Looking to start checking out Stevie's solo work...
 

Believe or not, I don't really know Stevie's solo stuff that well, save for a few songs here and there I thought were cool (aside from Edge of Seventeen and Stand Back, I Can't Wait and Blue Denim were good too). So, I must ask: what album should I start with? And if I ere to listen on, what order should I listen in (I know some fans of other bands that will sometimes tell you to listen to the albums in a specific order)?

Good that you are checking out her solo work, I am doing the same for Lindsey and then the others in the band along with going through what I haven't heard of Stevie's solo stuff. I'm still a newb! :)

I would start from the beginning either BellaDonna or Wild Heart?

I agree, start with Bella Donna and The Wild Heart. They are the two I actually listen to from time to time and are just good heartfelt Stevie.

I'll leave the rest up to someone else, TOSOTM makes me want to cut my own throat.

I don't think you can go wrong with Bella Donna. Most everyone seems to agree that's her strongest album. It has a very cohesive, unified purpose about it. Most of her later albums were heavily, heavily overproduced... you can't say that about Bella Donna. These songs have breathing room, and that's what speaks volumes about the individual songs.

Over the past nearly 20 years, I've found a way to enjoy all of Stevie's albums, though. There are some I have to be in a very particular mood to hear, but they all have some form of redeeming quality about them. Let me give you my one sentence summary of each album:

Bella Donna: Stevie comes out swinging!

Wild Heart: Overly sappy and reeks of bloated ego.

Rock A Little: Cocaine fueled '80s pop-rock goodness!

Other Side Of The Mirror: The fairy tale Adult Contemporary "mood album": I have to be in the MOOD to listen to it! :laugh:

Street Angel: Straight-forward, back to basics, Stevie-ditches-her-shawls album which was BADLY needed following Other Side Of The Mirror.

Trouble In Shangri La: Stevie's return to form, probably her most cohesive, strong, focused material since about '82.

I seem to be in the minority because I generally love TOSOTM and listen to Bella Donna the least :eek:. I love all of the albums but Rock A Little is probably my favorite. To make it easier I'd just go from the first album to the last and then see what you liked the most when you've finished them all. :)

You say this like it's a bad thing!

I agree, start with Bella Donna. Might as well just work your way up from there.

I really like OSOTM, too. It's distilled, concentrated Stevie-ness. When I'm really in the particular frame of mind to enjoy it, I think it's a wonderful concept/mood album... and wish Stevie would have done more like it.

I can also see why you wouldn't necessarily like Bella Donna. In many ways, it was what her male superiors (ie: Iovine) thought she should sound like: straight forward, simple, guitar driven rock that could compete with the guys. Though Edge is a classic, I can't help but think the production couldn't be a worse match for the lyrics, and isn't very "Stevie" at all. Stevie definitely stepped out of the shadow of others for her next albums.

It's interesting, Rock A Little used to be my most hated Stevie album. I thought it was wretchedly cheesy '80s trash. I think it just might be my fav these days, too. Perhaps because it seems less dated now: so many current acts are reviving those '80s sounds in a retro way. I think Rock A Little is just a solid, tight, upbeat little rock-pop album these now... great house cleaning music! :thumbsup:

Buying the albums chronologically would be neat for someone who's never heard them all! It'd be cool to hear how Stevie progressed/stumbled throughout her career. I kinda wish I'd done that when I started buying up Stevie and Mac albums 17 years ago, but that was in the days before the internet was in most homes, no amazon.com, etc. Finding old Mac/Stevie albums in the early/mid '90s as a teen living in small town rural North Carolina was damned near impossible. I just bought what I could find, when I found it. Still enjoyed the ride, though!

great minds...

Do it chronologically is my suggestion so start with BD. Can't really go wrong here. And make sure you you keep us updated as to what you like/dislike.

I'd say start from the beginning. I think that would be the best.
I listen to Bella Donna, The Wild Heart, and Rock a Little the most along with Trouble in Shangri-la. That's probably because those are the only ones I have.
As for TOSOTM and Street Angel I can't give my opinion because I haven't listened to either whole album. But the ones I've heard I like :)

I hope you tell us what you think of them!!!

Well put Louie. Iovine & those at Modern/Atlantic initially set out to frame Stevie in a different light, than the hippie-dippie, moon loving, doe-eyed spoiled rock star that dogged her reputation in Fleetwood Mac at that time. Iovine wanted a more muscular, straight-forward rock and roll production, while yielding to her country-tinged roots. The result was a solid effort with restraint and moments of pure brilliance. Only after the huge success of Bella Donna was Stevie afforded to show more of her "Stevie-ness", and that definitely came out in spades on the emotional roller-coaster that is "The Wild Heart"! While her critic's panned her as a caricature of herself and overly self indulgence, her fan's only became more rabid and wrapped up in the myth and world she created which would all come crumbling down around her while making Rock A Little - which is a raw,non-stop jet-fueled, experiment in rock and roll excess. Which is why it remains one of my favorite era's in Stevie career.

And Louie, you are right, The sound of the 80's & synthesizers are making a BIG comback with the likes of Lady Gaga (listen to several tracks off the Fame Monster, esp. Dance in the Dark) La Roux "Bulletproof" etc., and suddenly Rock A Little sounds relevant again. Besides "Rock A Little" was never one of those mid 80's sound-alikes, Stevie left her unique charm & style all over this record whether the songs were written by her, co-written, or covered, RAL remains Stevie's toughest & most fierce recording EVER!! While "The Wild Heart" is Stevie at her most exposed & vulnerable, which is why it was such an easy target for critics at the time.

[QUOTE=louielouie2000;901606]I don't think you can go wrong with Bella Donna. Most everyone seems to agree that's her strongest album. It has a very cohesive, unified purpose about it. Most of her later albums were heavily, heavily overproduced... you can't say that about Bella Donna. These songs have breathing room, and that's what speaks volumes about the individual songs.

Over the past nearly 20 years, I've found a way to enjoy all of Stevie's albums, though. There are some I have to be in a very particular mood to hear, but they all have some form of redeeming quality about them. Let me give you my one sentence summary of each album:

Bella Donna: Stevie comes out swinging!

Wild Heart: Overly sappy and reeks of bloated ego.

Rock A Little: Cocaine fueled '80s pop-rock goodness!

Other Side Of The Mirror: The fairy tale Adult Contemporary "mood album": I have to be in the MOOD to listen to it! :laugh:

I shall start with Bella Donna (and pester my FM friend to make me a copy of it) and work my way from there. I'll try and keep you posted on my thoughts.

Funny, the only solo FM album I really heard was Go Insane, and that was...to put it mildly, strange.

I would say start with "Bella Donna" which is classic Stevie and contains all of the elements of what makes her who she is.

"The Wild Heart" is really more of the same, but to a lesser extent.

"Rock A Little" is your typical 80's synthesizer heavy pop album.

"The Other Side Of The Mirror" is sort of Stevie's "wall of sound" album, she kind of gets lost in the production.

"Street Angel" is Stevie completely lost in a klonopin haze.

"Trouble In Shangri-La" is the bright eyed girl who made Bella Donna having returned from "the other side" and having seen the dark side of fame and survived it.

Of course to sample all of the above pick up "TimeSpace" or "Crystal Visions".

My recommendations from each album (non-hits):
BD: How Still My Love, Bella Donna
WH: Beauty and the Beast, Nightbird, Sable on Blond
RAL: Rock a Little, Some Become Strangers, The Nightmare
OSOTM: Cry Wolf, Alice
SA: Street Angel
TISL: Trouble in Shangri-La, Fall From Grace

If you'd like I can upload these songs for you on mediafire and you can just download them from there.

You forgot Sister Honey, but I'm glad someone else likes Alice.

I'd say 'go to a used cd store and buy as many as they have', most should be priced at $4 or under. Then, for fun, I'd play them in this order:
1. Rock A Little- tell yourself 'I Can't Wait' and dive into Stevie at her most indulgent, but with a lot of good stuff- 'I Can't Wait', 'Imperial Hotel', 'Sister Honey', 'No Spoken Word', 'Talk To Me' and other fan favorites like 'Some Become Strangers'- her voice is way off on the title track and 'I Sing For The Things,' but otherwise, the wonderfully ragged vocals work surprisingly well on this 'very 80s' album! "If I Were You" is not to be missed, though many have forgotten about the hooky, pop confection that this song is.
2. Bella Donna- play that second, because as Louie already informed you, it's very well-produced and spacious, and is widely regarded as her best solo work. And it has 'Edge of 17' :)
3. The Other Side Of The Mirror- in my (minority) opinion, this is the best-written album of Stevie's entire career, thus far. It is overblown and overproduced, but as a lyricist, this is Stevie's shining hour. So many great songs on this album. High gloss production to cover some incredibly raw emotions- 'Doing The Best That I Can,' 'Long Way To Go' and 'Ghosts' should hit ya hard, in a good way :)
4. Wild Heart is probably Stevie in her best voice, in my opinion. The title track is incredible. Skip the next 4 tracks for later, if ya want to, and jump to Track 6 and 'Stand Back' and play the rest of the lp/cd to conclusion. (Then, go back and play the missing tracks!)
5. Trouble In Shangri La can be bought at many cd stores I've been to on the East Coast for 2.99. It's way better than that!
While it's a mature, good album, it suffers a bit from a too-sterile approach to many of her vocals and sounds Pro-Tooled to death. The best cuts were produced by John Shanks. Start with those- 'Planets of The Universe' and 'Fall From Grace'.
The Sheryl Crow-produced tracks come across too-stilted, because while the overall sound of the songs is fine, I think SC didn't want to 'tell' Stevie she could do better, vocally, or they just equalized all of the character out of Stevie's vocals in post-production- 'Candlebright' should have stunned, and almost does- but Stevie's pitch is a bit too shrill on it, and SC wouldn't tell her or 'fix' the final mix to show off Stevie to her best. It's one of her best songs and she took 30 years to release a 'formal' version of it. The mega-production, for me, works, but Stevie's vocal is not what it should have been (or may have been, even, before ProTools).
(To hear Stevie produced well by Sheryl, you'd need to check out earlier soundtracks to 'Boys On The Side' ($3 tops at used stores, with just one Stevie vocal on it, but she sounds incredible on it) and 'Practical Magic' for the fantastic 'If You Ever Did Believe' and a totally drowsy version of 'Crystal'; you may not like it at first, but as it fades, the song kicks in like a painkiller with a Cognac tracer. I love the fade. Many Stevie fans note how awesome she is on the 'fades' of her songs.
Get around to 'Street Angel', ' and The Soundstage Sessions' when you can, good stuff within, if not 'essential Stevie', both are worthwhile.
Or, if you have a few more expendable bucks, you could disregard all of the above and buy the 'Enchanted' 3 cd box set first, you'll get much of her best up until 1998 that way.

Nikolaj, thank you for your post. I love reading what you have to say. If you ever write a novel, let me know. I'd enjoy reading it.:angel:

Thanks for the order, but I still think I should go chronological. Herwhole life at the time comes out through what she writes, and I wanna hear those ups and downs.

Lol I havent gotten to this one yet, but maybe this is why stevie isnt so big in europe. TOSOTM is her only hit album over here and if you ask someone to name a stevie song the only one they tend to be able to come up with is Rooms on Fire.