Grade the Dealer
 

How do you feel about Stevie's new song, the Dealer.


Give it A B C DF or tell her its TIME TO RETIRE

:laugh: I'd give it a B. Great song.

C ~ It's not a bad song, but it's not particularly a favorite of mine (at this point).

My fear in this album is that I'm finally going to get what I want (Stevie putting out the demos) but not at all getting what I want (the fantasy versions I've built up in my mind for years).

This new version of The Dealer seems to use my favorite a capella demo as a base but... I will just keep listening to that old demo instead.

I am truly afraid of what they will have done to IYWML because my favorite version is the simple piano demo.

B+

I really, really like it. And I never particularly cared for the demos.

I vote B & 3/4
only because we have nothing to compare it to
and i like it.
but i don't want it to be the best track on the whole album :p

I think this is an excellent summation. Last night my friend wondered why it was the single and I was thinking that since he hadn't heard the rest of the album, how is he to say whether The Dealer is a good single or bad one. It's all relative to what her choices were. Then, I found myself thinking, "but I hope it's not the best on the album."

So, that's how I feel. I liked the demo. Like the song. But hope this is just a taste and that there's stuff on there that I'll like even better.

Michele

Secret love and for what it is worth we're not the best songs IYD.

I gave it a B+ as well..I was never a big demo listener even though I have heard everything at least once so I don't have a lot of built up expectations of how most of these songs should sound.I really like the whole vibe of this song.It captures it's time perfectly without sounding like it is desperately trying to.. in other words it still sounds fresh and works as a brand new song today with a classic sound.

I gave it a D for several reasons. The song has great bones, but is nearly taken down by fairly simple mistakes. The most egregious of those is the mixing of the song being all out of whack- Stevie's focal is pushed way too far to the front & is cranked up WAY too high. This not only highlights the weaknesses in Stevie's voice, but it also just totally subsumes the instrumentals behind her voice. And for this to be a rather classic sounding Stevie track, it totally ignores & minimizes the classic double harmonies with herself, and the harmonies with the girls. That's a big key element which was just skimmed over. I actually dig the classic style of the song, but the production is just so bland. That being said, at least it's not the pop-fluff style of Secret Love.

For the sake of comparison, let's examine You Can't Fix This. That recent track was also hailed by many of us as a return to form for Stevie. It embodied the classic, simplistic, guitar-driven sound that brought Stevie to fame. I wouldn't say her vocal was any better on You Can't Fix This, but it was treated more properly- it was nestled down into the mix a bit more, there was some echo/reverb added for atmosphere, and she did some gorgeous little double harmony parts. All of those things combined helped iron out any weaknesses inherent to Stevie's modern voice. You Can't Fix This is the target the Dealer should have been aiming for, and it missed several key points.

Yeah You Can't Fix This had good backing music, however, the song was a train-of-thought wreck. This is actually a good song.

Music = A
Lyrics = A
Vocal = B

I actually mostly agree with Louie's post, but I think I'd go with a B. I enjoy the song and it has sufficiently gotten under my skin.

I actually enjoy the vocal, harsh though it may sound at times, because it really brings out the lyrics, which I find very moving, and never really noticed much in her soft-sung demos. For me, it works. But at the same time, it's frustrating to think they could've touched it up a bit so I could play it to my friends without worrying they'll all just say she "sounds bad/weird". I think there's a balance they could've struck moreso than they have.

B+ overall....

Exactly my view and that's what I voted. A decent song but I'm not fussed with the slightly sloppy and forced vocal. However, I like the lyrics and how they have been so clever in keeping the 2014 version so similar to the 1981 version. Overall a good effort but I want something to WOW me. I'm waiting for another Planets of the Universe but for 2014. I've got high expectations for this album and I'm sure she and Dave won't disappoint. :)

I really liked it. I gave it a B+ overall. Some shaky vocal places... but Stevie is still hanging in there with her voice. And........... she is marketable.. kudos..

I'm giving it a "D"... it's passable. Barely.

And in my opinion I don't think it's mixed very well either.

I listened to it on very crappy speakers. What about the mix don't you like?.. (so when I get it, I can listen for your notes. I'm a nerd. lol

I like it ....I'm thinking that the album will remain as true to the demo's as possible. I mean, isn't that what we "diehards" want. I love Waddy's guitar, Benmont should be playing those keyes! The girls are there, wouldn't have minded if they were more in the mix...
Overall, B, I can't wait to hear the rest. :thumbsup:

Wow I'm really glad I have no musical talents or knowledge of recording to speak of..It might really spoil the enjoyment of a good , well played and decently sung track.:laugh:

Originally posted by BombaySapphire3

I know what you mean. It would seem everyone's an expert these days...

Jesus people, just lighten up and either enjoy the music or not, but please desist with the microscopic dissection.

If discussing, examining, & debating the music is off the table, exactly what are we supposed to do around here? :shrug: Discussing Stevie's nearly hairless dog, Christine's spray tan job, & Kristin Buckingham's design "tastes" are far less relevant. :p

Pshaw. Kristin's strewn pears are more relevant than anything. :nod:

Michele

I think dissection is good. I have no musical ability, but I admire people who can specify why they dislike something and it causes me to respect their opinion more, even if I disagree with it.

Those that just throw an unfounded opinion out there are easier to discount.

Michele

I'm giving it an A. I love the songwriting (it's always been one of my favorite demos). What about that lyric "I'll just almost hold you / You'll just almost stay"? That is heartbreakingly brilliant! Musically, I love the blue-note chord toward the end of the chorus -- very unusual for a Stevie song.
I also love the production and arrangement of this version. For the first time since The Dance, the production doesn't sound like it's trying REALLY HARD to make her sound "current." It's real, and I think that's part of why the more general audience seems excited by it. That classic rootsy sound.
I still don't like that "and myyyy wiiiiine" screech, but otherwise the vocal has grown on me, especially warming up (as others have noted) in the second half.
That's a minor quibble though. I'm already listening to this more than any other Stevie single since I started being a fan in 1990!

Indeed. That one review singled this line out as being immature, but actually it's one of those that has made the favorite lyric list for years. What's a better way to describe the heartbreak of love you can only possess fleetingly?

Michele

off topic but after that initial flurry of coverage, we really haven't seen/heard much from Mrs. Buckingham have we?

Let me know when you hear a track that suits your description, then. ;) :laugh:

i love that line
it's SO sad

i'll only ALMOST hold you ... not properly and not forever.
you give a bit of yourself to me and that's enough
i'll pretend you're here to stay
but i know you're not

I have nothing against Stevie's voice on this one: it's honest, dry and direct. It's pure and vulnerable. My biggest criticism is based on the incredible predictable and boring instrumentation and arrangement. It's bland and idealess. No unexpected drumbreak, or counterlines on guitar or keys. Only bass scores a little. No, the song has so much possibilities that are unused. Listen to Tom Petty's new album and one knows how vintage songwriting has to be produced in 2014. C, Thanks to the beautiful insecurities in her voice, otherwise it would have been D or worse.

I have a feeling that when the reviews for this album start trickling in they are going to be divided along the same lines as the ones for IYD were .With the older more mainstream critics giving the album glowing reviews while the younger more hipsterish ones generally panned it.I'm kind of glad I'm an oldie so I should be able to get years of enjoyment from listening to 24kG!:blob2:

I have sang that little snippet "yeah, you like that 24 karat gold" in my head a thousand times since Dave tweeted it. I certainly like the sound of that track a lot more than ALL of The Dealer.

Same here... I really liked the sound of that snippet, and it certainly excited me as to the possibilities for the rest of the album. That clip exhibited the characteristics of classic Stevie style that I love- layered vocals & big guitar sound.

Even though the Dealer just doesn't blow the wind up my skirt (the vintage demos never did anything for me, either), there are tracks on every Stevie album I just don't connect with. So I'm not terribly worried about the consequences of not liking the first single. After all, look how much better the rest of In Your Dreams was than Secret Love. :nod:

I'm not terribly upset about it or anything, and I still need to pre-order the album matter of fact... but at the first listen I thought it was a leftover track from Street Angel or something. 2nd and 3rd listen I felt no real connection to the song (as I often do with her other tracks). It's just one of those ones I will probably skip. At that point that's when I started to deconstruct the mix, etc. I don't normally do that with her tunes unless I feel a certain disconnect or distance, or ambivalence about it... whatever that thing is.

The thing that differentiates this song from a Street Angel song even if you don't care for the production or mixing is the vocal .I would know instantly that this is not a SA performance and not because of her being 20 years older but due to the nuances and vulnerable ache in her voice..There are some really good songs on SA but sorry the album overall contains the most zoned out and dispassionate vocals of her career.

Except, I think the outtake God's Garden had some feeling behind it, and Greta, which I think was autobiographical at that point, despite the apparent subject of the lyrics.

I don't think it really sounds like a SA track either, but I did connect with it, both as a demo and in this incarnation. Hopefully you have better luck with some of the other songs? :shrug:

I gave it a C because I always thought it was just an OK song, though I do like the duet version with Tom Petty.

And I agree with xxxmx, I LOVE the simple piano demo of IYWML.

~Maria