Stevie albums...
 

This started with an argument between me and Friend: Wild Heart vs. OSOTM. I prefer Wild Heart but she disagreed. I was just intrested to what other's think. My personal Fave is Bella Donna. I love it. I also Love Wild Heart. OSOTM is great. Very, VERY good. But not quite on the same level cos it has the awful "Two Kinds of Love", "Alice" and "I Still Miss Someone" on it. I can't stand Rock a Little...any of it (except I Can't Wait and HAEWAFY) Street Angel is sort of average. I love Blue Denim and Listen to the Rain but it sorta gets boring after a bit. Trouble is just....it's as good as Bella Donna. Very different but i still love it. Ok, so lets get voting.

It's Trouble In Shangri-la all the way for me. I didn't think she'd ever release an album (in its entirety) that would top Bella Donna ever again, but she sure did.

As far as the best "side" of an album, that would be side 2 of Rock A Little...nothing she's done has topped THAT (on vinyl, that is). For me, it would tough to top:

Talk To Me
The Nightmare
If I Were You
No Spoken Word
Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You

Except if she'd put "I Can't Wait" to open side two and moved "Talk To Me" down a spot and removed "The Nightmare" altogether. (thanks to CD programming capability)

I Can't Wait
Talk To Me
If I Were You
No Spoken Word
Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You

bella donna it is.

It was a toss-up for me - but I finally went with Bella Donna because it's still the album I listen to most - therefore it must be my favorite :laugh:

I also love Trouble in Shangri-La and The Wild Heart - but the favorite remains Bella Donna.

Trouble in ShangriLa

Second place is Wild Heart...

Depending on the day, it switches between RAL and TISL. RAL has a few medicore songs but none that I flat out don't like. TISL has more songs that I love than RAL but also has ones I cannot listen to at all. THW would be after those 2.

I'm going to think about this for a bit before I vote. For me, my "favorite" Stevie album is always a tie between 'The Wild Heart' and 'Rock A Little.' Though 'Shangri-La' nips at their heels.

My fave album will never be 'Bella Donna'... it's too safe and mellow for my ears, and doesn't display near enough of the Stevie-eccentricities that I find so compelling.

I hate this question.

I do too, cause I like all the albums for different reasons. They are all so different!

But based on amount played - I'd have to go with Rock-a-Little. Next up would probably have to be Trouble In Shangri-la.

Bella Donna I hadn't listened to in a few years - the whole cd from the start to the finish and not too long ago when I did, it struck me how mellow it actually is. It's good, but mellow.

This changes all the time for me, but currently it's OSOTM. I'm over the big hits for the time being, and this cd is really fitting in with my mood lately.

tisl is her best work.

Trouble In Shangri-LA ROCKS!

Um...yeah...:shocked: :laugh: If you like a 4 note range more than, say, a 10 note one...Also if you like that range to be in, say, the tuba area rather than the trumpet area.
:) :wavey:

Welcome to the board. :angel:

First RAL was my favorite, and I didn't like WH, now WH is my favorite. BD is greatness, of course - it has some favorites, but for me right now, WH is that wonderful moment in time, that bridge, between much reduced range (RAL) and a fairly pure voice (BD). In other words, it is vocally strange and erratic, but it still contains some good range. Also, it is coke fueled enough to be more bizarre than BD, but not so coke fueled that it suffered from RALitis. (don't get me wrong, I love RAL).

I did not get into Fleetwood Mac until 1982 and I know Bella Donna was still unleashing hits into 1982 but I really did not get into Bella Donna so I can never call it a favorite. Wild Heart was my first solo purchase and it was incredible, though radio ran Stand Back into the ground. RAL was special for me as it was the first time I bought her album and then got to see her in concert. I love OSOTM with all its visions and fairytale like world. Street Angel had half a disc's worth of good songs and the other half was flat. But as I sit here I must say TISL is my favorite with RAL & Wild Heart close behind.

Bella Donna is the only one I'd put on a list of my favorite albums in general. I never really liked The Wild Heart much; RAL is better, but I can't say it's as good as Bella Donna, because her lyrics had stopped making sense around the time of...well...The Wild Heart. TOSOTM is too draggy, she sounds tired. Street Angel has a couple of shining moments (the title song and the Dylan cover, namely), but is largely RAL's ugly stepchild. TISL is almost on the level of Bella Donna, but there are some clunkers there that drag it down a notch.

I didn't used to like WH either, but why don't you care for it, If I may ask? Why do you think RAL is better than WH? Why is BD the best?
I used to not like WH much because of the...uh...I dunno, just didn't like a lot of the notes, they seemed major-ey.
And why do you think TISL is on the level of BD?

"Trouble in Shangri-La" for me as well. Although, I consider "TISL" "Wild Heart" and "Bella Donna" all 5 star albums...

I may be one of the few here who actually really doesn't care for 'Rock A Little' :shrug:

Good god, there's a massive infiltration of people who think TISL is the most awesome! It defies logic. :confused:

"new, crappy school"

Well, I like it just a little better than I used to, but still not very much. I don't care for the keyboard-y sound, and...I dunno...it just seems a little uneven. It's hard to explain. I do like Sable on Blond now, though. And I Will Run to You.

It just seems more fun. It's funkier. Even though her voice is shaky on several songs.

I'm partial to country-rock, and BD sort of has that sound to it. It's also very cohesive. I can listen to it from start to finish and not feel the overpowering urge to skip songs.

It's the one that I can come closest to letting it play all the way through. I have to skip Too Far from Texas and That Made Me Stronger (and maybe Love Changes), so that's what keeps me from giving it the full four stars, or whatever.

That's ok -- I can never figure out why so many people choose 'Bella Donna.' :shrug:

Amber, we disagree on everything about Stevie, and again, this is no exception...

Why wouldn't people. "Bella Donna" is brilliant...

*gasps loudly*


Oh, maybe for some kind of Edge of Seventeen, or SDHMA reasons. Myself, I do it for some Kind of Woman reasons, and for Bella Donna and After the Glitter Fades reasons. And mostly, mostleh, for the totally underrated How Still My Love reasons. HSML - a subtle tour de force.

Hello. EDGE. Edge? Heard of it? Edge? :laugh:

I think it is great, although the voice of it is too pure to make me rank it number one. But the mere fact of Edge and SDMHA makes the voice not as pure.
While I'm arguing with you, here, I also have to admit it is nice to meet an old school fan who doesn't put BD first. However....:shocked:

Do we? I hadn't noticed. :confused: But we both love her. :nod: I'm totally a Stand Back, Edge kind of chick. Apparently you are a Sorcerer, TISL kind of chick? :laugh:
A lot of the younger fans I have noticed to really like TISL. I can't get over the loss of range and the loss of spontenaeity, though I do love about 5 songs on that album.



Indeedly Doodly.

So many people sure seem to think so, but to me it just sounds like an early '70s Eagles album. It's ultra-mellow and it's the least "Stevie" of all of her solo albums. :shrug:

See, I see your point with that. Yet, I can't ignore the Edge, or the SDMHA, or the KOW, or even the BD. Let alone the SOTN (still of the night!)

It's like, in theory I agree, but in practice, that album has a lot of kick ass songs. I'm so torn. lol.

I fail to see how any of this is bad. :laugh: Though I think it's been established that we have very different tastes, for the most part. :D

Don't get me wrong -- I love all the songs on 'Bella Donna,' but, as a whole, it's just too mellow and MOR to really get me excited.

'Street Angel' is probably her second most mellow album, but the latter-day grit in her voice makes for a more compelling listen, IMO.

Like I said, I prefer the albums that better display Stevie's more eccentric qualities.

You must have noticed. We have disagreed on everything from "Blue Lamp" to "Rose Garden" to "Street Angel" (The Album) and TISL. We do both love her though - just for very different reasons

Im totally all about Sorcerer and TISL :laugh: Although I couldn't live without the classics...

I am a younger fan, which probably explains why I love TISL so much - more my generation. "Say You Will" is also my favourite Mac album...

Well, that one thing we agree on - "Bella Donna" is exceptional :thumbsup:

Really!? Interesting thought. I have to say I disagree for the most part. Sure it is a very natural sounding album, very folkish and country in parts - but it is very Stevie. I think "Street Angel" is the least "Stevie" of all her solo albums - no magic...

Wow. We actually agree on that. Which is why I love WH and RAL so much. But I also think BD is great, and the songs I mentioned, IMO, also display her eccentric qualities. As a whole album? Not as much, I agree. I guess that is why I said what I said before:RAL is eccentric, but without quite as much range as WH. WH is the perfect meeting b/t range and eccentricity. RAL is a bizarre masterpiece, to me. I think I'm the "only one" (ha, right!) who really loves RAL, the song, too. So strange, so moody. At first I didn't like it, thought it was too slow. But then, I saw the light. It is deep and strange and dark and lovely. it's structure, etc. is inimitable. But gosh, it sure is hard to choose. It's like everything she did was so strange and cool. I just love her, her weirdness and her vocal talent.

Admittedly, I'm probably so tough on 'Bella Donna' because of all the people who say "'Bella Donna' is the best album she's ever recorded.'

It's sort of like Lindsey's 'Law & Order'... fantastic songs, but it falls short of showing you what the artist REALLY has to offer. :shrug:

Bella Donna - an era she has never been able to repeat - and THAT VOICE :eek:

WH is also very good and I like much of SA and OSOTM (esp when played alone on the piano) - but Bella Donna is the tops for me!!!!!

On edit - she explored more on WH with her voice and she soars for it. So, that record is mostly vocally stunning IMO. But Bella Donna is just so fresh, raw, emotive, etc.

Insightful. And I agree. About the exploring on WH.

To me, BD is almost outside of being rated - I cannot rate it - b/c it would alternately be first or second or third. It's just timeless. Or, it could have an automatic first place, being outside of ratings.
Whatever, i can't decide. Which is good, because I love so much of our girl that not deciding is a perfectly valid response. None of her album work is so bad that it doesn't deserve a rank, or to put it another way, it is all mostly so good that it is hard to rank.

Wow, an oddly unexpected minor prejudice. :laugh: I'm suprised, too, at the BD only love. Meaning, the people who love BD in huge proportion to the others. I see their point a little, but not totally. Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our Stevie. Meaning - every Stevie voice has something different and cool and weird to offer. I happen to think WH and RAL have the strangest incarnation of that voice to offer. I happen to think BD has the most traditionally good voice to offer, and the most non strange lyrics (barring BD the song).
Blah, blah, blah. :sorry: I just never get tired of our girl. Or the reasons people think songs by her are cool. She, and her voice, like the opinions about her, are so multifaceted.

I like BD. I guess I'd venture to say it's my favourite Stevie album, only because I can listen to it all the way through (mostly) without skipping a song. I don't totally love every single song, but the ones I don't really like are tolerable enough to not send me scrambling to hit 'next'. WiH, RAL and OSOTM, I need to skip around a lot on. I don't even bother with all of Street Angel. TISL is good until about track four or so, then off it goes.

Awww..now I wish I'd voted for poor Street Angel...it's not gettin' any love :laugh:

I like SA immmensely, it's just not number one. I'm almost Curtie-like in my love of it. But not quite. But I do really like it. I know, I'm flawed. But I prefer to kick it! :laugh:

[QUOTE=amber;573061]Um...yeah...:shocked: :laugh: If you like a 4 note range more than, say, a 10 note one...Also if you like that range to be in, say, the tuba area rather than the trumpet area.
:) :wavey:

You need to listen to Sorcerer again:p
For me, Bella Donna, Wild Heart, and TISL are all up there.

Bella Donna is a masterpiece. But it was too contrived to be that way. as has been said before is way to "safe". But when I want moody, "minnie Mouse had helium" stevie, Its perfect!:thumbsup:

Wild Heart! alittle bid Bolder.and a little less helium, and I like that. Ie. Stand back, enchanted, nothing ever changes,ect.

AHH TROUBLE IN SHANGRILA! The album I can actually play for friends! withought them saying "has she sang anything in this century?" It has a great combo of what I love about Street Angel(that gritty rock chick voice)
(again, alittle helium on sorcererr):thumbsup: but it is stevie bieng Mystical,Planets. Rockin,Fall from grace. Folky,sorcerer, Romantic,love is,everyday,I miss you. Moody, love changes,its only love It too me has all of the things that I love about her in one album.
Like bella donna and wild heart also do.

Rock a little: ITS THE 80's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(I still love it though)

Other side of the mirror: zzzzzzzzzzz hugh,what Im awake,zzzzzzzzzzz
(I still love it though)

Street Angel: nuff said.
(I still love it though)

If I'm listening to a full album (as opposed to just randomly selected tracks), there isn't a song on any of Stevie's that I skip.

My favorite thing to do though, is to open up WinAMP and select the folder where I have all of Stevie's solo, Buckingham Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, b-sides, and soundtrack songs (with just a few high-quality demos/outtakes included) and hit "shuffle." There's over 10 hours worth of music in there, so I just let it play for how ever much free-time I have (whether it's 15 minutes or three hours) and I get my Stevie fix. :D

Best thing to do! I do that with all of my music, not just FM and Stevie.

I cannot pick a favorite. For one thing, it has been ages since I listened to anything all the way through. But also, each one I like has some things about it that glares with flaws. It's almost like each of them exists in their own 'timespace' for me. And yes, I want to slap the **** out of myself for that sentence, so I will save you all the trouble. SLAP ! :lol:

I know that SA and OSOTM are last and next to last. But BD, WH, RAL, and TISL are all a bit neck and neck, depending on the day and what I want. BD has the best consistency in quality of songs. But I find L&L and Highwayman to be almost unlistenable. And the sameness of the production almost feels flat to me now. It took years for me to comprehend the criticism upon it's release about the "LA creme de la creme studio musician" sound it was slagged for. But now I hear it. Her voice is great on the title track and Edge is epic, vocally.

WH is a lot of fun to listen to. But it suffers from production too in parts. The keyboards sound super cheesy and dated. On the other hand, the only song I absolutely cannot stomach is 'Gate and Garden', with IAF as a runner up. The rest I still enjoy. Of course, WH is the big epic here - a true crowning achievement in her career even with the audible strain in her voice. There are other great moments too.

RAL is a brilliant mess. Parts of it are downright embarrassing to listen to, but I like them anyway. It lacks the cohesion of BD and WH, but the things I love about it: ICW, NSW, SBS, and others, are so much fun. Even The Nightmare, which I consider to be her quintessential "post it" song, is an oddly entertaining diversion. This is the only record I don't feel compelled to skip songs on, strangely enough. Although I far prefer the outtake of RAL to the one on the record, and HAEWAFY is a larger and more powerful animal now than it was on that record.

TISL was my favorite for a looong time. But, with time, I find that I always skip Everyday (HATE IT, so beneath her, worse than SIAB and barely above LAHGT), TMMS, LC, and Love Is. That's a lot to skip. But I shiver in wonder at TISL. I love that track. It is brilliant. As good as anything she ever did. I also still gape at the falsetto in Sorcerer, and think JS did a bang up job with FFG and Planets. I am in the minority loving TFFT and IOL - but I love both of those songs. As far as IOL goes, she is just not capable of writing such a straightforward, simple song with a beautiful melody like that anymore, and it was a great gift, as far as I am concerned, from Sheryl. TFFT is just hella fun to sing.

TISL has great highs, and wretched lows.

I guess, after writing this, it might be RAL by the tail end of a ribbon on a tambourine. A tambourine, it must be noted, that is stained with brandy, dusted with coke she sneezed out, and headed straight for Betty Ford. Ah, the beauty of a supernova collapsing on itself.