Is In Your Dreams too long?
 

So many reviews are saying this album is Stevie's best in 30 years. And I think they might be right.
But I went back to Bella Donna and remembered that it's only 10 songs long.

If a few of the weaker tracks had been left off of In Your Dreams, it would have been a really solid record from start to finish.

I burned a copy leaving off:

Secret Love (i remember loving the demo in the 70's but it doesn't hold up next to the much stronger tracks on the album).
Moonlight (sounds like something you'd hear on Grey's Anatomy. Starts off bland and goes nowhere).
Ghosts Are Gone (Generic arena rock - sounds like too many other mediocre songs - like an Eagles reject.
She's covered this ground before and it's just boring.)
Cheaper Than Free (The album ends so strong with Italian Summer. This one sounds like two aging drunk rock starts who stayed too late at the party. Too sappy for me).

If you take those off and play the record from start to finish, there's not a weak link in the bunch.

No
te53535n

:eek:

I feel just the opposite from you... I'd lose New Orleans... and Wide Sargasso Sea... and put MY HEART back on there as a mainstay

Funny how subjective songs are.
I love New Orleans - I think it's one of her best songwriting efforts in a long time.
And Wide Sargasso Sea is great - reminds me so much of something from Don Henley's first solo album.

Is My Heart anywhere on the internet?
Curious what it sounds like now that I know Mike Campbell wrote it.
For What It's Worth is my favorite track on the album.

Everybody Love You & Cheaper than Free shouldn't have made the cd and "My Heart" should have been between GAG and YCBTO

My cd of Tusk holds 20 songs. :shrug: I'm not going to complain about too many songs . . . I think if a radio station ever played any cuts from her new album they would just cut them off before the end.

I'd leave off Cheaper Than Free (Despite really really really loving the song, it has no place on Stevie's album as well as Dave's).

Also, I do not like the new version of My Heart. At all. I'm so glad it's a bonus track. I much prefer the TISL outtake.

Apart from that though, the album is perfect. I love how long it is, because it's so varied. She's sequenced it really well; whilst TISL drags in the middle, IYD goes through nicely. I just wish she'd called the album after FWIW.

I think the length of it is fine.

Bella Donna only had 10 songs because that was about all that would fit on an LP. I don't think there are any weak tracks on the album. The only thing that makes me cringe is that intro on Everybody Loves You, but I wouldn't leave any tracks off the album, and I think the length is fine.

I would definitely leave off CTF. That's the one song that I honestly never listen to... subconsciously for some reason I feel like the album ends after Italian Summer so I always stop there.

For me the album starts with FWIW.....and Ends with Italian summer. And I also chop off Everybody Loves You. Long Albums i usually edit. this album was an exception. Now that i've absorbed it......it's no exception.

Mick

i would remove, and i did:

"soldiers angel"...beautiful lyrics...respect it VERY much..just fall asleep b4 its over.

"ghosts are gone"...sounds like "fall from grace"...but less interesting.

"cheaper than free"...as someone said above.."Italian summer is a PERFECT closer for this record..so MAYBE not remove it..just put it somewhere else.

"secret love"..dont hate it..but i have yet to "like it".this one i would keep if i have "my heart" on it...MUST have at least 10 songs.

I love Secret Love.

I wouldn't edit any tracks, although You May Be The One is boring and I've yet to listen to it as much as the other tracks. Cheaper Than Free is nice, but it's out of sequence to me.

In defense of "Ghosts Are Gone": nothing generic here. If the first half is like an actually enjoyable version of "Rock and Roll", the second half takes off into the stratosphere. I wanted to give Stevie a copy of Morrissey's Years of Refusal, which feels to me like what punk must have felt to its audience in the 70s, when she was telling the press she wanted to make political music. I needn't. Morrissey would salute--and jealously covet--the sound of "Ghosts Are Gone."


As for the album being too long. I think so. But I recently decided that the only thing "too much" about it is the inclusion of "Cheaper than Free." It should have remained the highlight of Dave's album rather than the lowlight of IYD. Otherwise, I've decided it's perfect.

I think it's fascinating how so many people love songs other people can't stand :) Secret Love has finally grown on me but I skip New Orleans, Soldier's Angel and Cheaper than Free every time. I think You May Be the One is perfection. I think it's pretty cool how much even us hardcore Stevie fans vary in our opinions.

Agreed.

And that's why I don't think it's too long. There are some songs I'm neutral towards and have already axed from my playlist (Secret Love, Annabel Lee, GAG), but others love them: Annabel Lee is at the top of many lists. Objectively, none of these songs are actually bad and when so many people love them I can't really consider them filler.

I'd go as far as to say that it is the worst song of Stevie's career but then someone will go and mention 'the forgotten chimpanzee' :lol:

Yes, but we can blame the Klonopin for that one...

There's no excuse for Cheaper Than Free.

Cheaper than free is a good song. It's amazing to me that some people are making fun of the lyrics and hold up alot of dribble from the past.

But I like some kind of TIME/LIFE edition,
Tradition, competition...
Being the only thing that I really have to remember
The great singers and the great players

Lay off the Jack!

I like Cheaper than Free, even though I do believe it is flawed. My only problem is that I feel that it was conceived for the Dave album and that that makes it seem out of place, but maybe it's because I'm bringing "insider" knowledge to my experience.

Meanwhile, I tried to cut the album down to 10 songs and it didn't work. It needs the first 12 tracks. So when I read about people making playlists out of the album, I feel like I second chili's request that the album have been issued as one long track. Also, I can't start this album without finishing it.

No I would not cut any tunes out of IYD cd.I would add a few more to the cd to max it out to about 79 minutes .thats about 5 more lovely tunes.

I think it's the right length. I would cut Cheaper Than Free, but I would also replace it with My Heart, so I wouldn't change the album length.

I can see why a dance song might only be 3 minutes or so, but when a song is more layered, I almost feel cheated if it's shorter than 5 minutes, because it would seem to be over before I'd fully experienced it.

Michele

I like My Heart where it's sequenced in the UK and B&N/WB version, but would drop ELY (or keep it but lose DS vocals) and for sure lose CTF. Otherwise, I don't mind long albums at all.

To answer your question, no the album is not too long. The extra songs, as you've seen, are ones that other people love. Plus, you can always remove songs via playlist, so having them there in the first place isn't that big a deal.

It stuns me that you would remove "Moonlight", because that's widely recognized as one of the best songs on the album. Doesn't mean that you should feel the same way, I'm just pointing out that you're probably the first person I've seen that doesn't like that song. In fact, I did an informal poll of what should be the next single off the album and "Moonlight" and "In Your Dreams" tied.

I wouldn't really remove anything from the album. I love it all. If I did anything at all, I *might* take off "Soldier's Angel" but only to put it on a revamped version of Say You Will.

I have to say that I think it works really well as a 10 track album. I removed 'Soldier's Angel', because as much as I like it, I don't feel like it fits the tone of the album too well, 'You May Be The One', because I feel it made the second half of the album a touch too hit and miss, and 'Cheaper Than Free', because it totally detracts from the marvellous crescendo that the album builds to in 'Italian Summer', which as so many before have said, ought to have been the closer.

The right length is a different matter. I really do believe that albums should be able to fit on vinyl. I should also be able to hear a complete album from my apt door to my work desk in the morning. I also LOVE short songs and never feel cheated if they are perfectly proportioned. Now, Stevie indulges her long-song expressions in this album. And I don't mind. This time. I wish Lindsey's songs were shorter. His short tracks on Tusk are genius. Gone are the days of Wire's Pink Flag. But Cheap Trick's recent, great album The Latest features pop-sized gems. I just put "These Days" on repeat. I wouldn't want it longer. I want to be left wanting more.

I also believe movies not directed by Steven Spielberg or David Lean should be restricted to 90 minutes.

I'd ditch Cheaper Than Free and replace it with a permanent (i.e. non bonus track) My Heart, but that's just because I personally don't like the latter song too much (and I'm a country fan!) but I can see why it's there and so no, I don't think the album is toolong. Sorry if that's a bit confused.....

After a 10 year recording hiatus, the album length is perfect and would not work as a shorter album as well as it does with it's 13-14 tracks. A good example of a short album in today's technology is Heart's Red Velvet Car, I couldn't imagine it without the two bonus tracks on the version I have. Besides, wouldn't Bella Donna be wonderful with the Dealer, Blue Lamp and Lady from the Mountain?

The IYD I made with the 3 songs cut runs 52 means. Much less daunting then an hour and 6 minutes. I find it odd that they chose to open and close the album with 2 of the weaker tracks. Still love the record to DEATH, but it's amazing what A little trimming can do:nod:

Mick

Personally, I'd not ever complain about too many tracks on a cd esp now a days. Personally, it should be longer. Meaning we should've gottan an extended version if you wanted to purchase that (as a LTD Edition version) with an extra cd. I still think she had to record more songs that just 16 she always records 'more' than whats released. I can't say I'm in any kinda awe of this new cd yet. I've only had a chance to really listen to it through one time. Its hard with work and all--I do love the track : The Ghosts Are Gone. Thats really the stand out song to me. It'll take me sometime before I add it to any LP lists yet. Things just have to grow on me. Anyway, those are my thoughts. I really wish we'd get deluxe versions of her previous solo LP's too. with many extra tracks. I mean I loved the BD video on CV but really that should've been released ON a Bella Donna deluxe version with and extra cd and DVD set with the FULL HBO concert. Who knows what else. I can always add more. Same with WH/RAL/Mirror/SA/TISL. Or release a 2nd Box set of some kind. It would be nice.:shrug::D

The length does not bother me if the the music is great and the album is tight.

When I first heard the whole "frankenstein" SYW, my heart sank. That cd was way too long and most of the songs were subpar. There a lot of fairly long songs on IYD but they are great songs. Frankly after TISL, SYW and IYD, I'm begining to prefer another Stevie solo cd as opposed to a Fleetwood Mac cd.

I'll join the minority & say, yes, this album could be shorter (& thus improved). I do think one reason that Bella Donna is so stellar & consistent is its length. Stevie had other great songs like "Gypsy" but they would not have added anything to the overall effect of BD. It was no loss since we got the song a year later anyway.
I understand the general reluctance to see any songs cut from a Stevie album. If we were not so starved for Stevie music these days, more of us might be willing to wait for the next album. But who the hell wants to wait another 10 years? I think if she does another Greatest Hits album, it should be called Stevie Nicks: Feast or Famine.:shrug:


- Jake

I think the album could be shorter in that, maybe not that some of the songs are cut... but that some of the songs could be a little shorter themselves. One or two or three or four songs over 4 minutes or so is fine but rather on IYD, everything EXCEPT one or two is a very long track. This works in some cases but in others it seems a little excessive in my opinion.

Also, just reiterating that CTF should not in any circumstance have been on this record.

Like WildHearted just said, some of the tracks run long and could have been cut down. I would also cut For What It's Worth. I know some people like it, but I feel like it doesn't fit with the album.

It's a little too long
 

Yes, it's a little too long. I'd leave out My Heart (an 80s-sounding reject) and Everybody Loves You (boring).

I suppose there's a thread on this somewhere, but Say You Will was a little long too. If Stevie and Lindsey had each left off two songs, it would be a stronger album.

Same with Tusk...would be stronger as a single album. Leave out Honey Hi, Never Make me Cry, Save Me a Place, and Walk a Thin Line, IMO.

I feel as though some of the tracks go on forever and really could have been cut down. There's just repetitive choruses or unnecessary instrumentals. I'd like to see some more fading out with new adlibs from Stevie. I thought this before I read this thread so I'm glad it's being mentioned.

WSS and NO are two songs I'd have a hard time cutting from the album, BUT both need to be seriously trimmed.

Moonlight, Annabel Lee, Everybody Loves You, Ghosts Are Gone are all worth of their length.

I know, right?

Agreed 100%


Even so, just to play the game so to speak, I'd cut New Orleans and Soldier's Angel and leave the other 11 songs as-is. That would be the perfect album! :rolleyes:

To be honest, the first few times I listened to ELY, I was a bit unimpressed as well. But over time it dawned on me that this song, complete with the bouncy-synthy opening, was something that should have been on the Eurthmics' Revenge album; I could totally hear Annie Lennox singing this song. It is one of those dramatic film noire types of songs, replete with the swell of strings and crescendos, not unlike an old movie score. And that "Don't come here again..." bridge with the Sgt Pepper's-like arrangement is just brilliant. I am now simply in awe of this hidden little gem of a song buried way deep on the "b-side" of this album.