Fav Rock a Little track?
 

OK so I've dis-liked this album for the longest time and it's now grown on me quite a lot. My favorite song is No Spoken Word. It's so ace and it's Stevie's best vocal on the album IMO with Talk To Me at a close second. I can't believe it wasn't a single. So, i was wondering, what's everyone's favorite song from one of Stevie's worst received albums (not quite THE worst - Street Angel IMO is worse than RAL).

NB: if you want to vote for "The Nightmare" then please just reply to the thread saying your voting for that song. I really can't stand this song and seeing as RAL is 11 tracks, i had to get rid of one for the poll...enjoy!

I voted NSW...... But EVERY song on this albums is fabulous.....:nod:

Nothng's really jumping out at me right now. :o I guess I'm not in a RAL mood. I'll go with Talk To Me. But I do love The Nightmare. :D

Taking too many supplements are we? :wavey:

It varies over the years, but lately I Sing For The Things. This song has held up the best.

^^^^^

Yay, finally someone else likes it.

I'm out of my RAL phase right now, but I picked RAL. It is kind of tied with a few others.
I used to hate it, but it grew on me very much. The song is odd and moody, and I love the bandwork in it. I feel like I have never heard anything like it.

it's hard for me to pick a fav ... i love RAL, ICW, SH, IH, SBS, TTM, and IIWY a lot. i voted for IH.

A guilty favorite. I mean, really, the song is so silly. I love it a lot, though.

it really is silly. so is sister honey ... and if i were you ... and ... ok, a lot of 'em. but i still ****ing love RAL. :D

No Spoken Word :)

I went with RAL, but it's really a tie between ISFTT, RAL and IIWY.

If she had done ISFTT like the uptempo demo i would have picked it for sure. I still like it okay but i went with i can't wait. put the blame on me...if you want to...to be continued...

I said "If I Were You" followed closely by "Some Become Strangers" - I never ever get tired of those songs.

get out of my head Jaz :laugh:

srsly though, that was exactly what I was thinking. with "The Nightmare" a very close 3rd, mind you.

woot!

:xoxo:

Well said. I love it too. :wavey:

I, personally, love this entire release.
But as a whole, the most stand out track is NO SPOKEN WORD.

rbs

Mine is I Can't Wait and HAEWAFY. And No Spoken Word. Sh*t, sorry- I love this album. This was my first tour of hers and the whole thing brings back lots of cool memories.

Come around..tonite..indescent and baby well...:nod:

i didn't realize i sing for the things was so um... not loved by all. i have always loved it. oh, but, right. i'm a complete sap. :o

i voted for rock a little - it was the song i adored from the first time i heard it. i can still remember the feeling of sitting on the bus home from school at night, by myself, walkman on, eyes closed. i listened over and over and over. and that was the day of cassettes! rewind, stop, check. rewind some more. almost there. rewind a but more. damn! went too far. fast forward... :rolleyes:

I actually havent listened to RAL in quite awhile, but I've always loved "Imperial Hotel". Loved the vocal, and the song does rock. The title song IS very unique and the vocal on that is also kinda strange, but it pulls you in. And No Spoken Word I think was my favorite when I first got RAL back in 85. The intensity is there. The live versions never quite got there though IMO.

^^^
yeah, I love NSW too. I really love this entire album.

I even like Sister Honey. aaaaaaiiigght baby...aaiight.

You know, from reading everyone's posts here, and from reading other's past posts - I can conclude -
RAL is very strange. The widely varied reactions to it and all its components (songs) underscores RAL's uniqueness and some degree of universality. It really does have a lot going on. A lot of different things. Look at how evenly spaced the votes are for the RAL songs.

I love it because, to me, it is the most erratic and stream of consciousness Stevie album. The stream of consciousness was somewhat drug fueled, but that doesn't mean it isn't true, or a part of her.

Some people really hate RAL, and their opinions have been considered. It seems like more people who like RAL have weighed in then in the past. I'm used to hearing a lot of RAL slams. There was some serious synth commitment on this album.

Lyrically and musically, she was all over the map with this shizz. I love it. I love it.

I mean, it is one of the strangest and most varied albums I have ever heard. :shrug: Which is hard, given that Stevie's distinctive voice is a constant throughout. It's almost a blessing that her voice was so diminished, because it made her come up with some vocals that are simply amazing, and unique, if not lazy. Just by virtue of her having to make compromises in her vocal. I mean, it's Stevie, when she compromises on a vocal, it still has to be weird and cool and kick ass. She still has to scream. She still has to be a showwoman with her voice. It still has to sound like her vision. She still embues everything with her "special sense of notes and harmonies" :shocked: :angel:, which will always be strange. I feel like even when she's not at her best she tries to be, and that can go a long way if you are talented. The effort and innovation can make up for a lack of hitting everything perfect. IMO.

Okay, I haven't listened to RAL in months, but I have to now. I have it on LP.

mmkay. :wavey:

Edit: I just realized that RAL is like a big delicious cream filled cheap cookie. So nourishing in a lot of ways, just delicious - but kinda makes you feel cheap and strung out, yet strangely satisfied. The benefits tie with the drawbacks. So good, and so bad, all at once to make one fabulous sandwich cookie album. It is like you can both love, and laugh, at every song. (good naturedly). You make fun, but it is also really good. :laugh: That quality just makes me think she is more special in some weird way. I understand it. When people are crappy yet fab all at once, that encompasses a lot of information and point of view and talent range.

Whatever, I'm not describing it well, I just think someone is special if they can be so genuinely good, and so sincerely bad, all at once, and on different days, and in different combinations, to different degrees, with different people, and depending on that persons mood, and on whatver substance, and random people working with whoever at any given moment, trying to incorporate the newest musical style (synth), having varied musical styles on one album, ie her songs sound different from each other,
maintaining musical friendships with lovers and non lovers throughout a lifetime, often working with both at once, generally being spoken of as nice and very talented among her peers, as well as with the press, generally being sought after for collaberations by many and varied talented people, and very successfully so - and come out on top for the most part - both in the public eye and creatively and personally -

PLZ. SSLEH.

And RAL reminds me of an important part of her transitional phases, one of if not the most vocally and lyrically unusual....just another few marks within the many extroadinary moments that make up Stevie's career. Yes, her voice is exceptionally expressive on RAL.
*Bows to accept geeky chiffonhead tiara*

You know, I just listened to it again. Stevie's vocal is almost incidental to the whole song, or at least it is even with the song. That is fairly unusual to this degree in her solo work, and also not why people usually traditionally like her.
Not because the vocal is any less powerful than usual. Really, it is extremely expressive. Just not histrionic. She has little to do as far as note range in RAL, but what she does sing is jam packed with expression and goodness. And make no mistake - no one else would be able to pull off sing-talking like that.


So, in short, her vocal fits in perfectly and more subtly than usual, yet packs just as much emotional impact and creativity as we expect from classic Stevie, if not more. The band work is great, and it is allowed to shine here with a perfectly matched compliment (stevie's vocal).
Also unusual sounding as far as her songs go. :laugh:

I love Sister Honey too..."...she can help you make up your mind.."

what the HELL is the Mirror Mirror EP? :S

Imperial Hotel

Great, if not blistering vocal. It also has a way cool sound to me.

RAL was supposed to be titled Mirror Mirror and include finished versions of many of the demos we have, such as Mirror Mirror, Thousand Days, Greta, etc.

so what happened? How come we ended up with Rock a Little??

who knows. I think Stevie ended up not liking any of the Mirror Mirror takes and decided you can't name a cd Mirror Mirror without the song on the album. or maybe she decided to go in a different direction, which seems logical since most of the demos sound like typical rock Stevie and RAL ended up being much more 80s synth.

I've been laughed at before for making this comparison, but I really see 'Rock A Little' as Stevie's 'Tusk.'
It's eclectic, it's erratic, it's partly mainstream and partly esoteric, it has moments where it sounds like "Classic Stevie" and moments where she was exploring new territory... at its core, like you said, it's Stevie's most varied album.

Nice. I'm not laughing at all. :nod:

Definately "Some become Strangers"
It always makes me think of old friends and lovers that are no longer a part of my daily life.
And sister honey also reminds me of the very first internetfriend (we later became real friends) i ever met because her yahoo screenname was sister honey ;)
I listened to RAL earlier in the week when i came home early from work (i like to lie on the couch a bit and indulge in the music al by myself) and i even teared up on 3 of RAL's songs aside from "Some Become Strangers" they were "I Sing For The Things" and "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You"

I voted for No Spoken Word also, but there is a lot of good stuff there. I do also like The Nightmare, one of those songs with a personal meaning for me:nod:

I had no idea NSW was so popular.

"I Sing For The Things", i absolutely worship her voice on this one~

I Sing for The Things.....always a favorite of mine. Demo versions of it have also impressed me! :D

I am glad to see that the title song is getting plenty of love. I chose it after thinking between "Rock a Little" and "No Spoken Word." The reason I did not choose "No Spoken Word" is that it has one flaw: the truncated guitar at the beginning. It comes out in little spurts rather than flowing together. Notice the difference between the guitar on the album and when she played the song live. You'll see the difference.

Tough choice, but "No Spoken Word" comes out on top.

My Faves (and IMO, probably the best tunes of her solo career):
No Spoken Word
If I Were You
I Can't Wait
Talk To Me
HAEWAFY

The rest...in the dustbin.