Thoughts on Running Through the Garden
 

I'm sure this has been discussed before but what are your thoughts on this song on Say You Will? I much preferred the demo and wish it had been recorded in a more similar way to that. I don't like Lindsey on it.

It would have made a good solo single in my opinion.

I do like both the demo and studio versions, even though it's not the best quality (the version I have anyways, I don't know if there are different versions floating around or not) there's something I like about the demo version a bit more. Either way it is one of my favorite FM songs. :D

i love the song in every form...but i think it shoulda coulda woulda been better if she saved it for a solo album.

I love the demo, and would give up a lot to have it in HQ, I think it's really amazing. I love the vocals, the overdubbing, it's just amazing. Really baffled why it wasn't on RAL.

That said, I also love the SYW version. She sounded more alive on that song than she did for years. and that guitar solo of Lindsey's is incredible.

All in all, I think it's one of Stevie's better songs, period. I don't quite understand why it seems to be such a under-rated song :laugh:

This is a great song, and I agree that Stevie should have saved it for a solo release.
Actually, I think the RAL outtake (the widely circulated and muffled sounding version) strikes me as being a complete and mixed version to my ears, just a bad copy, and would have sounded fantastic on Rock A Little as is. Her vocal is fierce - all that wailing & the double harmony/vocal by Stevie is very effective. I'm thinking this must have been one of the original songs intended for the initial RAL/Mirror Mirror release, but was shelved around the time Jimmy left the project outright and Stevie resumed recording more music with other writers and producers.

RAL probably has the most recorded outtakes of any of Stevie's solo releases and is easily the most fascinating Stevie era of all for me. These sessions would be a treasure trove of material waiting to surface.
Rock A Little is a very solid record as is, I think it gets a bad rap mostly because of the so called dated "80's sound" (which incidentally is all the rage now) and Stevie's ultra-whiskey rasp vocals - Which I L O V E D! IMO Stevie best records so far are Bella Donna, Trouble In Shangri-La, Rock A Little & The Wild Heart in that order. OSOTM & Street Angel each have some golden moments.:angel:

I love Running Through the Garden on SYW and it would have made a great single, I think. Full-on vocals, full of hooks and clever production tricks that make it a joy to listen to every time.

I don't like the SYW version as much as the demo but I still wish they had performed this live more often! I guess Stevie had some issue with it?

I don't like it at all. One of the worst songs on SYW in my opinion. The demo version is better but I still don't even like that. The melody just doesn't appeal to me and there's something about Stevie and her garden songs that rub me the wrong way :shrug:.

No pun intended, right? ;)

I don't think the song is terrible. It's just not one I remember. It never stuck out to me and it went on the wrong album. However, I really like the Gate and Garden because of the harmonies and the nuances.

Actually, intended ;). Glad you caught that, I was hoping you would. :xoxo:

Hehehe...I just have a dirty mind. That's all.

I happen to actually LOVE "Running Thru The Garden" and think it's the best song on SYW. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. ;)

I agree with Christopher that the Rock A Little version sounds very complete. Lots of different instruments, some great Stevie overdubs... I just wish we had better sound quality.

I love Stevie's voice on the Say You Will version, but do not like LB's vocals on it at all. But I can live with this as the only perfect sound quality "Running Through The Garden" we have.

I do have some Say You Will outtakes of "Running Through The Garden", which mostly consist of different mixes of the album version, some of which put an even weirder synth on Stevie's voice. It's almost like techno feedback on one of them. Most of the so-called "outtakes" from Say You Will are very lame, just slightly different mixes (although it's kinda cool to have the Stevie-only version of "Miranda").

Good song, but the demo...eh.

It's truthfully the only song from SYW I still listen to, and I think it's pretty great. LB is totally fine on it.

A what now? I've never heard of this, I'd definitely be very interested in hearing it if anyone could post it!

I thought, for the longest time, that Christine was singing on RTTG. It turns out that Lindsey likes to impersonate both female singers, I guess :laugh:

I'm listening to it now. I guess it's just the album version with LB's lead vocals stripped off. I have no idea ~ I've never once listened to any of his songs on Say You Will. The only reason I uploaded this to my iTunes is because it was labeled as "Miranda (Stevie Vocals)". I think it's just her backing vocals, minus LB's leads. And a bunch of his whining near the ending.

OMG you are missing out. Lindsey's songs on SYW are stellar! He should of made it his solo album.

Okay, I will try to post this weird outtake mix of "Running Through The Garden" from Say You Will tomorrow. Very different...

Don't bother trying to sell me on him, it won't work. His songs are thankful beer & bathroom breaks for me in between Stevie's songs in concert.

No offense to his fans, but I'm not, nor will I ever be one.

Also found a cool alternate mix of "Say You Will" as well!!!! :)

I'm with you hun, but Come and Murrow Turning Over are superb! Will you listen to them several times for me? I know ya love me! And I am soooo not an LB fan!

Thanks Mikebise! I'm really excited to hear any SYW alt/outtake material. Looking forward to it!! :blob1:

LOL!:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Running Through The Garden is hands down one of my favourite Stevie songs.. Any version.. But then I also love the SYW version of Smile At You

Dude I'm an avid Stevie fan and Lindsey isn't my favourite but man oh man are his songs on SYW something to write home about..
Any chance that album had with my gen was with his songs, not that, that makes them great songs in itself

No offence to Stevie and her enormously fantastic songs on SYW..

His songs were fantastic!

Love RTTG. It's one of my favorite songs on SYW. Love everything about it and especially Lindsey's guitar solo at the end. Stellar!

Out of Stevie's SYW songs, I'd arrange them in this order:

Truly great Stevie songs:
Thrown Down
Say You Will
Illume

Very good Stevie songs:
Destiny Rules
Smile At You

Decent Stevie songs:
Goodbye Baby
Not Make Believe
Everybody Finds Out

Okay Stevie song:
Running Through The Garden
Silver Girl

I think the production mars "Silver Girl", making it slow, ponderous and boring. I just couldn't get into the melody of "Running through the Garden"...it just seems like lots of guitars, strange garden metaphors, and there's really nothing that mystical or poetic about it.

We talking bout the same song?? Perhaps it's because your not "getting" the garden metaphors that you find it "so-so"..

But as was said "different strokes for different folks"

Running Through The Garden is Viv's favorite SN song on SYW. Murrow Turning Over In His Grave is Viv's favorite LB song on SYW.

The album should have been titled: Steal Your Heart Away

I"ll get butchered for this but i cannot stand Illume and Say You Will is a weak, watered down AOR track.

It will be this afternoon after work. From what I remember, there are:

"Running Through The Garden" ~ Alt. mix
"Say You Will" ~ 2 alt. mixes
"Miranda" ~ Stevie vocals
"Illume" ~ Alt. mix

Maybe a few others...

I love the production on Illume and it is probably my favorite song from her on Say You Will. However, I don't really consider it a song. She just pieced lyrics from various things and it sounds like two different songs molded into one. I'm past that stuff. I want a song that makes sense. They did a really good job conveying that "Set Adrift" feeling on the song with the music. Too bad the lyrics aren't there to support it.

The other night, I was listening to my iPod in bed, and Silver Girl came on shuffle, I was so tired that I didn't hit skip, and instead listened to the song. And I fell in love with it. Apart from a few hideous lyrics, it's actually a pretty damn good song. With some amazing production.

See I actually like the lyrics to Silver Girl. I think she wrote a song that actually captures Sheryl Crow. But the song is bland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rappaccini's_Daughter

Like someone said on the Smile at You thread.... I look at the demo and album version as two different songs.... I like them both... maybe the demo a little more because of the battling stevie vocals... and i always look at it as one of her addiction tracks. "so you run towards what you know is wrong"
and Artemis...love your Mew pic... my cat (that i had to put down last year) was named Pikachu!!

I love Running Through The Garden and actually think it should have been the lead off single to SYW. I also think Silver Girl is a good song. It takes something tho to hit you before one realizes it's brilliance in its own way. Like a lot of her songs, they may seem bland or monotone at first and then she's chanting or screaming or something at you or nothing at all but something lyrically hits you and you get why the music supports the effect she meant all along.

Never been nuts about this song, even before SYW came out and it was just a demo. Musically, it rocks... lyrically, let's just say I'm not a big fan of Stevie's fascination with fairy tales. I definitely scratched my head when SYW came out as to why she'd drag that particularly dusty old demo out. I do have to say I think the guitar solo at the end is flawless :nod:.

Well, I share Stevie's love for Poe, Hawthorne, etc., so I like the lyrics. The demo is kinda muddy (and it's not just the sound quality) - I never liked the "dueling vocals" thing that people are so nuts about. The SYW version is cleaned up quite nicely, and I enjoy LB's presence on it.

The lyrics from the horrible audio tracks (quality) from the 80s versions are by far more potent than the SYW release. It seems this is an example of, "OH this is Fleerwood Mac and we are so experimental and 99 layers of noise added to the song makes me feel I'm missing what's she's trying to relay. The word "toxic" was added...and that word was used on every bubblegum record from that era. I missed the lyric..."don't trust her..."

Also this song in the original mix is reminiscent of songs sung in the "round" which I love...Destiny, Thrown Down, can't rember the others.

I think anyone that has been through addictions either personally or with a loved one...will clearly get the haunting warnings....and words. They ring true.

Wasn't she going with Joe Walsh and their combined addiction stuff was a quick and easy potential death for either or both.