I'm Sorry but I Don't Love IYD (Yet)
 

I will attempt to articulate this the best that I can but please remember guys - this is a discussion board and we are going to have differing opinions. If we all felt exactly the same about everything it could get quite boring. You guys know I am a die-hard chiffonhead and defend Stevie till I'm blue in the face but I just can't bring myself to gush over this album. Here's why:
I've given the album a listen of the last few days and did not want to make my initial assessment until I gave it a chance so here it goes....
Let's start with the good. This album is epic in so many ways and I would consider it a huge comeback album. I am so proud of our girl and even more glad that she's happier than she's ever been. That means the world to me whether or not this is or isn't her best album of all time. From a critical and musical standpoint the album is phenomenal. Her vocals are better than they've been in at least 25 years. They are strong, confident, she's hitting higher notes, and really feeling the music. That is very obvious to me. Dave did a stellar job in bringing Stevie out of her shell and giving her the guidance and confidence she's needed to make a record like this. The album is coherent and definitely showcases Stevie's talents as a true poet with songs like Moonlight and Annabel Lee. Dave really worked magic in turning her poems into songs. I also enjoy the political messages behind New Orleans and Soldier's Angel. Our girl has balls and feels passionate about so many things. I love that she incorporated these elements into the album in addition to the unicorns and lace.
Now, with that being said, on to the things I'm not so thrilled with. First of all, after listening it each song at least 20 times, I cannot tell you the one that stands out among st the others for me. Where's my Rooms on Fire, a dynamic lead single and best song of the album by far. I cannot get into For What It's Worth, Cheaper Than Free, or Everybody Love's You. My initial fear about her working with Dave is that the album would be too country and to a certain extent I was right. That's not to say I can't love a good country song because I do but these songs do not appeal to me. The album is very organic and what most would consider true rock and roll incorporating some blues at the same time. I however do not prefer that kind of music. Call me crazy but I like a little electric guitar mixed with some drum machines and synth, I can't help it. I'm not saying that that would be fitting on this album because it wouldn't but that is the sound I like. One of the things I love about TISL is that not only does it have some great rockers on there but it incorporates elements of electronica (Planets, TISL) and I think these songs contributed to making it a more diverse album than IYD. It's beginning to bother me less and less but it will always be true that the songs Stevie wrote the lyrics and melody for will hold a special place in my heart and IYD only has 4. I know Stevie got to much satisfaction out of writing songs with Dave but I stand strong behind my believe that I prefer songs she wrote the melody and lyrics too.
Songs I do like are Secret Love simply because it's better than a lot of songs on there but not that it's such a great song. I LOVE the sentiment behind Soldier's Angel and the music is compelling and powerful in a simple way. If I had to pic a favorite it would be WSS simply due to the killer music in the chorus. Annabell I love because I disliked the demo and like this version so that's a wild card. In Your Dreams is very catchy and fun but again, nothing that I would die over and not comparable to the other title tracks. I'm not going to go through all the rest of the songs because I think I've given a good indication of my initial feelings on the album as a whole.
*The most important thing to keep in mind is that my opinion could TOTALLY change once I listen to the album more. I have no doubt some songs will grow on me but all I know is that the first time I've listened to Stevie's other albums I've loved songs right off the bat and I don't love anything right away here but again, I'm optimistic that some will grow on me. In closing, I want to say that I'm so proud of Stevie and even more proud that all of you, her biggest fans, love the album. Feel free to dispute me on any of these points but it's just my opinion.
-Lindsay

I'm not sure anyone can dispute a personal preference. If you don't like it, you don't like it. I don't really detect a country flavor from the album at all. Several songs have a definite "roots rock" vibe (reminiscent of Bonnie Raitt), tho. Which I love, but if you prefer music that's more "electronic," I can see you not caring for it.

I will say that it's interesting hearing about other people's perceptions of what "country" is. I had a friend who thought Gold Dust Woman was country. :lol:

Well, I don't know how much this will make you feel better - but I'm fairly certian that the songs she co-wrote with Dave, she DID write the melody for. He played chord progressions and such and she sang her poetry over them, therefore creating the vocal melody of the song.

I'm sorry that the sound of the album isn't really what you prefer :( That's a bummer I'm sure, but maybe with more time you will grow to love it! For me, I was the opposite, I had to get used to stuff like I Can't Wait and Rooms on Fire because of the synths and such. After repeated listening it really grew on me and I came to appreciate it. I for one, really dislike country music but I don't mind what a lot of people call Stevie's versions of it for whatever reason. I guess they are enough on the border (even stuff like ATGF and The Highwayman) that I still like them. On this album, I hear stuff like For What It's Worth and In Your Dreams as more classic sounding rock/pop than anything. For What It's Worth is more of a folk song in my opinion. You May Be The One definitely has a blues vibe.

And, regarding the lack of a definite best song - look at that as a good thing! They are all so good that one simply doesn't stand out as the best, thanks to the caliber of the others! :) :lol:

I can totally see where you are coming from, when I first listened to the stream, I loved 4 songs, and thought the rest were either passable or dull. The problem was that I had been anticipating and dreaming of an album full of songs like Moonlight, Rock A Little, Sable On Blond etc, so I was kind of taken aback by the number of reasonably straightforward rootsy and rock songs. Once I properly listened to them for what they were, I found I actually really like most of them.

That's ok.....just fine. Everyone has they're preference. No need to apologize. I'm afraid I'll do the reverse of you. I love it now but I'm afraid my opinion will slide after the glitter fades lol. (cool reference..you saw what i did there?:laugh:)

Mick

i can understand what you mean.

i think for me, hearing it was going to be as good as bella donna put too high an expectation on it. i guess nothing can ever beat the bd and wh magic.

on tisl i loved songs like bombay sapphires and love changes and love is (even the title track too). it seemed she was progressing and growing in her music style. when i heard she wrote some songs in italy, i was hoping to hear some like those i just mentioned. i will say, italian summer is everything i thought and hoped it would be! :)

I guess I always took that claim with a grain of salt, so I wasn't disappointed when it wasn't. Bella Donna is still her zenith; I knew she'd never top it, but she doesn't have to.

My thoughts exactly. I pretty much attributed that to the excitement of a new release and such, and wasn't expecting myself to actually prefer it (or any other Stevie solo work really, at this point) to that album.

hi sister
 

I'm sorry you're not loving the cd....I'm a critical kinda guy when it comes to music and I have to agree that this is not a cd that has strong singles...there's no Standback, no edge of 17, no Sorcerer, no rooms on fire, no Talk to Me... in truth, I just don't care...I've become selfish as I've gotten older and I'm not obsessing about album sales...I'm only concerned if I connect with the music...and if I feel Stevie was able to put out a product that SHE believes in...like TISL....this cd makes me smile...her voice is in TOP form, it was not over-produced and she spoke from her heart. On Tuesday she WILL make a brief statement on Billboard( as a 63 yo woman rarely does) and she will garner the respect that a singing legend deserves. For What Its Worth, Italian Summer and Moonlight will be terrific additions to her musical legacy......I'm a happy consumer and a thrilled Stevie nicks fan....:angel:

that is true.

Exactly, and that's what I'm looking for...not in terms of being radio hits but just that kind of song for me and there's not one.

Wow it makes me feel sorry for you that this Cd isnt your taste too much ,because you are one of my "favorite fans" here... I like the way you talk about Stevie and everything :)
You are nearly as crazy bout her as i am ! ;)

I must say i was kind of overwhelmed the first like 2 times i heard the album as well.
It is somehow difefrent than the others and i loved the synth Music as well :D
It really took me a little to get it all , i had to focus. when i listened again like the 3 or 4th time i was really flashed by it. All out of sudden.
I mean i kind of liked it really before, but that moment the awesomeness hit me.
First i had to listen to everything , but i found it gets better and better the more you listen.
May be you just need more time to get into it.
Let us know , hope this makes any sense :)

Thanks sweetie, that totally makes sense and I'm sure I will get more into it as time goes on :).

I get where you're coming from but as I wrote in my review of the album. "I always considered "Bella Donna" Stevie's masterpiece and it remains so. "In Your Dreams" is also a masterpiece but painted in a different style using different colors."
I personally am not a fan of programmed drum machines and synthesizers and for that reason alone I feel RAL and to an extent WH sound dated. I really like the direction Stevie has taken on this album. To me this in no way can be compared to her previous work it is in a class by itself. The woman who made Bella Donna is not the same woman who made In Your Dreams.

I said I like this album better than Bella Donna, but I think your post is correct. They are two different things, and it's not fair of me to say that. Bella Donna has stood the test time for many reasons.

Yes i mean what i said. I like most of the people here but a few are sometimes very critical in a offensive way, you say your opinion in a appropriate way.
( dont forget i lurked a while before :rolleyes: :) )
And you love Stevie like i do, if you love the Album or not. :thumbsup:

I am sure there are songs that will grow on you with time, let us know :nod:

I can understand why some people have a certain expectation of what Stevie is supposed to be, both visually and musically. It's a conceptional ideal of what Stevie sometimes represents. It was an image that she has successfully constructed and mined for decades. Bella Donna is often cited as her zenith in that regard.

But consider this: She was in her early thirties when Bella Donna was made. It's now thirty-something years later. Think about how (if you're old enough) you have changed in that amount of time. Are you still dressing like you were then? Have your tastes and behaviors changed and evolved over time? That's part of life. If anything, Stevie's changes have been incremental, as compared to other artists who have really challenged their fans with drastic musical shifts. Stevie has been very consistent in her approaches.

For me, In Your Dreams shows that Stevie has finally made a (slight) shift in her approach. She's very late to the game, but it's still very Stevie. I don't understand all the senseless, hyper-critical blather going on here. Stevie has never been a critic's darling. Yet, now we are seeing the best reviews and praise she has ever had. You every right to express your opinions/dismay/dislike because it doesn't fit your concept of what you want Stevie to be. But Stevie is still Stevie, no matter what she does. She has progressed and moved forward. Apparentlyothers haven't. I, myself, have often complained that Stevie is stuck in the past, and I guess some fans want to keep her there.

Maybe it's a generational thing, but I think Itunes has done a lot of damage to the music industry, and how people process music. It's killed the entire experience of listening to body of work as a full entity. Now it's about instant gratifaction and dismissal of everything that doesn't "hit" you right away. So you immediately pick and choose what you like and don't like, hence statements like "I'm going to skip this or that song." In that self-righteous process you are actually denying yourself.

I skip nothing. I listen to albums as an entire experience. Sure, there are some parts I enjoy more than others, but it is what it is. Often I come to the realization, over time, that I can appreciate aspects of the work that I otherwise wouldn't. In other words, I'm not so quick to judge things. It's served me well in life, as it has with music.

I was none too amused by the country flair at first either. The songs that sound solidly country or country-tinged are numerous:

For What It's Worth
In Your Dreams
Ghosts Are Gone
You May Be The One
Cheaper Than Free

You could almost lump in:

New Orleans
Annabel Lee

Moonlight is the only stereotypical Stevie track. But now that I've heard the album at least a dozen times, I think the overall country-tinged sound just works. The album is very earthy and literal. This is not Other Side Of The Mirror. Stevie is singing about wars, natural disasters, death, loss of enchantment, etc. This is the first truly straightforward album Stevie has ever put out. I think that's why the folksy sound just works for it. You just can't sing about New Orleans or Walter Reed and put it to synth :sorry:. This is almost her little modern day protest album... done only the way Stevie Nicks would do a protest album. I think Stevie did a very smart thing with this record. The state of the world is total crap right now: wars, recession, nasty politics, etc. If she put out a dreamy, synthy album she would be lampooned and be derided as hopelessly out of touch. Instead, she put out an earthy, lyrically honest, approachable record. I think it was just plain smart, in my opinion. On top of that, when viewed as an entire work vs song to song, it's an excellent album. :nod:

I agree with this :)

Exellent Post Louie. It's her most cohesive album in years and it works. Could not have said it better. It's also the most passionate album she's made in years. that'....for me mind you......is what was lacking in past albums. PASSION.

Mick

For me, I loved most of the songs off the bat. The ones that took a little longer for me to appreciate were, "For What it's Worth", "Soldier's Angel", "New Orleans", and "Cheaper Than Free" - now I love those too after hearing them in a relaxed atmosphere and just really soaking them in. Maybe the same will happen to you Lindsay, but then maybe not. I hope it does though. :woohoo:

I'm so proud of Stevie's work on this album. Do you know for SURE that she didn't write the melodies on all but 4? I tend to think that she had to have at least had an IDEA of how it should sound. :shrug: If she didn't, then I'm still OK with it. They all still sound very Stevie-esque to me regardless.

I truly love this album and can't wait to have the CD in my hot little hands so I can blast it in my car and download it to my ipod. I've just been listening through the RS stream on my andriod phone. Someone here mentioned the audio quality on the CD will be much better than the stream, so I'm looking forward to that.

Bottom line, we all have different opinions about things, and some people don't like things that the majority does sometimes. For instance, I never got into the shows "Friends" or "Seinfeld", but they were hugely popular. So, to each his own, right?


Jamie

Like I said, it's interesting to see/hear what people's perceptions of "country" are. The only song that even hints at country, to me, is Cheaper Than Free. I'd describe most of the songs Louie mentioned as "roots rock," not country.

This is country:

Pardon me, but can you please point out specifically the hyper-critical blather you refer to? Did I miss something?
This has nothing to do with who I want Stevie to be.If you read my post thoroughly you will have picked up on how thrilled I am that she is where she is today. I think I made that pretty apparent. I'm also extremely happy about the critical success of this album so far. My point was that these songs are not necessarily in my tastes musically, Stevie or not.
I hope you are not speaking of me in particular because you have no idea who I am and/or how I've progressed.
You are making statements here that are clearly untrue in reference to anything I've said. Did you not hear me say I'm more than willing to give every song a chance and that these are my initial feelings? So what if I want instant gratification? Isn't that my right when I pay for music?


Another thing: Take your violet and blue mornings with you :p.

I like the more literal Stevie (mixed with some mysticism) way better than the codex

Hi Jame! Btw you were in my dream last night, for real lol!
In regards to whether or not she wrote the lyrics and melodies, somebody posted this in another thread:

The songwriting credits are as follows:

Secret Love (Stevie)
For What It's Worth (Words: Stevie; Music: Mike Campbell)
In Your Dreams (Words: Stevie; Music: Dave Stewart)
Wide Sargasso Sea (Words: Stevie; Music: Dave Stewart)
New Orleans (Words: Stevie; Music: Neale Heywood)
Moonlight (Stevie)
Annabel Lee (Music: Stevie; Words adapted from the Edgar Allan Poe poem "Annabel Lee"; Interlude Waddy Wachtel)
Soldier's Angel (Stevie)
Everybody Loves You (Words: Stevie & Dave; Music: Dave)
Ghosts Are Gone (Words: Stevie; Music: Dave Stewart)
You May Be The One (Words: Stevie; Music: Dave Stewart)
Italian Summer (Words: Stevie; Music: Dave Stewart)
Cheaper Than Free (Words: Stevie; Music: Dave Stewart)


Maybe I'm just taking this too literally and she did have something to do with the melodies. That's probably more than likely. In the end though I guess it doesn't matter - they are still her songs.

I hope your dream was something along the lines of that we were both at Sunset Sessions again with Stevie and she invited us over for drinks and a personal live show for us in her room. :blob1:
That would be epic.

Jamie

Stevie went into detail about the songwriting with Dave - he played stuff on the guitar, and she sang her poems over it. So Dave wrote the music and Stevie sang the melody and the lyrics. She came up with the melodies but they obviously had to be derived from/based around what chords Dave was playing, which is why he gets the credit for writing the music.

It's the same reason that, say, Lindsey didn't get credit for writing the music on Soldier's Angel even though I'm sure that Stevie didn't come up with his guitar part in her demo :lol:

I'm happy about the credits. First time she got credit in every song.

Yes, she did say that! I guess I don't know enough about song-writing to have realized that's what she meant. Thanks for clearing this up :).

The "Ghosts Are Gone" is Country just because it has some Slide Guitar in it? To me it sounds like a Rocker...The problem is that Country isn't country anymore...It's pop/Rock with a sprinkling of fiddles,mandolins and banjo's...And don't forget the required "Twang"...But hey that's my opinion...Since this album has been so long in the making plus the fact that we received numerous tweets on a daily basis from Dave Stewart for almost a year...Could it be that our expectations were more than could ever possibly be delivered?

I totally agree. Country today sounds like 75% of Bella Donna.

I'm confused...I have FWIW as being written by Nicks/Stewart and YMBTO by Nicks/Campbell...

on your CD credits?

Amen!!! I concur! Its a sweet collection from a mature, polished rock and roll singer...shes no longer strung out, overly medicated, and now in control of her life and career...youre not going to get the heavines of Doing The Best That I Can or The Nightmare...we've all grown up and changed...she has too

Well
 

I can't really say if I like it or not because I haven't really heard it all. :shrug: The only song that I've heard (& seen) it the free video from iTunes that was out, "Cheaper Than Free". I can't say that I thought it was all that great; it was just OK for me. I haven't even pre-ordered the CD. I'm still trying to decide whether to get it through B&N for the bonus track or just purchase it from iTunes or even Best Buy for just the 13 songs. And who does 13 songs anyway? Isn't that bad luck or something?:eek:

Lee :)

not for her, isn't there 13 in a coven :D

what a perfect way of describing it. i really like that. :)


i think it will help once i have the cd and not just hearing it on my little laptop, not very loud, distracted by other things. some songs caught me at first listen - like everybody loves you, moonlight, italian summer, cheaper than free, and a few more. soldiers angel i need to listen to a little more to feel it better. so far i hear a song or two, while balancing my checkbook online or answering an email, then get distracted by something, have to stop and go back later to listen to another few songs. once i get the cd i think i'll sit and savor it more like i usually do.

No it was posted here (Somewhere)
"For What It's Worth" (I had to say it) If you are having problems with the RS feed of IYD...I have posted STREAMING ONLY!!! A few tracks off IYD At the NicksianNation...STREAMING ONLY..NO DOWNLOADS!!! And just for kicks I swapped out "Moonlight" for Lady From The Mountians and "Annabel Lee" for the Annabel Lee demo...

those are the credits on the actual album, so don't pay attention to what you read before, pay attention to those

Dude, if that's what country sounds like to you, I guess this is what Rock is: :p



You are undoubtedly right that IYD songs are more roots rock than anything, though. I hear lots of references to Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Rosanne Cash, etc. All those ladies really kinda focused in roots rock in it's various flavors: country, blues, jazz, etc. Had those women risen in the music scene today, they'd undoubtedly be labeled as Country, though. So would male classic rockers like the Eagles. Country has become much more pop/rock the past 2 decades.