Bella Donna: My Review

[GoldDustWoman22]

Hey everyone:wavey:! So as someone who had the ultimate pleasure of listening to the Bella Donna album for the first time yesterday...I AM IN LOVE!!! I cannot get enough of that album and I am completely obsessed!! Since I really have no one else to share this excitement with I thought I would post a review of each song. They really are all fabulous. And when I'm writing about them please be forgiving since I don't know the background on all of the songs...you guys are all such super fans I'm actually kind of scared to post here for fear I might say something stupid :(! But if you do have any answers to the questions please let me know...I love to learn!! Well, anyways, here goes:

1. Bella Donna - this song is incredibly awesome! I just love the haunting melody of it all and how she sings the words Bella donna and "never scare me" are my two favorite parts of the song. Maybe I'm wrong but when she says "and the lady's feeling like the moon that she loved" is this song a connection to "Sisters of the Moon" where she is talking to her soul which is Bella Donna so "she" is really Stevie? Or is that just a fragment of my imagination?? Especially when she says "bella donna my soul" it just makes sense. Anyways, love the song:nod:

2. Kind of Woman - Amazing. Really no words!! The lyrics are so haunting and then the melody with it is just fantastic!! I could seriously listen to this song on repeat for about 346 days and not get bored. She captures the torment of the person in the song so well and represents both sides of the affair in the song. Now, is Stevie the person being cheated with or on? Maybe Mick??

3. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around - Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty...does anything else really need to be said?!?! Seriously great song especially for singing out loud in the car I have to admit though that after Kind of Woman that was really kind of somber the rather loud intro to this song almost made me throw my ipod out the window!! lol

4. Think About It - This song is growing on me. I've liked it a little more each time I've heard it. The lyrics are really touching particularly since this was dedicated to Christine "you'll go on forever/ you're that good...aww! I love the friendship between those two!! I'm wondering though was Chris thinking about leaving the band at this time...with all the lyrics about "think about it before you go" makes me wonder what exactly that was about?? Anyone know?

5. After the Glitter Fades - I'm pretty sure this song is going to become worn out on my ipod because it is seriously awesome! I feel like it is one of the most straightforwardly honest songs that Stevie's ever written. In the line "the timeless face of a rock n' roll woman as her heart breaks" just kills me because I have seen some videos where it seems as though Stevie's heart is breaking and it breaks my heart. I really think this song does a good job of just being an au naturale song for Stevie...definitely one of my favorites :)!

6. Edge of Seventeen - TBH, this is the only song I was really familiar with...and I love it of course but hearing it in the context of the album makes it even more special to me...if that makes sense :distress: But all of the sudden it was like I "got it" and now this has become one of my favorite rock songs of all time...if not for the lyrics then definitely for the major guitar riff. Waddy rocks :nod:!!!!

7. How Still My Love - I got goosebumps as soon as this song came on...and they lasted throughout the entire song. This song is incredible it's another one of my top favorites on the album. Stevie kills it :blob1:! The part "and you won't forget me" where it gets really loud and defiant kicks some major butt. However, I'm wondering who this song is about??

8. Leather and Lace - Her and Don Henley's voices are simply magical together. His part "and sometimes I cry" might have gotten me a little misty-eyed. But seriously the lyrics and the subtle undertones of this song are what make it so special. This might be one of my favorite vocal performances from Stevie ever...there's definitely something extremely special about this song that I am trying to put my finger on it.

9. Outside the Rain - I feel like this song this song is about Lindsey...just the familiarity she seems to have with the person she is talking to in this song points me toward him. The opening strains of this song are brilliant too...it kind of gets and demands your attention. Good song :)

10. Highwayman - I absolutely love Stevie's voice on this...so heartbreaking and haunting (gotta love alliteration :laugh:) But seriously I would love to hear her sing this acapella!! I have a feeling she would totally rock it!! This song also made me cry...so thank you Stevie lol! It just makes me melancholy but a brilliant song!!!!

Wow I had a lot to say....sorry if I said too much. I had a lot to say about this album and I wasn't about to talk to my bedroom wall lol. Thanks for bearing with my rambling :wavey:

[HighPassion]

Wow. I can't even remember the first time I heard "Bella Donna"
That was an awesome review. I like to hear your interpretations of the songs, they're refreshing :)
Because so many people say "this-is-what-the-song-is-about" so matter of factly that I kind of forgot what it's like giving my own interpretations to Stevie songs. Although I do still try to. That's why I mostly steer clear of discussions around the new album, because someone will take something Stevie said and form it into this big thing.
Although, sometimes coming straight from the artist's mouth is definitely the case. But I think Stevie only talks about fragments of the songs when she talks about what they're about - because there' sjust a bigger picture that we all dont know.

That's so interesting this was your first listen to BD! It's still my favorite. The song selection is brilliant. My favorite is The Highwayman. I'm pretty sure there are a few acapella demos floating around here of it :)

[studyinscarlet]

I've always loved the whole sound of 'Kind of Woman'. You're just hearing this for the first time? Ah, memories. Enjoy.

[xxxmx]

Bella Donna was the first CD I ever bought myself. I had heard the record and knew the radio hits, but listening to the disc the whole way through was kind of magical. Thanks for bringing that feeling back a little. I was eleven and I remember washing my hands before opening the package because I didn't want to get fingerprints on the dark paper.

The album really is a gem.

:wavey:

[mitzo]

I also remember opening my Bella Donna album with great expectations. I must say I was really disappointed with it. The music seemed cheaply produced and the songs were either forgettable or annoying compared with what I had heard of her from FM. I still now cannot appreciate the album the way many seem to - it sounds to me like it was hastily cobbled together with "who cares?" production and a kind of low rent overall sound I blame on the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers involvement. The air of mystery and allure vaporized in a cloud of braying indistinct vocals and garage band instrumentation. I still cannot listen to it all the way through. Sorry, just one person's opinion.

[GoldDustWoman22]

Thanks for liking my review guys...that means a lot:)!! I love having you guys to talk to about my Stevie/FM obsession:wavey:! I agree with all of you that the album when listened to from song to song is extremely enchanting and amazing!

HighPassion - I agree with you that sometimes it gets a little confusing trying to figure out what and who the artist is talking about in the song...sometimes I'm tempted to make up my won little story of how they wrote the song just so I can have a few answers:laugh:. Especially in Stevie's case what with her adventures and everything it's hard to pinpoint just one person. Also thanks for the heads up on "The Highwayman" I'll have to look for the aca-pella version...thanks :)

studyinscarlet - Kind of Woman is amazing...truly a goosebump inducing kind of song :).

xxxmx- I have a feeling that if I get the CD I might actually do that! All of the very little FM/Stevie stuff I have gotten I treat them like newborn babies. It might be a little ridiculous but I honestly don't care:laugh:! I agree with you about the album though...it might be one of my favorite albums from all time! :)

[tabruns]

You might consider getting her other solo albums (if you don't have them already). They all have their fans and each album has something to offer.

[equeen102289]

Bella Donna (besides In Your Dreams) is the only album of Stevie's that I can recall my very first listen. I had my stereo sitting on top of a jewelry box by my bed and I remember just standing by the stereo listening to that opening track and being floored. There was just something about the way Stevie sang, "My bella donna. . ." that got me. I was hooked from then on, and there's something special about that song that still pulls me in today.

And I enjoyed reading your review, by the way. :)

[ahafan02]

I love your review...spot on except "Highwayman" which I think is the only sore spot on the album.

[GoldDustWoman22]

Bella Donna (besides In Your Dreams) is the only album of Stevie's that I can recall my very first listen. I had my stereo sitting on top of a jewelry box by my bed and I remember just standing by the stereo listening to that opening track and being floored. There was just something about the way Stevie sang, "My bella donna. . ." that got me. I was hooked from then on, and there's something special about that song that still pulls me in today.

And I enjoyed reading your review, by the way. :)

Ahh! Yay I'm so glad someone agrees with me about how she sang the words Bella Donna!! It just sticks with you...so haunting, so wonderful, so Stevie :nod:!!

[sherhiannon]

LOVE your review....there is a part of me that would absolutely love to be discovering Stevie for the 1st time right now....just look at all the songs, demos, pictures that will be new for you & will blow your mind. Enjoy every moment of your discovery....:)) I remember when I got online for the 1st time and googles Stevie...OMG, I thought I had died and gone to heaven! :]:]I had no idea how many people loved her as much as I do & how many demos and photos I had not seen...it was like Christmas every day for me!!

[QUOTE=GoldDustWoman22;990112]Hey everyone:wavey:! So as someone who had the ultimate pleasure of listening to the Bella Donna album for the first time yesterday...I AM IN LOVE!!! I cannot get enough of that album and I am completely obsessed!! Since I really have no one else to share this excitement with I thought I would post a review of each song. They really are all fabulous. And when I'm writing about them please be forgiving since I don't know the background on all of the songs...you guys are all such super fans I'm actually kind of scared to post here for fear I might say something stupid :(! But if you do have any answers to the questions please let me know...I love to learn!! Well, anyways, here goes:
!

[GoldDustWoman22]

[QUOTE=sherhiannon;990424]LOVE your review....there is a part of me that would absolutely love to be discovering Stevie for the 1st time right now....just look at all the songs, demos, pictures that will be new for you & will blow your mind. Enjoy every moment of your discovery....:)) I remember when I got online for the 1st time and googles Stevie...OMG, I thought I had died and gone to heaven! :]:]I had no idea how many people loved her as much as I do & how many demos and photos I had not seen...it was like Christmas every day for me!!
[QUOTE]


Yea it's awesome being able to come here and learn so much about the awesome people and music! The photos I'm getting to see along with some of the demos I'm discovering on youtube are phenomenal. And I would have had no idea if it wasn't for you guys and the internet!! Now if only we could get a certain someone to see the good sides of the internet ;)!

[markolas]

I love everything about Bella Donna. Words can't convey my adoration of this album.

Many of the songs on BD were written in the mid-'70s - Kind of Woman, After the Glitter Fades, Think About It (which FM attempted for the Rumours album), The Highwayman...that's off the top of my head. I've never heard Stevie say much of anything about How Still My Love, but it's one of my favorites.

Wasn't Outside the Rain intended to be a sort of sequel to Dreams?

[SummerlongBoots]

Hello GoldDustWoman22! :wavey:

Ahhhhh, to be a Bella Donna virgin again. :laugh:

Actually, it was with a sigh and a heavy heart that I recently handed over my 1981 copy to my best friend's son.

A bittersweet moment for sure, but his 20-year-old enthusiasm for "all things" classic rock on vinyl, had me scrambling to turn him on to my favorite artists.

He is now an official Stevie/FM fan in training. :nod:

[gypsy4life]

I was eleven and I remember washing my hands before opening the package because I didn't want to get fingerprints on the dark paper. :wavey:

This brought tears to my eyes!! I remember getting TimeSpace for Christmas, the year it came out, and I literally stared at the cover for twenty minutes,,lol!!

[CTDee]

WOW! How refreshing to see a new view on this album... has always been one of my favorites, I heard it first many moons ago when I was only 12, but it has been a mainstay for me!!! LOVED your review!!!!

Dee

[mystical1]

Hey everyone:wavey:! So as someone who had the ultimate pleasure of listening to the Bella Donna album for the first time yesterday...I AM IN LOVE!!!

Wow I had a lot to say....sorry if I said too much. I had a lot to say about this album and I wasn't about to talk to my bedroom wall lol. Thanks for bearing with my rambling :wavey:

ahhhhhh Bella Donna...I was 15 when that cd came out...what memories it brings back for me...Im so glad you fell in love with this album...it was so amazing hearing it for the first time first 100th/1000th lol you get the picture...loved your review...just reminds me of why I fell in love with it...I actually played it the other night...wow its 30 years old...dang im getting old :]

[Sleepless-Child]

Hey everyone:wavey:! So as someone who had the ultimate pleasure of listening to the Bella Donna album for the first time yesterday...I AM IN LOVE!!! I cannot get enough of that album and I am completely obsessed!! Since I really have no one else to share this excitement with I thought I would post a review of each song. They really are all fabulous. And when I'm writing about them please be forgiving since I don't know the background on all of the songs...you guys are all such super fans I'm actually kind of scared to post here for fear I might say something stupid :(! But if you do have any answers to the questions please let me know...I love to learn!! Well, anyways, here goes:


Man, how i'd love to get back to the moment i listened to Bella Donna for the first time, even if it was not so long ago, maybe two years.
My best friend bought me this one, and i was hooked immediatly. Almost every song has the potential to be a hit, and in some ways, i think Bella Donna was Stevie's Rumours, not In Your Dreams. The way i feel about this album changed a lot, through these 2 years, and after a brief RAL-period, i'm back with Bella Donna now, and i'm sure it's Stevie's best thing.
You might be a bit disappointed by the followers, maybe you shouldn't have started with such great album :).

[bluefox4000]

I started with Bella Donna. And people wonder why I am so hard on Stevie.....Bella Donna was/is Stevie's Masterpiece And every album following was a dip downward. When you start that high there's only one way to go:nod: BD is lightning in a bottle. She Has never climbed to that Height Again. Although.....IYD came oh so close.

Mick

[cliffdweller]

I first heard Belladonna when I moved away to go to college. Actually, it was on the heels of becoming a huge FM fan, and I had just completely fallen in love w/Stevie. I bought all of her solo albums, but Belladonna was my first intro to solo Stevie. I have very fond memories of hearing Belladonna for the first time. It reminds me of my 20's and all the wonderful things I experienced throughout that decade. And maybe it's the nostalgia, but that album will always hold a special place in my heart. It's my favorite Stevie solo album, and in my opinion, her best. Thanks for your review, and for bringing back such great memories of a truly fantastic album!

[GoldDustWoman22]

Thanks for sharing all your Bella Donna memories!! It's nice to know that there are other people that I can share my enthusiastic enthusiasm for this album with :thumbsup:! I have to say though that I am a little nervous about hearing the other albums of hers for fear that I am going to be let down. Of course I'm going to listen to them...I have the urge to listen to everything Stevie related! But I just want to like everything else as much as I like this...so fingers crossed. Thanks again guys...you all rock:nod: