Julia NEEDS to be released
 

I am BEYOND thrilled over the new album, but I was hoping and praying that "Julia" would make it on the album. It's totally a classic that never got it's chance.

Maybe on the '12/13' Mac album...

Welcome to the Ledge! :wavey:

I've often wondered what the story is behind Julia... why it never made an album, or wasn't released as a B-side. To me, you can just hear the way Stevie sings it that she loves the song. I've heard countless versions of it, and I definitely believe it to be a fully fleshed out work. I can't say I see Julia being released at this point... but stranger things have indeed happened. I never thought we'd see Stevie record Sorcerer, or The Tower (Goodbye Baby), or even Secret Love. But we've gotten all those this past decade. So who knows... keep your fingers crossed!

Somebody on here said that Julia was so close to being on Bella Donna that album art had been done showing it on the track list. Apparently, Jimmy Iovine hated the song and insisted that it be pulled. It was recorded again for The Wild Heart and again he vetoed it.

I like it a lot - I think my preferred version is the one labeled "slower outtake" that I think is from The Wild Heart. Unfortunately, I think Julia's time has come and gone. If they ever do a remastered/expanded edition of Bella Donna, maybe they'll include it.

Also, over on the Nicks Fix, there's a Q&A w/ Lori Nicks and somebody asked her what her favorite unreleased demo/outtake was. After a brief rant about how she & Stevie hate the fact that these things are out there (whatevs), she says that Julia is her favorite unreleased track, and basically just expresses her love for it.

It absolutely should have been on Bella Donna. It would have fit in with the overall feeling perfectly. Probably as the first song on side 2, Move Edge to either the closing of either side, and drop (well, I wouldn't know what to drop, everything feels classic to me on that album) but drop SOMETHING.

I love everything about what Jimmy did with Stevie's career, but not releasing that song to me, is what FM not releasing Silver Springs is to Stevie. Pure crime.

Good to see a new face around here! Welcome to the ledge :)

I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere along the road they release a special edition of Bella Donna with it and some other demos on there. And with Lori saying it is her favorite, maybe she will convince Stevie that she needs to do something with it!

I'm at work right now so I can't check, but if I remember correctly one of the pictures in the Enchanted booklet is of Stevie holding up a page of lyrics and if you look at it closely it's the lyrics to Julia. I've always wondered if she did that on purpose or not.

"Julia" is one of those great epic rockers in the vein of "Bella Donna" and "Wild Heart," but I do understand why Jimmy pushed to have it nixed from the album(s). It's just one of those songs that don't really stand well on its own. It's not a song that you would hear on the radio. The subject matter is very specific (about Stevie, of course) and it does not have universal themes. In a nutshell, it's a big sloppy love letter written by Stevie to Stevie. I suppose if albums back in the day were as long as they are today, "Julia" would have made the cut. But as it is, I think Bella Donna in its current form is perfection. Adding "Julia" would have definitely altered the mood they were trying to create with the sequencing.

Yes, it's there! So wild that Stevie was referencing and showing all thse unreleased songs in Enchanted ~ "Julia", "She Still Loves Him", "Watch Chain", "Mirror, Mirror" (very different lyrics on that sheet!).

Iovine hated "Julia" and took it off of Bella Donna. Stevie re-recorded it for The Wild Heart here in Dallas with producer Gordon Perry, who told me that Iovine, as the main producer, cut "Julia" yet again, in his distaste for the song. "Julia" is Gordon's favourite Stevie song, BTW, along with "All The Beautiful Worlds", which he also produced here in Dallas in 1982 for The Wild Heart, and Jimmy vetoed it as well.

NO to Fleetwood Mac doing "Julia"!!! Just put it on a remastered Bella Donna and The Wild Heart! I cringe just thinking of LB's voice on it, NO piano... >shudder<

Tragic! ATBW is one of my favorite unreleased Stevie songs of all. I like the forcefulness of it coupled with the fragility of her voice on some lines, like "Ooh you say you're leaving baby, and you don't want to tell me why..." I've always thought it was a tragedy that that song never went anywhere!

So "All the Beautiful Worlds" was recorded for The Wild Heart AND Rock a Little? I have a pristine HQ version of ATBW that sounds like it was recorded during RAL, but I could be mistaken since I don't know the provenance of the recording. Is the Wild Heart version circulating as well, or are these one and the same?

Interesting. I've only ever heard one version of ATBW, and it's definitely from The Wild Heart.

I think ‘Julia’ was influenced by the movie starring Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076245/

In some old interview, Stevie (though not in reference to the song itself, but to the film) said that she was very much like the Lillian Hellman character, and her late friend Robin Anderson was like Julia.

So in some obscure way, it’s probably about Stevie’s friendship with Robin.

Or maybe it's a tribute to Julia Child. :D



P.S. Seeing Stevie tomorrow!!!!! (Montreal show, April 1) :] :] :] :] :]

I am pretty sure Vanessa Redgrave played Julia in that movie too right? Strangely, years later Vanessa played in Nip/Tuck with her daughter Joely Richardson, and Joely's character was named... JULIA! What a strange world.

What is the best, clearest version of Julia?

my personal fav of Julia.

That was a very enjoyable video for me, going down memory lane with all those photos and videos.

I totally agree that Julia should be released. One of my absolute favorites. I also think Forest of the Black Roses should be released as well.

Agreed.

I've always seen this song being left as-is. Very short, and sweet - like an interlude between two other songs. Tori Amos does this a lot, with tracks like Wampum Prayer and Mr. Zebra.

In a 1986 interview with Mary Turner, Stevie talked about the movie Julia, where she got the names for Lily and Julia for herself and Robin. "Julia" and "Rock A Little" use those names, and "Impossible Task" is basically the story of the movie Julia.

The last time I wanted a demo to see the light, "Smile At You" was recorded. I will never wish my precious "Julia" to that kind of torture. It's beautiful the way it is. We have the ultimate version...why ruin it?

Does anyone know if this is the Belladonna version or the Wild Heart version? I'm quite sure this is the infamous "Take 5". And yeah, it's my favorite one too. To me this is the definitive version. I think it captures a time, the era and a time in Stevie's life. I don't think I'd want to hear a modern version of it unless Stevie wanted to dust it off and do it in concert. It's not a raw demo like Secret Love or Planets, it's a full song. Would be nice as a bonus track on a remaster though.

But in the song "Julia," Julia=Stevie. :shrug: It's another one of those kinda bitter songs (aimed at Fleetwood Mac, I believe) that Stevie cloaks under a layer of buoyant melodies and harmonies. I have grown to appreciate this subversive aspect of her songwriting. Indeed, under the gossamer wings is a sheathed stiletto.

Great complication video ! Thanks so much for sharing that, it made Julia even better than it already is ! :xoxo: It's my fav. Julia also. That was a great timeline of Stevie. I'd forgotten about some of those shots. Thanks again !

That was me.....there was an actual mock-up of the artwork at Modern with it listed while I was interning.
And, yes, if a remastered version of BELLA DONNA is ever released, this track, "I Need To Know" and "Golden Braid" need to be on it!!!

Does anyone know where I can find the lyrics to this song? I checked NicksFix--not there.. Thanks!:wavey:

It is kind of odd that "I Need To Know" has never been issued on CD, given what a staple it was in her live show for years. I like the version from the HBO special the best (I transferred the audio of that from laserdisc).

With regard to "Gold & Braid", it sure would be nice to get a fully realized studio version from the Bella Donna sessions. The various outtakes I have heard from master reels bootlegs all come up short in one way or another. In some cases the vocal is fine but too low in the mix, some takes are obviously a scratch vocal, or in other cases the instrumental backing is sketchy. I'm sure the pieces are there to create a nice studio version of "Gold & Braid" from the BD sessions but I doubt it will ever happen.

Another "nice to have" would be to take the best outtake of "Julia" and finish it out with appropriate instrumentation and final mix. It sounds like it got very close to a finished product but was abandoned before being polished up. Again, highly unlikely this would ever happen. The same concept could be applied to any number of "close but not quite finished" studio-recorded songs.

I agree that Bella Donna is perfect the way it is, and although I like Julia a lot, I wouldn't alter the current track order. I also don't think Stevie should re-record it. What I'd like to see is for it to be cleaned up and properly mixed and added as a bonus track to a remastered edition of Bella Donna (there are enough leftover songs from that project to make a whole other album - and they're good songs!).

Did "Julia" get replaced by another song, or were there 11 on Bella Donna?

All Stevie lyrics are at buckinghamnicks.net ~ John used to have "Julia" lyrics on the NicksFix, until 1997 when he was officially recognized!

"Julia"
Written by Stevie Nicks.

I will ride through the snow
in an old-fashioned carriage,
Drawn by a small, golden horse...
She runs like the wind...yeah...

When I run through your door,
I am freed from my slavery...
And the fire will be burning
long before you return to me...

For in my house,
no teasing spirits...
No false laughter...
No one has to tell me
to be there...no one...
I'll be there...
And I would suffer for the love,
I would suffer for the love...
I would cry to be moved...

I do two things these days,
and these nights,
Julia is no fool...
People ask me,
they ask me,
they say, "So, Julie,
just what is it that
you do now?"
She does two things...
Two things...
Well, in the light of sunset,
she does the stars
and she does you...

I love the stars...
I give to you
what I love...
Who is the child
who disregards
all your rules...?
I would suffer for the love,
and I would cry
to be moved...

I do two things these days...
And these nights,
Julia is no fool...
People ask me,
they ask me,
they say, "So, Julie,
just what is it that
you do now...?"
Well, she does two things,
two things...
Well, in the light of sunset,
she does the stars...
and she does you...

No fool...
She does two things...
Two things...
Well, in the light of sunset,
she does the stars
and...she loves you...

She loves the stars...
She loves her stars...

(Suffer for the love...)
(Cry...cry...)

She loves the stars,
and she loves you...

[QUOTE=mikebise;957803]All Stevie lyrics are at buckinghamnicks.net ~ John used to have "Julia" lyrics on the NicksFix, until 1997 when he was officially recognized!

Thank you so much!:xoxo:

My mom's name is Julie, so I made her a cd of 18 different takes of Julia one year, with the most polished versions I had available. She fell in love with it & still asks me to this day when it's going to show up on a SN or FM album. I just sigh & tell her that her guess is just as good as anyone else's... :shrug:

I love Julia as well and would rank it among the top 5 unreleased studio songs ever behind The Dealer/Mistress of My Fate, All The Beautiful Worlds, and Gold And Braid. I'd also add Jimmy Come On Back behind Julia.

And although I do love this version and is my fave so far, I do think Dave Stewart could knock it out of the park as well. But I do agree it should NOT be on an FM album. yuck. Stevie has to record at least 1 more solo album and include the songs above. PLEASE lol

As for Bella Donna - I know I am in the minority, but it is not perfect to me. I never could click with Kind of Woman or Highway Man and although I can enjoy Think About It, I do think the songs above are better. And if Julia belonged on any album with it's country-tinge, then it should be Bella Donna. It fits with the instrumentation style of the title track, After The Glitter Fades, etc...

As far as I know ATBW is only a Wild Heart outtake.

:shocked:
Well damn I had no idea the're that many....

Let me rip them all to my laptop & I'll post what I've got, I think I have 2 whole discs worth of different versions...

EDIT: Just checked & I've got 21 versions. They are labeled as follows:

Demo part 1 (9:38)
Demo part 2 (8:06)
2/14/81 take 1 (5:58)
2/14/81 take 2 (5:58)
2/14/81 take 3 (6:24)
2/14/81 take 3-vox (6:20)
2/14/81 take 4 (6:38)
2/14/81 take 4-vox (6:10)
2/14/81 take 5 (6:38)
2/14/81 take 5-vox (6:35)
2/14/81 take 6 (6:40)
2/14/81 take 6-vox (6:23)
2/14/81 take 7 (6:21)
2/14/81 take 7-vox (6:09)
6/4/81 take 3 (5:47)
6/4/81 take 4 (5:51)
6/4/81 take 5 (6:16)
6/7/81 take 8 (6:18)
6/7/81 take 9 (6:19)
rough mix (6:20)
slow mix (6:31)

Will upload & post them soon as I get a chance. ;)

"Julia" #2
http://www.mediafire.com/?zzimzdylinl

"Julia" #11
http://www.mediafire.com/?miumoni4vyu

"Julia" #19
http://www.mediafire.com/?33smb3pf3l8jy31

"Julia" #20
http://www.mediafire.com/?1asdykv5fumn6pe

"Julia" piano demo (edit)
http://www.mediafire.com/?mrydhrdmezn

Thank you, Mike, for sharing these in lossless... after all, you can never get too much of "Julia"! :D

As much as I ADORE Julia, I completely agree with everything you said here, Ed. That being said.... who knows? Maybe it'll pop up on another solo album, although I'm inclined to believe that if she wanted to put it on an album and the Jimmy Iovine speculation is right, it would'e been on sometime between 1989 and now.

Since Stevie has gone so over-the-top... well, Stevie for In Your Dreams (as we've seen though the mystical sizzle reel), I think she should rerecord all of her super self-indulgent, overly poetic songs and put them on one album :lol: "Julia" and "Forest of the Black Roses" would definitely be on that.

Anybody else out there not love Julia? I mean, it's o.k. but nothing to rave about in my mind. Might be a little too country-ish for me however I do think it would have fit in well on Bella Donna and since it makes so many of you happy I wish it had been on there. I just never felt much love for this particular song and I sure as heck don't need 18 takes lol.