviously about drugs and the album may have been too rich if they opted for more "rehab/drug addiction" songs. I think it is perfect the way it is. This is my favorite Stevie album and I don't skip one song on it.

[dissention]

Now where's the RAL Appreciation Thread? ;)

Not here, and hopefully never. ;)

[markolas]

Not here, and hopefully never. ;)

Someone should start one. RAL is my fave after OSOTM. :D

[dissention]

Someone should start one. RAL is my fave after OSOTM. :D

Ugh. I always wondered how I could have so much disdain for that album, but alas, I despise it.

[Johnny Stew]

Someone should start one. RAL is my fave after OSOTM. :D

'RAL' is my second favorite Stevie album (tied with 'Shangri-La').
In my opinion, it's her 'Tusk'... it's unbridled, eccentric, moody, headstrong and full of life.
Sure, it's "synthy," but there are plenty of electric guitars to give it crunch, and Stevie's vocals are untamed and off-the-cuff.

Sometimes it surprises me that more people don't like the album... but other times, it doesn't surprise me at all. :rolleyes: :cool:

As for 'Mirror'... I quite like it. The lyrics and Stevie's vocals are definitely the best thing about it though. Rupert Hine's production was great for Tina Turner, but was, at times, too icy and aloof for Stevie. But, still, the album has an interesting vibe to it, and a certain je ne sais quoi.

[takenbythesky]

I really like The Other Side Of The Mirror. It's a concept album of sorts with some very introspective lyrics. Sometimes the synth-heavy approach works, sometimes it doesn't. It isn't my favorite album of Miss Nicks', but I listen to it fairly often. Especially on warm summer nights or cold rainy ones.

My favorites are...Rooms on Fire, Long Way To Go, Ooh My Love, Ghosts, Doing the Best I Can (Escape from Berlin). Cry Wolf is very dramatic and Stevie gives a good performance. I Still Miss Someone is highly emotional. Fire Burning is fun. Somehow, Alice manages to be both just an okay song and an example of Stevie's genius (the using of Alice In Wonderland as a metaphor for recovering from drug abuse). Whole Lotta Trouble is a fun, harmless little boogeying number; I just cannot figure out why Stevie was nominated for a Grammy for her performance.

And...I think Juliet and Two Kinds of Love just aren't that great. Still, the album has a magical feeling and a special place in my heart. ROF, OML, Ghosts, and Doing the Best I Can are all master strokes in their own ways. :)

[amber]

I LOVE this album. The only song I don't like is Cry Wolf.
*gasp* but why not? though, i don't like Alice much, so...although i like the lyrics a lot, just not the music. Anyways. but it's weird cause i liked cry wolf first...

[Gypsy-Rhiannon]

I've always been a huge fan of this album! This was the first time I saw Stevie in concert too. In fact it was the first time I had seen any of FM live cause the first FM concert I went to was in 91

Pip

[joe]

*gasp* but why not? though, i don't like Alice much, so...although i like the lyrics a lot, just not the music. Anyways. but it's weird cause i liked cry wolf first...

somethning about "cry wolf" annoyed me way back then. i like it now though...just cringe at the end when she goes "WAAAAAANCE too often"

[Dreammms]

*gasp* but why not? though, i don't like Alice much, so...although i like the lyrics a lot, just not the music. Anyways. but it's weird cause i liked cry wolf first...

I just never got into the whole Cry Wolf thing. I think it's cheesy. I like it better when Stevie writes her own lyrics.
I do agree with you about Kick It though from Street Angel. That song is awesome! :wavey:

[The Tower]

*gasp* but why not? though, i don't like Alice much, so...although i like the lyrics a lot, just not the music. Anyways. but it's weird cause i liked cry wolf first...

"Cry Wolf" is awful. Terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE lyrics and boring, boring music.

Stevie should really be choosy when she decides to cover other material. For example-

Excellent choice: "Reconsider Me"

Crappy choice: "Cry Wolf"

Excellent choice: "Free Fallin'"

Crappy choice: "Love's A Hard Game to Play" :eek: :eek:

A good rule of thumb should be- if it's been on a Laura Branigan album, don't cover it.

[Dreammms]

"Cry Wolf" is awful. Terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE lyrics and boring, boring music.

Stevie should really be choosy when she decides to cover other material. For example-

Excellent choice: "Reconsider Me"

Crappy choice: "Cry Wolf"

Excellent choice: "Free Fallin'"

Crappy choice: "Love's A Hard Game to Play" :eek: :eek:

A good rule of thumb should be- if it's been on a Laura Branigan album, don't cover it.

lol great post
i totally agree

[ontheEdgeof17]

Isn't there a rumor that Stevie actually wrote Cry Wolf but gave credit to someone else? I could be talking out of my right nostril, but I swore I heard something along those lines. :confused:


-Curt

[DeadliestPoison]

Stevie could have at least changed SOMETHING about Cry Wolf. I was expecting Laura's version to be... different. The vocal was less emotive, but everything else was practically the same. Way to go, Steves. :rolleyes:

Still love the song, though.

[joe]

Isn't there a rumor that Stevie actually wrote Cry Wolf but gave credit to someone else? I could be talking out of my right nostril, but I swore I heard something along those lines. :confused:


-Curt

actually, it sounded like more out of your left nostril...didn't you have that deviated septum fixed yet? :laugh:

sorry, really sorry, that was bad. :sorry:

anyway, i've never heard nothin bout noone.

[deribish]

A few things:
1.
I love TOSOTM... when I first got it, the day it came out in 89, I was in heaven. I t was everything I always wanted a new Stevie album to be. Amazing vocals, well thought out songs choices, lyrics and track order. To me, the album wasn't so much synthy (RAL holds that trohpy) as it was electronically-ethereal. There were sounds that were just so odd and unique and fit in so well with each song...like the zithery bell-tree before that amazing brige in Ghosts, the ghostly back-up vocals on Alice, and great multi Stevie-backups on Fire Burning, and the circus organ on Still Miss Someone. Yet at the same time many songs it still had her good guitar rock edge to it (Fire Burning, Juliet, WLOT.) i also though her vocal haromies were some of her best ever.. like the doubled Stevie on the Ghost bridge, and the chorus of the dozen Stevies and Mr. Hornsby on TKOL. Great stuff. Cry Wolf is the only bad spot for me... and not in turns of production or vocal performance, just the song itself is so average, insipid, and obvouis. The chord progressions are straght from "how to write a pop-song 101"
Overall it is one of my favs.

2. Stevie was indeed nominated for a Grammy the following year. "Best Female Rock Performance" for WLT. She lost....maybe to the Black Velvet song...i forget.

-Derek

[amber]

somethning about "cry wolf" annoyed me way back then. i like it now though...just cringe at the end when she goes "WAAAAAANCE too often"
ah. yes. I love that part, of course. To me that's the most vocally dynamic on the album, has the most range, the most yelling :D But i see your point.

[amber]

"Cry Wolf" is awful. Terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE lyrics and boring, boring music.

.
Ah, Towie, unfortunately you're wrong. too bad. And I don't think it's boring, it was the least boring to me at first. I think it's a dramatic vocal, and i appreciate that. And Laura Branigan isn't that bad, for christs sake. :laugh: :wavey:

[The Tower]

ah. yes. I love that part, of course. To me that's the most vocally dynamic on the album, has the most range, the most yelling :D But i see your point.

I think the vocal from "Long Way To Go" is way better than this.

Ah, Towie, unfortunately you're wrong. too bad.

Nope.

And Laura Branigan isn't that bad, for christs sake. :laugh: :wavey:

Laura Branigan sucks. (Yes, I realize that she's dead, and saying that she sucks is in bad taste, however, crap is crap.)

[amber]

I think the vocal from "Long Way To Go" is way better than this.



Nope.



Laura Branigan sucks. (Yes, I realize that she's dead, and saying that she sucks is in bad taste, however, crap is crap.)
Long Way to Go is a good vocal. I see you're suffering from Dissention Disease today, which makes me have to argue - just cause you think it's crap, does not make it so. :wavey:

[dissention]

Long Way to Go is a good vocal. I see you're suffering from Dissention Disease today, which makes me have to argue - just cause you think it's crap, does not make it so. :wavey:

Ah, but just because you think it's good, it does not make it so. ;)

[amber]

Ah, but just because you think it's good, it does not make it so. ;)
Yeah, I know. but i didn't tell him it was good. I said "Laura Branigan isn't that bad, dude! :laugh: " or something like that. I didn't definitively declare that "crap is crap, and Laura Branigan is crap" and i didn't say "good is good, and Laura Branigan is good"
It's called "leaving room for the chance of another possibility"
it's not for everyone, though, so... :wavey:

[dissention]

Yeah, I know. but i didn't tell him it was good. I said "Laura Branigan isn't that bad, dude! :laugh: " or something like that. I didn't definitively declare that "crap is crap, and Laura Branigan is crap" and i didn't say "good is good, and Laura Branigan is good"
It's called "leaving room for the chance of another possibility"
it's not for everyone, though, so... :wavey:

This is what I say to that:

http://www.deeyou.org/images/dumbya/happy_bush_small.jpg

[sparky]

I have an enormous, Gaius like post percolating in my tortured gourd after listening to the cd three times the last few days. But, I must address the "Cry Wolf" rumor. Nothing to it. Jude Johnstone, a well regarded songwriter, definitely wrote the song. She has had a lot of success with her songs in country (a few stellar compositions have been recorded by Trisha Yearwood, my favorite female singer, period). I wonder what the demo of the song was like. I don't think Stevie's version was reflective of Jude's. In the book about Trisha's career, "Get Hot Or Go Home", Jude is quoted about the recording of the song, and expressed dismay at how it or the eventual product was less than she expected it to be. If memory serves me correctly, and I can check the book, I think it was the first time a major artist recorded one of her songs. I think the vocal is really well done, except for the WAAAAAANCE too often line, of course. It isn't a great song, but it is well put together, and has a nice cohesive feel to it.

[amber]

This is what I say to that:

http://www.deeyou.org/images/dumbya/happy_bush_small.jpg
:laugh: :laugh:
That's like what i thought you'd say, but more.....vivid
What's the lumpy discoloration on his right groin????
AMber

[amber]

I have an enormous, Gaius like post percolating in my tortured gourd after listening to the cd three times the last few days. But, I must address the "Cry Wolf" rumor. Nothing to it. Jude Johnstone, a well regarded songwriter, definitely wrote the song. She has had a lot of success with her songs in country (a few stellar compositions have been recorded by Trisha Yearwood, my favorite female singer, period). I wonder what the demo of the song was like. I don't think Stevie's version was reflective of Jude's. In the book about Trisha's career, "Get Hot Or Go Home", Jude is quoted about the recording of the song, and expressed dismay at how it or the eventual product was less than she expected it to be. If memory serves me correctly, and I can check the book, I think it was the first time a major artist recorded one of her songs. I think the vocal is really well done, except for the WAAAAAANCE too often line, of course. It isn't a great song, but it is well put together, and has a nice cohesive feel to it.
But my question is, someone intimated earlier that Laura Branigan did it FIRST, but from reading what you wrote, stevie did it first. I do know that their versions are pretty darn close to each other. Who did it first? I assumed it was Stevie...
AMber

[The Tower]

But my question is, someone intimated earlier that Laura Branigan did it FIRST, but from reading what you wrote, stevie did it first. I do know that their versions are pretty darn close to each other. Who did it first? I assumed it was Stevie...
AMber

Laura (crap, crap) Branigan released her version in 1987.

Touch
Released by Atlantic Records at catalogue no 781 747-2 (CD) in 1987.

Over Love
Shadow Of Love
Angels Calling
Meaning Of The Word
Power Of Love
Shattered Glass
Whatever I Do
Spirit Of Love
Name Game
Touch
Cry Wolf
Statue In The Rain

[The Tower]

Yeah, I know. but i didn't tell him it was good. I said "Laura Branigan isn't that bad, dude!

Ah, but you did say Ah, Towie, unfortunately you're wrong. too bad. with regard to my comment about how bad the song is.

You like it, but I think it (and Laura Branigan) is crap. I didn't know Miz Branigan personally, or even tangentially- she may have been a nice woman or she could have been a bitch. All of which has no relevance to the fact that I think her released music sucked.

Yes, I may have "Dissention Disease"- but wouldn't you like to know how I caught it??? ;)

[amber]

Ah, but you did say with regard to my comment about how bad the song is.

You like it, but I think it (and Laura Branigan) is crap. I didn't know Miz Branigan personally, or even tangentially- she may have been a nice woman or she could have been a bitch. All of which has no relevance to the fact that I think her released music sucked.

Yes, I may have "Dissention Disease"- but wouldn't you like to know how I caught it??? ;)
:laugh: :laugh: Are you insinuating something i'm pretty sure is not true?
:wavey:
AMber

[GateandGarden]

I have to say (this being a OSOTM appreciation thread and all) that I was really fond of "Juliet" when I first heard it. But then I was CRAZY about it when I downloaded a demo version from Charmedhour.net (http://www.charmedhour.net). It rocks more than the one of the album, the lyrics are better IMO, and it's not overproduced, like I really think much of that album is. With different music, "Juliet" blows me away.

Hillary

[DeadliestPoison]

For you Cry Wolf lovers, I found Jude Johnstone (the girl who wrote it)'s version on BearShare. It's pretty different. It's all acoustic & whatnot. It sort of reminds me of that one girl's cover of "That's Alright," sans-twang. It's a two-minute-long clip, but I like what I hear.

[dissention]

:laugh: :laugh:
That's like what i thought you'd say, but more.....vivid
What's the lumpy discoloration on his right groin????
AMber

A pair of socks. :laugh:

[dissention]

Yes, I may have "Dissention Disease"- but wouldn't you like to know how I caught it??? ;)

Not from me! Remember what I told you? No glove, no love!

[Johnny Stew]

Isn't there a rumor that Stevie actually wrote Cry Wolf but gave credit to someone else? I could be talking out of my right nostril, but I swore I heard something along those lines. :confused:

Perhaps it's just a Stevie Nicks Urban Legend, but I was told that Brett Michaels stated in a recent Canadian interview that Stevie contributed a portion of the lyrics to "Love's A Hard Game To Play."
Though it wasn't clear whether she worked with them during the writing process, or if her additions were made during the recording process... but, either way, Brett apparently said that she insisted he and Pat Schunk retain full credit.

Maybe that's what you're thinking of, Curtis?

[amber]

A pair of socks. :laugh:
:laugh:
No, on his leg. To the right of his package on his leg, it looks all greenish blue and lumpy...I know it's been awhile, but i'm pretty sure that's not normal...
AMber

[blinker12]

For you Cry Wolf lovers, I found Jude Johnstone (the girl who wrote it)'s version on BearShare. It's pretty different. It's all acoustic & whatnot. It sort of reminds me of that one girl's cover of "That's Alright," sans-twang. It's a two-minute-long clip, but I like what I hear.

A clip is also available here:
http://www.bojakrecords.com/bojakrecords.html

[joe]

A clip is also available here:
http://www.bojakrecords.com/bojakrecords.html


thanks for the link....was curious to hear it.

[Dreammms]

A clip is also available here:
http://www.bojakrecords.com/bojakrecords.html


wow thanks for the link
she is good

[ontheEdgeof17]

Perhaps it's just a Stevie Nicks Urban Legend, but I was told that Brett Michaels stated in a recent Canadian interview that Stevie contributed a portion of the lyrics to "Love's A Hard Game To Play."
Though it wasn't clear whether she worked with them during the writing process, or if her additions were made during the recording process... but, either way, Brett apparently said that she insisted he and Pat Schunk retain full credit.

Maybe that's what you're thinking of, Curtis?



Nah.

I've heard that one, too. I also heard that rumor that one of the songs on TOSOTM she wasn't credited for writing, she actually did.

Prolly a myth as you said.


-Curt

[seeker007nmss]

Being in college, I wasn’t making much money at the time. I spent almost $1,000.00 on front row center tickets for several shows- the highlight of which was at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.

OMG. I was in the front row at that show also! (Geez and you didn't even say hello...... :] )

[amber]

Update: Just realized Fire Burning is my new favorite. Luckily, Cry Wolf is right after, so it's like a cool doubleshot.

[ontheEdgeof17]

Update: Just realized Fire Burning is my new favorite. Luckily, Cry Wolf is right after, so it's like a cool doubleshot.


Fire Burning is my second fav, behind LWTG. I love the " ...and just stop" verse. One of my favorite verses, EVER. :wavey:


-Curt

[EveryHour]

If someone put a gun to my head, I would have to name this as my fave Stevie album. I know a lot of people don't get or feel what she was going for here, but I think the mood of it is incredible. And the tour... :] .

[amber]

Fire Burning is my second fav, behind LWTG. I love the " ...and just stop" verse. One of my favorite verses, EVER. :wavey:


-Curt
Ah, Long Way to Go is my 3rd fave...hehe, we're OSOTM cousins

[sparky]

A clip is also available here:
http://www.bojakrecords.com/bojakrecords.html

Thanks for the link ! I was always curious to hear her. I do like her songwriting. Her version of her own song "The Nightingale" is quite good. Of course, I cannot listen to Trisha singing it without being reduced to a sobbing wreck - but Jude does a nice job with it too.

[RavenOfRhiannon]

Well, I went back and gave this puppy a listen today. I remember when I got the cassette, and I loved it. This album also lent credit to this theory I came up with around RAL. For every solo album, Stevie has ONE song that has to make the cut, almost like the whole album is kind of built around. I think the title track for Bella Donna, BATB for Wild Heart, HAEWAFY for Rock a Little, and DTBTIC(EFB) for TOSOTM. In an interview for TISL, Stevie said that she would not release the album without Bombay Sapphires, so I guess that helps too.
Anyway, I do think TOSOTM is a concept album, and there is not a single song on there I do not like. That being said, it's hard to listen to in a single sitting. The production of the songs is too similar for me, they start blending together. The best thing to do, IMO, is to burn a cd mix of several songs mixed in with other Stevie tunes.
I also like the Mac version of Juliet much better. It would have been great on Tango...

Randy

[takenbythesky]

Fire Burning is my second fav, behind LWTG. I love the " ...and just stop" verse. One of my favorite verses, EVER. :wavey:


-Curt

Finally, someone else who likes "Fire Burning!" :nod:

[amber]

Finally, someone else who likes "Fire Burning!" :nod:
*favorite*

[David]

If someone put a gun to my head, I would have to name this as my fave Stevie album.If someone put a gun to my head, I'd call this my favorite Stevie album, too!

I know a lot of people don't get or feel what she was going for here, but I think the mood of it is incredible.Others see the intention clearly enough but feel let down by the execution (it's important not to confuse the two). One thing about Jimmy: you never hear a major technical boner. But both "Mirror" (the sudden, jarring drop in levels on "Doing the Best That I Can") and "Street Angel" (the uncompressed noise of the bass with the sibilant hi-hat on "Docklands") have big boners that should have been corrected long before the albums were mastered. These are the sorts of screwups you wouldn't even hear on a local band's demos, so how they showed up in expensive, major productions like these indicates inexcusable sloppiness. Where was the QC, Stevie?

[Ghosty]

It was not my favorite when it came out (although I loved a few songs - Rooms on Fire, Fire Burning, Long Way to Go, Juliet...).

But the older I have gotten (it came out my senior year, near graduation of high school) the more I like it. I now *love* Cry Wolf in a big way. But back when it came out, I was not crazy about it. I love Alice now too.

One thing that really I hate about it - I *love* the demo for Whole Lotta Trouble where it sounds like a funky, cool, rockin' garage band. I really don't like the horns and all that the way the album version is. I think it takes away from how cool the song really is.

[diamondsnake]

Right now I would have to say this is tied for my favorite Stevie album with TISL.