If I Were You
 

I just listened to this song for the first time in a while and remembered how much I love it. It's so simple and I think Stevie's vocal on it is great. I do notice a few vocal gymnastics here and there. It's just a sweet song and makes me want to be in love.

Any other IIWY fans?

One of the few songs on Rock A Little that I really like. Good song, great vocal.

I cannot even explain how much I love this song. I could put it on repeat for hours and hours and never get sick of it. I wish she did it live! :thumbsup:

:thumbsup: Love it. :nod: I'll have to give it a whirl when I get home.

Exactly what I was going to type.

I can actually picture her doing it live with her "new" voice.. i don't think it would sound bad at all.. :woohoo:

I love the entire RAL album but Some Become Strangers and If I Were You are two of my favorites :nod: Looooove it.

I agree! Oh man, we could only wish...

Big If I Were You fan here. I haven't listened to Rock A Little in ages, but after talking about No Spoken Word last week and now this thread, I feel like telling my boss I have a headache so I can run home and have a listen.

Oh! I'm surrounded by Rock A Little-a-holics lately! It's raining RAL!!!! Wheeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!
Now, as for 'If I Were You', what could possibly beat that unbelievable bridge? "Well I believe that love is a living thing, born into our destinies, from a single moment of Inspiritation...and as It grows...it Changes our lives forever" all sung with the classic RAL growling vibrato, chock full of "wells!" and fully deserving of our worship.

this song is my favorite off RAL...love it

RAL was a slow burn for me. I did not like it when I got it. But being a dyed-in-the-wool fan liking this album was a requirement for membership, right? :lol: Well, I used to walk a lot (well I still do) so I put it in my discman and listened to it on my walks for a week and then I liked it. It's like I forced myself to like it. :laugh: Not really, but I figured if I listened it might grow on me, which it did. But some parts of that record show Stevie's voice and style in a not so flattering light IMO. Like, cringe worthily. :sorry: *ducks*

I agree, I think this would be a good live song for Stevie to do right now. It has a good tempo and I think would translate well to the stage.

Separated at birth, we were. <33333


"Wellllllllllllll....I believe that love is a living thing....." <---favorite part

Ditto!
 

We all know Lindsay (me) is a huge RAL fan but I can't say that IIWY is one of my favorites, although I do like it. I do however LOVE Some Become Strangers so it's so great to hear that someone else loves that song (even though she didn't write it). You have superb taste Garden State Girlie ;) Any other Stranger fans out there? Oh how I LOVE that song! It's also very personal and became a theme song through a break up a couple of years ago. To me the song is about being so close to someone and being in love and how suddenly you wake up one day and realize you are strangers. This is what it means to me anyway. And how about La Nicks attitude when she says "I don't really need this in my life. Why don't we forget about it" That's HOT.

I love If I Were You. I don't want to go into a debate again about how the last part of the song goes, but that's my favorite part. As it fades I keep turning the volume up higher and higher to hear it better. And strangely, I just saw that Stevie wrote it, or co-wrote it anyway. I didn't think she wrote this song...lyrically it's not very Stevie-ish except MAYBE the bridge, and DEFINITELY the end part. Anyway, definitely one of the high points of RAL, which in all honesty really does have a few low points (yes, I still cannot stand the title track).

In the Jim Ladd (dun dun dunnnnnnnn) Interview for RAL she said she wrote the "Well, I believe that love..." bridge part. But it's a Ladd interview so take it with a grain of salt. :p

my sentiments exactly~

I agree. This is another one of my fav RAL tunes. I also love the part "ooh, baby no, you're no stranger". Dat's da hotness, right thur.

there are parts of RAL that I'm not wild about too. however, I love rock a little...I guess it's the frailty in her voice. have you heard the at home demo where she talks about writing the song...I think the demo made me love the song even more.

I REALLY like you! ;)

Thank God, I finally have a little RAL (the song) support. This has always been a favorite of mine and what I love about it most is that it's almost an R & B song and has so much soul to it and it's quite different than a lot of her other material. It's also sooo sexy, the music and the lyrics ;) I also have a cd of The RAL writing process and how this song was inspired by the sound the waves crashing outside of her house at the beach made her house "Rock a little". She really wanted Mick's help on this one. And yes her voice is my favorite, Stevie frail voice. She sounds so wispy and vulnerable and I love the really low notes on "Say it was just like me"...And how about when she says really softly at the end "That is how songs are written Stories are told, rumours are started" I mean that is a classic Stevie line right there! I could go on and on but the point is I think RAL the song is a highlight of the album and I was shocked to hear that a lot of fans don't like this song :(

One of these days, one of these days.. I pray to the non-commercial gods! :laugh:

I adore IIWY :xoxo:

I hated RAL the song for years. One reason was that after Bella Donna and Wild Heart, I had an expectation of what a Stevie song named after the album would be. It's hard to describe, but Bella Donna and Wild Heart are sort of these dramatic epics that open the album (TISL being a return to that, which is why I love it sooooo much :xoxo: )

Then came Rock A Little, and the title song didn't even kick off the album, and on top of that, it was this sound I had never heard from Stevie and with quivering vocals. I remember thinking at the time, what on earth has happened to this woman's voice.

Anyway, I stopped listening to Stevie for several years not too long after RAL, mainly because of her lifeless performances during the OSOTM tour and FM Tango tour and my horror at Sometimes It's A Bitch. In fact, I missed the Street Angel era altogether.

I'm rambling, but the point is that the Enchanted box set gave me an opportunity to listen to a lot of Stevie's work with different ears and perspective, having taken several years "off". And I wound up loving RAL the song based on that experience.

That was a very long way to say I used to hate RAL and now I love it. :D

Ah ha you finally came around and saw the RAL light! We're going to be great friends ;) I loved your ramble by the way.

I completely agree- almost. I would have to put No Spoken Word as my fav, and then Some Become Strangers and If I Were You.

I LOVE the extended version of RAL, the demo of I Sing but If I were you & Some Become Strangers are my absolute fav's on the cd. I really like the soulful undertones, reminds me of Sable On Blonde.

If I Were You would be great live with an orchestra.

While RAL has never been one of my favorite albums, I do happen to love this particular song...I agree the simplicity of it is what makes it kind of catchy. I think it would have been a great single. I think it's great.

Chris

You go Gurl. I'm in RAL heaven, it's my fave period, album, tour, 'look', 'sound' etc. You name the Stevie subject, I can spin it to Rock a Little!
Now, you mention the title track...I love how her voice quavers on the first "it's about time Lily...." Even though I'm a guy I find myself sort of imitating that quavering effect too if I sing along to it (when no one else is listening of course, like when I'm driving alone).
I'm originally from Long Island, New York, and believe me in 1985 RAL was HOT there and all over the airwaves and Stevie was the undisputed Queen of rock, with Pat Benatar and Joan Jett as contenders. Just her hair alone was, as we say on Long Island, "Forgetaboutit"! My sisters class of '86 year book is full of nothing but Stevie hair. Even on some of the guys!

Originally Posted by petep9000
You go Gurl. I'm in RAL heaven, it's my fave period, album, tour, 'look', 'sound' etc. You name the Stevie subject, I can spin it to Rock a Little!
My sisters class of '86 year book is full of nothing but Stevie hair. Even on some of the guys!


HELL YEAH! :nod: That makes me proud to be even born in 1986! LOL. Seriously though, RAL is my favorite of Stevie's albums. I really love all the songs, but actually "If I Were You" seems to be one of the weaker tracks to me. I love the title track, and yes it is very sexy. "Talk To Me" and "I Can't Wait" were two of the coolest singles that ever hit the airwaves in '86. "Sister Honey" is just downright funky (although I like the stripped down demo version a little better), "Imperial Hotel" and "No Spoken Word" are some of her best rock songs with some memorable lyrics as well. I used to not like "Some Become Strangers" and it took a few years ( :shocked: ) to grow on me, but it is almost just as funky as "Sister Honey". From what I heard on all the RAL bootlegs I've heard, Stevie rocked HARD on that tour in '86, which makes it by far my favorite of all her tours. Just my 2 cents. :wavey:

Love It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only song it took a little while to grow on me was The Nightmare. You go from that awesome first line and then it's like, meh. But now I really do enjoy the song (except the backing vocals at the end of the song...yikes). I think as a whole, it's a really good album :nod:

I would loooove if she busted out some If I Were You (or Some Become Strangers).

<33333

"WOOOAHOOOOHOOOOOHOOO" I love her howls :nod:

It's just a really great song...great lyrics...great music....catchy...nice beat, etc. I heart you, If I Were You.

Amen, girl :thumbsup: I LOVE that line :nod:

I don't really care for this song :sorry:

either do i :shocked:

No, I haven't heard the demo...I'm not really that big into demoes though. I've tried, I just cannot get into this song. :shrug:

For all the demos and concerts I have of Stevie, I'm a bigger fan of the RAL era - she was just crazy and the music was crazy and it was just all...crazy! But it's like wow, Stevie can really rock out (even though she was the snorting machine).

My least favorite songs on RAL are "Imperial Hotel" and "No Spoken Word." And the reason why I put No Spoken Word is because I'm not a huge fan of the album version; rather like the tour version better (i.e. red rocks)

My top three faves are Sister Honey, If I Were You, and a tie between Rock a Little and Some Become Strangers. Someone has to like Sister Honey, cmon! I think it's a real fun song and it's catchy. I wish she would have used that song for the RAL tour. She could have done a little fun dance with the bass thumping part. :blob1:

But I do agree, If I Were You is a very good song, and fun to sing along to.

There are a few of us that do:

-me
-amber
-jason
-hillary
Edit: and Kimberly

(gawd. look at that list of folk. scary)

I love it too, dear. :nod:

Another fan here of "If I Were You." I actually like a lot of the songs on RAL. Even though they are 80's sounding and a little cheesy, I love the energy of most of the songs. I feel like I can really crank up the volume and rock out!