1986 rewind: Rock A Little Review

[Macfan4life]

January 1986 Pittsburgh Press review.
Stevie sounds more "feline" than ever :eek:

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[bwboy]

This was an odd review. He starts off talking about about how unpleasant I Can’t Wait sounds, then just a few paragraphs later says it’s one of the highlights of the album! “Attractive” and “a fine blend” are how he describes it in that paragraph. It’s almost like two people wrote the review, which is especially ironic because his chief complaint about the album is how inconsistent her singing is. Almost as inconsistent as his review is LOL. He calls Talk to Me a dud. You know, the lead single that went to #4 and was nominated for a Grammy award LOL. It’s fine that he doesn’t like it, but a song that went to #4 and was nominated for a Grammy is not a dud. But then, he really enjoyed I Sing For the Things, so there’s that. I think it’s safe to say it’s a good thing he wasn’t in charge of picking the singles for that album.

[Macfan4life]

This was an odd review. He starts off talking about about how unpleasant I Can’t Wait sounds, then just a few paragraphs later says it’s one of the highlights of the album! “Attractive” and “a fine blend” are how he describes it in that paragraph. It’s almost like two people wrote the review, which is especially ironic because his chief complaint about the album is how inconsistent her singing is. Almost as inconsistent as his review is LOL. He calls Talk to Me a dud. You know, the lead single that went to #4 and was nominated for a Grammy award LOL. It’s fine that he doesn’t like it, but a song that went to #4 and was nominated for a Grammy is not a dud. But then, he really enjoyed I Sing For the Things, so there’s that. I think it’s safe to say it’s a good thing he wasn’t in charge of picking the singles for that album.
Go re-read it. Its not an odd review at all. He starts by saying her voice can be innocent and then harsh. This album is mostly harsh and not much innocence and her voice is not good. Having said that he lists the songs he likes, I Cant Wait, I Sing For Things, If I Were You, and No Spoken Word. He just says if she was more consistent the album would have been a winner but its fairly good listening.
Rock A Little definitely is an odd track and I remember when Talk To Me was released. It was odd. Just because you have heard it a million times and it was a pop hit does not take away its oddity in its initial release. Remember this album was reviewed during its release. Tom Petty's Dont Come Around Here No More is an odd song too but it still cracked the charts pretty high for a Tom Petty record. Talk To Me is a boring musical track. The drum machine beat is slow. It was a hard song to grasp during its initial release. But I think this review holds up. Most would agree her inconsistent singing and bad singing in places hurts the album. But he still found some of the music pleasurable. I think RAL is one of the worst albums of the 80s and of Stevie's career. IMHO his hot/cold reaction is spot on.

[aleuzzi]

I remember when I first heard “Talk to Me,” the long-anticipated single from the new album. I was not disappointed but I wasn’t terribly excited either. At the time, I thought her voice on the quiet middle section (where she sings “to veil a swelling tear”) sounded awful, raw, unsteady…Now that’s my favorite part of the song! The only thing I hated then and still hate now were the horns.

When I listened to the album straight through I WAS disappointed. She sounded strained, the synth-heavy arrangements felt false (for her), and the album lacked a consistent sound. I was underwhelmed by the songs (I still think “I Can’t Wait” is a highly-inflated dud). My ears perked up when I heard “I Sing for the Things.” And then I heard “imperial Hotel,” which I thought — and still think — is fantastic! The vocal, the arrangement—it was classic rock-n-roll. I hear people hate on that song and don’t know why. I remember when I first heard it, I laughed out loud: it was a kind of release and relief that she still had the goods, that her instrument could still startle and bewitch me.

Stevie claims HAWAFY is one of her best, most intense songs. I agree, though not with the performance on Rock a Little. Her version on 1998’s Storytellers is where that song shines the way it’s supposed to.