View Full Version : I just bought Bella Donna, and...
SortaSavageLike
10-07-2005, 07:25 PM
Well, I'm not really dissapointed, but I am feeling a bit confused :shrug:. I've probably heard SDMHA, Eo17, and Leather and Lace a hundred times before, and really liked The Highwayman, Bella Donna, and ATGF the first time, but I'm sort of undecided about the other four songs. It usually takes me a few good listens before I can appreciate most music. Heck, I had to listen to to Tusk in its entirety eight times before I really "got it". I just hope this album grows on me soon.
Guess its back to Mystery to Me for a little while. Oh, and BD could really use a good remastering job. Didn't this CD come out in 1984? :confused:
Phoenix
10-07-2005, 07:28 PM
Well, I'm not really dissapointed, but I am feeling a bit confused :shrug:. I've probably heard SDMHA, Eo17, and Leather and Lace a hundred times before, and really liked The Highwayman, Bella Donna, and ATGF the first time, but I'm sort of undecided about the other four songs. It usually takes me a few good listens before I can appreciate most music. Heck, I had to listen to to Tusk in its entirety eight times before I really "got it". I just hope this album grows on me soon.
Guess its back to Mystery to Me for a little while. Oh, and BD could really use a good remastering job. Didn't this CD come out in 1984? :confused:
Give "Outside the Rain" another chance.It has that great sort of moody quality and is very sexy . Then get a rockin live version! It will become a favorite, trust me!
Welcome :wavey:
Oh, and BD could really use a good remastering job. Didn't this CD come out in 1984? :confused:
I'm not sure when the CD first came out, but it wouldn't surprise me if it had been one of the first in 1984. Unfortunately, though, you can take that sentence and apply to nearly every album in Fleetwood Mac/affiliates' catalogues, except the three that were just reissued.
Does anybody know how the FM/Rumours/Tusk reissues sold, by the way? You'd think if they did well enough they'd be planning some remasters for the rest of the catalogue...
Ghost_Tracker
10-07-2005, 07:56 PM
Well, I'm not really dissapointed, but I am feeling a bit confused :shrug:. I've probably heard SDMHA, Eo17, and Leather and Lace a hundred times before, and really liked The Highwayman, Bella Donna, and ATGF the first time, but I'm sort of undecided about the other four songs. It usually takes me a few good listens before I can appreciate most music. Heck, I had to listen to to Tusk in its entirety eight times before I really "got it". I just hope this album grows on me soon.
:confused:
Check out "Kind of Woman" - if you think about what she's
really saying, it's amazingly well-done. Especially at the
end where she's contrasting how being with the wrong
guy might feel like heaven - but it's not the REAL heaven
("it's to be . . . heaven . . . as CLOSE - - - as it FEELS -
to HEAVEN. I know - I know.....")
"Outside's the Rain" is also a really fun, upbeat song, and was
considered one of her best up to that point. And it's kinda complex,
and has a lot to do with how she was apparently feeling at that time.
By the way Bella Donna has not just a double but a triple meaning -
it's Italian for "Beautiful Woman," but it also is an addictive drug -
and also, it's a deadly poison.
( "Until she herself . . . became the deadliest poison -
as she grew older." )
catinthedark
10-07-2005, 07:57 PM
Oh, and BD could really use a good remastering job. Didn't this CD come out in 1984? :confused:
Not sure - but my Mirage CD could sure use a little remastering, too.
But back to the topic at hand... Give Kind of Woman a few more listens. Well worth it... Though I know how you feel about Bella Donna as a whole. It's not my fave solo Stevie either. I actually find it a little.... drab... (*ducks!*). I find the opening notes of Bella Donna suicide inducing. I do like the song, but I often hit "skip" before I get to the first lyrics. And years of Stevie shows have made me sick of Outside the Rain, too. Uh, maybe I should just quit while I'm ahead here... :sorry: I do adore SDMHA.... and Edge...
LiquidBlue5000
10-07-2005, 08:05 PM
Bella Donna, The Wild Heart, and Rock A Little, all desperately need to be remastered... oh, and if and when they do get re-released, let's hope bonus tracks, demos, and outtakes get added to it.. :angel:
Nixxxed
10-07-2005, 08:46 PM
You got it at the perfect time, though. It's a very Fall/Winter album to me. So it will all make sense in the next few months, especially the dead zone after all the holidaze are over. Never fear.
You don't like "How Still My Love"? Not even the "STANDING ... in the doorway" part? :shrug:
And oh, how I wish I had a new Stevie album to discover...
David
10-07-2005, 09:19 PM
And oh, how I wish I had a new Stevie album to discover...I heard Stevie's working on a new album.
Actually, I didn't hear any such thing. I just made that up. :laugh:
Nixxxed
10-07-2005, 09:28 PM
I heard Stevie's working on a new album.
Actually, I didn't hear any such thing. I just made that up. :laugh:
That's funny, cuz I heard Lindsey's been working on one too. :laugh:
GateandGarden
10-07-2005, 09:30 PM
It was first released, in '81, am I right?
Anyway, it took me a few listens to get into it. It took me many more listens to Tusk. I can't even count how many. Tusk took a long time to grow on me, but it was worth it.
GODDESS6
10-07-2005, 09:32 PM
Bella Donna, The Wild Heart, and Rock A Little, all desperately need to be remastered... oh, and if and when they do get re-released, let's hope bonus tracks, demos, and outtakes get added to it.. :angel:
i soooooo agree w/ the remastering~ i truly love this album tho, bigtime :thumbsup: ~
catinthedark
10-07-2005, 09:39 PM
I heard Stevie's working on a new album.
Actually, I didn't hear any such thing. I just made that up. :laugh:
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :thumbsup:
I think you just made my night.
AliceLover
10-07-2005, 10:41 PM
The first time I heard this album and I still love it to this day. From the minute I heard highwayman I disliked it and I still do! :wavey:
AliceLover
10-07-2005, 10:42 PM
I heard Stevie's working on a new album.
Actually, I didn't hear any such thing. I just made that up. :laugh:
Bravo! :laugh:
DavidMn
10-07-2005, 10:46 PM
Well, I'm not really dissapointed, but I am feeling a bit confused :shrug:. I've probably heard SDMHA, Eo17, and Leather and Lace a hundred times before, and really liked The Highwayman, Bella Donna, and ATGF the first time, but I'm sort of undecided about the other four songs. It usually takes me a few good listens before I can appreciate most music. Heck, I had to listen to to Tusk in its entirety eight times before I really "got it". I just hope this album grows on me soon.
Guess its back to Mystery to Me for a little while. Oh, and BD could really use a good remastering job. Didn't this CD come out in 1984? :confused:
Well, thats a start
Phoenix
10-07-2005, 11:15 PM
[QUOTE=catinthedark] And years of Stevie shows have made me sick of Outside the Rain,
Oh! how I whish that I had YOUR problem there! BOO HOO HOO
(somewhere in the world, the smallest violin is playing...) :xoxo:
Hawkeye
10-07-2005, 11:22 PM
Well, I'm not really dissapointed, but I am feeling a bit confused :shrug:. I've probably heard SDMHA, Eo17, and Leather and Lace a hundred times before, and really liked The Highwayman, Bella Donna, and ATGF the first time, but I'm sort of undecided about the other four songs. It usually takes me a few good listens before I can appreciate most music. Heck, I had to listen to to Tusk in its entirety eight times before I really "got it". I just hope this album grows on me soon.
Guess its back to Mystery to Me for a little while. Oh, and BD could really use a good remastering job. Didn't this CD come out in 1984? :confused:
Man Kind Of Woman, How Still My Love and Outside the Rain were favorites of mine the instant I heard them.
catinthedark
10-07-2005, 11:26 PM
[QUOTE=catinthedark] And years of Stevie shows have made me sick of Outside the Rain,
Oh! how I whish that I had YOUR problem there! BOO HOO HOO
(somewhere in the world, the smallest violin is playing...) :xoxo:
:o :o Touche.
:laugh: Oh, man, did I deserve that!!
Phoenix
10-07-2005, 11:27 PM
[QUOTE=Hawkeye]Man Kind Of Woman
Ahhh yes, Another stevie classic! :laugh: :p
DavidMn
10-07-2005, 11:29 PM
Check out "Kind of Woman" - if you think about what she's
really saying, it's amazingly well-done. Especially at the
end where she's contrasting how being with the wrong
guy might feel like heaven - but it's not the REAL heaven
("it's to be . . . heaven . . . as CLOSE - - - as it FEELS -
to HEAVEN. I know - I know.....")
"Outside's the Rain" is also a really fun, upbeat song, and was
considered one of her best up to that point. And it's kinda complex,
and has a lot to do with how she was apparently feeling at that time.
By the way Bella Donna has not just a double but a triple meaning -
it's Italian for "Beautiful Woman," but it also is an addictive drug -
and also, it's a deadly poison.
( "Until she herself . . . became the deadliest poison -
as she grew older." )Kind Of Woman is absolutely my favorite Stevie solo song, period. :)
Phoenix
10-07-2005, 11:29 PM
[QUOTE=Phoenix]
:o :o Touche.
:laugh: Oh, man, did I deserve that!!
Again, All out of love. I Think that I am finnally getting the hang of being a leggie, That was one of my first sarcastic quipps! :nod:
catinthedark
10-07-2005, 11:31 PM
[QUOTE=catinthedark]
Again, All out of love. I Think that I am finnally getting the hang of being a leggie, That was one of my first sarcastic quipps! :nod:
Look at you! Head of the class already! Well done! :xoxo: :laugh:
Nightbird17
10-08-2005, 12:11 AM
And oh, how I wish I had a new Stevie album to discover...
that would be great....a new album to experience......BD is a terrific one to discover :blob1:
It was first released, in '81, am I right?
Yes, the LP came out in 1981. But I think SortaSavageLike was specifically talking about the CD issue, and the relatively poor sound that goes along with it.
Raeven Skye
10-08-2005, 11:40 AM
These days, I could do withough SDMHA (except on special occasions) and Leather and Lace (b/c it gets a lot of airplay here), but I LOVE Outside the Rain, How Still, and all the others. I used to fall asleep listening to this record when it came out, and Highwayman has always been a fav. Maybe you just have to be in the right mood. I think if you're in a "Stand Back" mood, you're not going to like "Bella Donna" at that time.
Ghost_Tracker
10-08-2005, 02:02 PM
It was first released, in '81, am I right?
Anyway, it took me a few listens to get into it. It took me many more listens to Tusk. I can't even count how many. Tusk took a long time to grow on me, but it was worth it.
I recently read an Interview where Stevie talks about how good
she feels Tusk is and how she listened to it with the earphones
with the volume pretty low and she was like "Oh. wwwwwWWWWOOW!"
It's with "Molly" Meldrum in Australia, from 1986:
". . . think that Tusk is one of those records that some day people will sit down and listen to and understand what it really was because I didn't even understand what it was and I think I'm only now, as I listen to it in my own private time, starting to realise that there was a lot more in Tusk that even I didn't see."
It's considered to be "Postmodern," by the way -
I'm not sure why.
SortaSavageLike
10-08-2005, 02:20 PM
I've been listening to BD some more today. Okay, I don't know why I didn't mention Kind of Woman earlier, because it is one of my favorites on the album. :thumbsup: But Outside the Rain just isn't rubbing me right for some reason. :confused:
I don't understand the dislike for The Highwayman. I know many get turned off by Don Henley but I can barely hear him on this track. But don't blame me, I liked Beautiful Child! :laugh:
I suppose what I should do is wait for a quiet 45 minutes, huddle up in a dark corner and listen to it straight through with no distractions. This obviously isn't a "distracting noises while you play on the internet" type album.
bikerchic
10-08-2005, 04:32 PM
Wow. To be discovering BD for the first time, mind blowing. I'm jealous.
amber
10-08-2005, 04:43 PM
Wow. To be discovering BD for the first time, mind blowing. I'm jealous.
Wait, were you jealous of me last year when I first got it??? :lol:
bikerchic
10-08-2005, 04:48 PM
Wait, were you jealous of me last year when I first got it??? :lol:
Oh ya, I forgot, I'm jealous :nod: It really is good to see all these "youngens" enjoying Ms. Nicks! :wavey:
amber
10-08-2005, 04:55 PM
Oh ya, I forgot, I'm jealous :nod: It really is good to see all these "youngens" enjoying Ms. Nicks! :wavey:
hehehehe. :xoxo:
actually, I didn't get any of her solo albums till last year. (Except SA and Timespace and Enchanted). It's interesting to come to it at this advanced age. I have a much different perspective, I think. In fact, I didn't even get all the Mac albums until the past couple years. (Ok, mainly Tusk and Mirage). It's pretty neat, actually. And, uh, aren't I only, like, eight years younger than you??? :laugh:
bikerchic
10-08-2005, 05:01 PM
And, uh, aren't I only, like, eight years younger than you??? :laugh:
I checked your profile, 10 years. :laugh:
Outside the Rain is just drab and drab can be when performed live.
Personally, I think the lyrics are pure brilliance and lyrically it is easily one of the top five best songs she has ever written.
xxxmx
10-08-2005, 05:58 PM
Bella Donna was one of the cds i purchased the day after christmas in 1993 when i got my first discman, yep i bought it right along with Ace of Base. don't judge. anyways, BD was my mom's favorite album so i already knew it by heart, but somehow listening to it on my headset was just magical. i still love it, though it doesn't get nearly as much play as it used to. it's a mood album for me; rainy days are the best. SDMHA is the only song i skip. i wish i had new albums to savor. the occasional demo that pops up just isn't the same as a whole body of work...
Ghost_Tracker
10-08-2005, 09:03 PM
[QUOTE=xxxmx]Bella Donna was one of the cds i purchased the day after christmas in 1993 when i got my first discman, yep i bought it right along with Ace of Base. don't judge. somehow listening to it on my headset was just magical. i still love it, QUOTE]
I'll have to give that a try - never thought of it for some reason!
( I just have an old, cheap cassette, & no earphones w/ the cassette
player. ) Time to run out and buy the cd! :cool:
OH well - I wish I had seen the sign earlier! :rolleyes:
The Tower
10-08-2005, 09:27 PM
...yep i bought it right along with Ace of Base. don't judge. anyways.....
Oh, Mariel.............. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Ace of Base?!?!!?
catinthedark
10-08-2005, 09:43 PM
I don't understand the dislike for The Highwayman. I know many get turned off by Don Henley but I can barely hear him on this track. But don't blame me, I liked Beautiful Child! :laugh:
Sorry - dense moment happening here. Is there a connection between Beautiful Child and Don Henley?? I love BC - it's in my Top 5 - but I didn't think Henley had anything to do with it? :shrug:
Macfanforever
10-08-2005, 10:22 PM
yes I think in 1984 when the cd's were introduced, I love the Belladonna LP and all songs on it too ,Hahaha and most of them sound alittle country influenced too.and I got my LP copy in 1981. CD copy I don't remember at this time.but around in 1986 or 1987 because cd players were so expensive at the time.Technically speaking, Ya I agree on remastering anything right up to 1990, anything before 1990 sounds like crap on cd.because its a copy of the master tape, along with the tape hiss,and other sound problems on it.it's like me now taking my cassette copy of Belladonna which is over 23 years old now, and well worned out too, and running it thru the computer without dolby switch on and without equalization, and burning it to cdr. ya I know, it will sound like sh2t.
So I hope Stevie will remaster her catalog.
xxxmx
10-09-2005, 09:11 AM
Oh, Mariel.............. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Ace of Base?!?!!?
justification:
i was twelve. Voulez Vous Danser was (IS) a great song. it was 1993.
alrighty then... :xoxo:
Ghost_Tracker
10-09-2005, 11:11 AM
Sorry - dense moment happening here. Is there a connection between Beautiful Child and Don Henley?? I love BC - it's in my Top 5 - but I didn't think Henley had anything to do with it? :shrug:
There's speculation that it was about - uhmmmm -
an experience the two of them shared.
If you know what I mean, well there ya go -
if you don't - don't ask. Trust me - don't ask.
And please, let's leave it there. It's between them, imo.
Besides I'm sure it's already been discussed, add nausea.
"What dirty tricks the mind can play
In the lonely dead of night
When you bump into the shadow
Of a faded love that wasn’t right
Way down beneath the surface
Far beyond the light of day
So many things lie buried deep
And baby, they should stay that way."
Ghost_Tracker
10-09-2005, 11:13 AM
justification:
i was twelve. Voulez Vous Danser was (IS) a great song. it was 1993.
alrighty then... :xoxo:
Do you mean by Carly Simon? I LOVE that! :]
"Voulez-vous Danser;
Voulez-vous Danser;
everybody wants to dance . . .
with my Daddy. . . "
yeah - wow. :o
Besides I'm sure it's already been discussed, add nausea.
Whether that was intentional or not, that's really funny. I think I like that better than the Latin.
dissention
10-09-2005, 11:48 AM
yes I think in 1984 when the cd's were introduced,
It was released on CD in 1990, along with TWH and RAL.
Ghost_Tracker
10-09-2005, 12:01 PM
Whether that was intentional or not, that's really funny. I think I like that better than the Latin.
;) :laugh: :laugh: :nod:
WelshWitchPMD
10-09-2005, 12:16 PM
I did not care for Bella Donna that much when it was released in 1981. I thought that the songs were a bit depressing. My favs were Outside The Rain, How Still My Love and Edge of 17 and they still are.
ontheEdgeof17
10-09-2005, 12:36 PM
It was released on CD in 1990, along with TWH and RAL.
Yup. :nod:
All the CDs are designed the same. I still have the orginial longboxes they came in.
catinthedark
10-09-2005, 12:55 PM
There's speculation that it was about - uhmmmm -
an experience the two of them shared.
If you know what I mean, well there ya go -
if you don't - don't ask. Trust me - don't ask.
And please, let's leave it there. It's between them, imo.
Besides I'm sure it's already been discussed, add nausea.
Beautiful Child - between Stevie and Don Henley?
Uh.... no. I believe you have your "facts" wrong. There was long speculation that BC was about Stevie and Mick, and just as much speculation it was about Stevie and Lindsey. But Don? He has never figured into BC discussions I've ever heard or read.
Oh, and sweetie, I have light years on you. No need for you to 'splain me an "experience," as you term it. That would just be gross. Add nausea, as you say.
Kelly
10-09-2005, 02:16 PM
There's speculation that it was about - uhmmmm -
an experience the two of them shared.
If you know what I mean, well there ya go -
if you don't - don't ask. Trust me - don't ask.
And please, let's leave it there. It's between them, imo.
Besides I'm sure it's already been discussed, add nausea.
"What dirty tricks the mind can play
In the lonely dead of night
When you bump into the shadow
Of a faded love that wasn’t right
Way down beneath the surface
Far beyond the light of day
So many things lie buried deep
And baby, they should stay that way."
You must be kidding.
Nicksluvver
10-09-2005, 07:00 PM
I really like Think about it, good song and Stevie reaching out to Christine about her and Johns divorce and Chris thinking about leaving FM mkaes it even more heartfelt for me!
Ghost_Tracker
10-12-2005, 11:48 PM
I really like Think about it, good song and Stevie reaching out to Christine about her and Johns divorce and Chris thinking about leaving FM mkaes it even more heartfelt for me!
Check out the look on McVie's face at the end of Tango in the Night
after Chris M. kisses him on the cheek - right before he leans forward
and lightly grabs her and says whatever it was HE said.
He didn't really look all that cool, calm, and collected there -
just - - - UNBELIEVABLE love and determination.
That's the way it seemed to me, anyway.
So with Stevie understanding how they felt,
I can kinda understand her writing "Think About It," and wanting
to help. And emphathizing.
eclipse
10-13-2005, 03:07 AM
Keep listening...
You are all so young:eek: :eek:
I remember waiting for this album to come out-be released, go to the record store, stand in line, open the saran wrapped package and listen to it on my diamond- needle turn table (which I still have- by the way...)
It was so well received at the time because Stevie was always sort of in the shadows with FM and eveyone of her fans wanted to see what she would do on her own...and we were all impressed
It had a ballad, love, country- moody-lonely-determined-magical-haunting -questioning.."Stevieness" to it...
Loved it then-Love it now
But I do empathize, it must be hard to hear a TISL tune and then go back and hear a "new" Bella-Donna tune for you.
I am lucky that I have heard her progress/(regress-in some instances..) in the order and time-frame that it was actually happening and it's someone sad a haunting that she wrote on BD
that :Love is only one fine star away...and 20 years later...still searching for that star...
Again, keep listening and try to put it in prospective-you can't compare it to any other of her solo works-it was the only one-and it was very good in 1981.
Hope my rambling helps you to understand the dynamics, keep listening:xoxo:
Nicksluvver
10-13-2005, 09:22 AM
Check out the look on McVie's face at the end of Tango in the Night
after Chris M. kisses him on the cheek - right before he leans forward
and lightly grabs her and says whatever it was HE said.
He didn't really look all that cool, calm, and collected there -
just - - - UNBELIEVABLE love and determination.
That's the way it seemed to me, anyway.
So with Stevie understanding how they felt,
I can kinda understand her writing "Think About It," and wanting
to help. And emphathizing.
Yeah - I think he will always be in love with Chris and her with him. They had different issues that drove them apart, as opposed to S and L, so Stevie had a different view to write from about them. Also, S and L have had so many moments like C and J on that video. I wish I could hear what they are all saying to each other-LOL. The latest moment being L's Soundstage.
SortaSavageLike
10-13-2005, 11:24 AM
It was released on CD in 1990, along with TWH and RAL.
Are you sure? The back cover says "Most recently, Ms. Nicks has released the album The Wild Heart." No mention of RAL or TITN. :confused:
I hope to get my review of Bella Donna up on Epinions.com within the week. I'm still collating my thoughts here. :D
KarmaContestant
10-13-2005, 01:45 PM
Bella Donna is an amazing album to me. I love every song...though I do get tired of the singles from time to time. What I find great about Bella Donna is that Stevie was able to take many of the songs that she had worked on for years and never was able to get recorded with Fleetwood Mac, and finally record them to her satisfaction...you know, like she was making up for lost time. It is my hope that Stevie will be able to do this again with another album. How Still My Love and Kind Of Woman are my faves from the album overall, though Think About It and After The Glitter Fades are a close second.
Someone said on another board once that they didn't like Bella Donna because it sounded "too 70's". That gave me a good chuckle...
Ghost_Tracker
10-13-2005, 06:58 PM
[It was so well received at the time because Stevie was always sort of in the shadows with FM and eveyone of her fans wanted to see what she would do on her own...and we were all impressed
It had a ballad, love, country- moody-lonely-determined-magical-haunting -questioning.."Stevieness" to it...
[I am lucky that I have heard her progress/(regress-in some instances..) in the order and time-frame that it was actually happening and it's someone sad a haunting that she wrote on BD
that :Love is only one fine star away...and 20 years later...still searching for that star...
[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
Amen.
Soooo, sooooo true.
All of it.
"Still the same old story . . .
What price glory?
You make it easy. . .
In the still of the night
In the still of the night...
How still my love?
In the still of the night...
How still my...
Watching out to sea
Calling out to me
You go...your way
Go on...go on
But you don't forget me
Ooo no...you don't forget me."
( "Nothing never changes!" ) ;)
Thanks for reminding us. :)
David
10-13-2005, 07:52 PM
I did not care for Bella Donna that much when it was released in 1981.It didn't knock me over at first because I was so deeply steeped in the alchemic magic of the Fleetwood Mac sound. Stevie (or Jimmy) went out & hired a bunch of very nice men & women, & certainly very capable & solid professionals -- but they were the equivalent of Herbert Ross or George Roy Hill in Hollywood. They weren't artists as instrumentalists, at least not in the sense that Mick Fleetwood & Lindsey Buckingham & perhaps even Christine McVie were.
Musically, Mick & Lindsey were like Mike Leigh or Cassavetes, personal artists with unusual styles who made you listen to things differently. The guys who performed on "Bella Donna" were just there to prop up Stevie's songs & her vocals in as unobtrusive a manner as possible. They weren't there to impose their own vision or style on the thing, & that's just what they did (or didn't do) on the hundreds of other studio projects they worked on over the years. That's why instrumentally "Bella Donna" isn't all that different from "For Everyman" or "You're No Good" or "Twin Sons of Different Mothers." By 1981, "Bella Donna" was already old hat in Southern California in instrumental terms.
So I really didn't find "Bella Donna" intensely interesting sonically, & I still don't. But I really dug several of the songs -- particularly the title track, which I felt was one of the sanest, most humane things she had ever written -- & I certainly dug the general ambience of the album: the art work, the calligraphy, the mysterious photos of the cover & the Phoenix manse with Cocteauesque lighting, & all the spirituality surrounding the album. As Stevie once said, there was a lot of caring in the album -- caring for the product as something more special than mere product.
So that's my roundabout way of saying that I loved what Stevie brought to "Bella Donna," but less so with the numerous other people involved in it.
Ghost_Tracker
10-13-2005, 08:22 PM
So I really didn't find "Bella Donna" intensely interesting sonically, & I still don't. But I really dug several of the songs -- particularly the title track, which I felt was one of the sanest, most humane things she had ever written -- .
Could you please explain what you mean by "sanest" ???
I'm not being sarcastic, I literally don't understand
what you mean. To me it's always seemed kind of "mystical"
etc. I definitely agree with the "humane" part though. :nod:
Musically, Mick & Lindsey were like Mike Leigh or Cassavetes, personal artists with unusual styles who made you listen to things differently. The guys who performed on "Bella Donna" were just there to prop up Stevie's songs & her vocals in as unobtrusive a manner as possible. They weren't there to impose their own vision or style on the thing, & that's just what they did (or didn't do) on the hundreds of other studio projects they worked on over the years.
Just say it, David: "...except Roy Bittan."
Not that he wasn't very unobtrusive on Bella Donna. But he's certainly brought plenty of his own vision and style to that other band he's associated with.
eclipse
10-14-2005, 05:59 AM
Amen.
Soooo, sooooo true.
All of it.
"Still the same old story . . .
What price glory?
You make it easy. . .
In the still of the night
In the still of the night...
How still my love?
In the still of the night...
How still my...
Watching out to sea
Calling out to me
You go...your way
Go on...go on
But you don't forget me
Ooo no...you don't forget me."
( "Nothing never changes!" ) ;)
Thanks for reminding us. :)
You are welcome!
and I just love to reflect...So, so glad that you "get it" Tracka:xoxo:
cliffdweller
10-14-2005, 08:30 AM
By the way Bella Donna has not just a double but a triple meaning -
it's Italian for "Beautiful Woman," but it also is an addictive drug -
I also thought it was a derogatory term along the lines of "harlot" or "tramp." This is what I've heard, I don't know if it's true or not.
cliffdweller
10-14-2005, 08:45 AM
It's considered to be "Postmodern," by the way -
I'm not sure why.
Hmmm...I don't think I would call it Po-mo. I would call it experimental, but not po-mo.
I think a good example of Post-Modernism would be Sgt. Pepper's by the Beatles. There's a lot of meta-level commentary and intertextuality going on there, same for The White Album (Beatles not F.M.).
chiliD
10-14-2005, 10:01 AM
...same for The White Album (Beatles not F.M.).
When you capitalize "White Album", that's the Beatles...when referring to Fleetwood Mac's 1975 album, lower case "white album" is mandatory.
BlackWidow
10-14-2005, 10:45 AM
Well, I'm not really dissapointed, but I am feeling a bit confused :shrug:. I've probably heard SDMHA, Eo17, and Leather and Lace a hundred times before, and really liked The Highwayman, Bella Donna, and ATGF the first time, but I'm sort of undecided about the other four songs. It usually takes me a few good listens before I can appreciate most music. Heck, I had to listen to to Tusk in its entirety eight times before I really "got it". I just hope this album grows on me soon.
Guess its back to Mystery to Me for a little while. Oh, and BD could really use a good remastering job. Didn't this CD come out in 1984? :confused:
Bella Donna was released in 1981
What rock have you been living under?:lol:
catinthedark
10-14-2005, 10:47 AM
Bella Donna was released in 1981
What rock have you been living under?:lol:
The album came out in 1981... they were talking about the CD. It did not come out in '81. (Or were you being sarcastic?) So hard to tell sometimes! :laugh:
cliffdweller
10-14-2005, 01:19 PM
When you capitalize "White Album", that's the Beatles...when referring to Fleetwood Mac's 1975 album, lower case "white album" is mandatory.
Yeah exactly 'cause it's Fleetwood Mac, or otherwise known (affectionately) as the white album.
Yeah exactly 'cause it's Fleetwood Mac, or otherwise known (affectionately) as the white album.
The Beatles' white album was eponymous, too.
chiliD
10-14-2005, 04:16 PM
The Beatles' white album was eponymous, too.
True, But, The Beatles album was "The White Album" LONNNNNG before Fleetwood Mac released a "white" album. Therefore, the respect of capitalization that Fleetwood Mac doesn't get.
SapphireSister
10-14-2005, 06:04 PM
Bella Donna was released in 1981
What rock have you been living under?:lol:
Well have you thought about that possibility that he/she recently became a Stevie fan and therefore would not have bought the album when it was originally released in 1981? :wavey:
SortaSavageLike
10-14-2005, 06:51 PM
Well have you thought about that possibility that he/she recently became a Stevie fan and therefore would not have bought the album when it was originally released in 1981? :wavey:
Or the fact that I wasn't even alive in 1981! :laugh:
Oh, and I'm a He. And completely Hetero. Yes, we're out there! :lol:
BlackWidow
10-15-2005, 08:40 PM
I heard Stevie's working on a new album.
Actually, I didn't hear any such thing. I just made that up. :laugh:
Stevie's new Album will be release on Christmas Day, 2012. It's called
" Nightmares ".....I just made that up too...:D
BlackWidow
10-15-2005, 08:41 PM
Oh ya, I forgot, I'm jealous :nod: It really is good to see all these "youngens" enjoying Ms. Nicks! :wavey:
And scary at the same time..they have no frame of reference..kinda sad ...
BlackWidow
10-15-2005, 08:45 PM
Or the fact that I wasn't even alive in 1981! :laugh:
Oh, and I'm a He. And completely Hetero. Yes, we're out there! :lol:
Well..we were all worried that you weren't Hetero...thanks for letting us know...:laugh: :lol: :laugh: :lol: ;)
BlackWidow
10-15-2005, 08:51 PM
Keep listening...
You are all so young:eek: :eek:
I remember waiting for this album to come out-be released, go to the record store, stand in line, open the saran wrapped package and listen to it on my diamond- needle turn table (which I still have- by the way...)
It was so well received at the time because Stevie was always sort of in the shadows with FM and eveyone of her fans wanted to see what she would do on her own...and we were all impressed
It had a ballad, love, country- moody-lonely-determined-magical-haunting -questioning.."Stevieness" to it...
Loved it then-Love it now
But I do empathize, it must be hard to hear a TISL tune and then go back and hear a "new" Bella-Donna tune for you.
I am lucky that I have heard her progress/(regress-in some instances..) in the order and time-frame that it was actually happening and it's someone sad a haunting that she wrote on BD
that :Love is only one fine star away...and 20 years later...still searching for that star...
Again, keep listening and try to put it in prospective-you can't compare it to any other of her solo works-it was the only one-and it was very good in 1981.
Hope my rambling helps you to understand the dynamics, keep listening:xoxo:
Don't cry for Stevie...she can see past you..to the white sand!
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