"Blue Water" pre-view
 

Hear a sample of Stevie’s song “Blue Water” from her album ’24 Karat Gold-Songs From The Vault’!… http://t.co/zji5ZL9wPx

— Stevie Nicks (@StevieNicks) September 9, 2014

Very basic like "Lady" will be interesting hearing the rest...

Pretty.
She sounds like the younger version of herself in this clip. I like it. :thumbsup:

Her voice sounds great! But I hope we get some of the girls' vocals layers in at some point ;)

WOW! Same exact key as the demo. HER VOICE SOUNDS AMAZING!!! Definitely the best vocal performance from the 10 second snippets thus far. She sounds so young here!

Also to note that the piano chords are the exact same as the demo.

I doubt they will do the same thing they did with "Lady", though. Dollars to doughnuts that there will be more instrumentation (and possibly strings) enter the equation later on in the song.

...at least, I HOPE they do! ;)

So excited!!!

Agreed! We need those layered harmonies here!

The vocal is sweeter than what we have been getting. I hope there are harmonies and much more instrumentation in the arrangement than what we hear in this clip.

Thank you for posting the clip!

This sounds great so far! She's using her soft voice which I like sometimes. It helps bring out a feeling and sets the mood, depending on the song.
I wonder if there is going to be any harmonizing in this. Will have to wait and see.

Like everyone else has brought up, it was the double harmonies that really made this song poignant. I hope they make an appearance later in the song.

I do love the fact they used a tack piano like the original, though. Stevie's voice is also remarkably unstrained, which is nice to finally hear.

Her vocal reminds me of Storms.

Which is good!:lol:

Can't wait for this album!:blob1:

Her voice sounds pleasantly "loose" in this clip. I like it.

Her voice is really soft in this. I'm glad we only have 3 more weeks until the vinyl - I really can't wait to hear the full versions of the songs.

I like the vocal reverb they had on the demo though...

Wow wow wow this is gorgeous, this is the Stevie I fell in love with. My only hope is the harmonies are kept in tact, which I'm sure they will.

Yeah I think they will be. This snippet sounds like the beginning of the demo... The girls don't even come in until the "I sit not in flight..." part. Or is it "I sit out at night"? That lyric has always been a major mystery to me. I guess we will finally find out once we get the words in the liner notes.

I love it.

I agree. Her voice does sound pretty good. But that reverb added that dramatic feel.
I think this will be another bare bones piano piece, but with background vocals with the girls or with herself, I guessing the strings will appear on "She Loves Him Still" in place of the programmed synth strings on the RAL outtake. I can also see some light strings on If You Were My Love.

I was hoping for more subtle atmosphere to elevate the demo, which I know is a fan favorite, but it's never been at the top of my list, so I was hoping for some augmented arrangement with some strings, tight background, something a little more, just subtle. But guessing from this clip, sounds as if they have (once again) followed the demo verbatim. For me, this is my least favorite clip. No wonder this record was recorded in record time. They only had to arrange about 3-4 songs entirely.

I am very pleased with her vocal on this song and pleased with the music also. YES!!!!

there BETTER be STRINGS :eek:
:lol: nah i don't care if it's plain and bare.

this is so beautiful as is
it sounds just like the demo
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah so excited

I LOVE IT !!!! :nod:

Now that's what I'm talking about! She's using her indoor voice. ;)

Yes! I love the tack piano. And she did it in the original key. Nice job Stevie!

wow, clearly I am wayyy in the minority but I found her voice to be a bit strained, like trying too hard to recapture how she sounded years ago. :shrug:

Don't worry. I have a feeling they'll show up. :nod:

Yes no more bellowing.

??? Huh??? Strained??? Where?

It's interesting how Stevie's given us hardcore fans exactly what we've been wishing for for decades- a minimally produced album recorded extremely quickly; and it seems many folks aren't liking the raw, unfiltered product. :lol:

I agree Stevie's songs do need a certain amount of reverb & vocal layering for proper atmosphere to them, though.

Right? I understand why she has to do the shriek-shout on the road, but there's no need for it in the studio.

I agree with both points you make. I can't wait to hear the harmonies and the tack piano was always an important feature for me. Each clip I hear makes me more impatient to hear the full album!

not strained in terms of volume, strained in terms of making the notes, or singing the song in as high a key as the original. She is more comfortable in a lower key these days but is working to reach the original, higher key.

Again, you may not notice, and that's fine. I'm just saying it jumped out at me, so I'm curious to hear the whole song when we get it and see how it sounds.

Listening yet again I hear it most noticeably at the end of each line… the words water/wait/come/water. Especially on wait and come. Again, YMMV.

Agreed. You would think it would be the opposite, right? I for one am loving all of these snippets. In fact, i'm loving everything we've heard so far. I'm probably more excited about this project than I have been for any previous album of hers.

Today, A good friend of mine noted that Stevie should seriously consider recording all future projects this way. That this "organic" approach really seems to suit her. I agree, wholeheartedly!!!

I think the vocal is exquisite and reminds me a bit of the road weariness she captured so perfectly in Storms way back when changes began happening to her voice with each outing. This shows that her softer voice still sounds amazing and she can sing like it's 1979 when she puts her mind to it. She has truly produced what so many of us have wanted for a long time and has chosen some of her best material to showcase the treasures in her vault. So excited and can't wait to listen to the vinyl version on one satisfying listen. :nod:

Well, to be fair, nobody will be able to fully critique the album until we hear all the songs and album as a whole. So basing any opinion on just a 15 secound clip is just guess work, and anticipation about what our individual expectations are. I don't really believe anyone wants an overproduced record ala TISL. IYD, imo, was not over-produced, maybe a little polished here & there, but not at all cluttered. Overall IYD was a well constructed & solidly produced body of work.

I'm anticipating that we are finally getting a Stevie solo record stripped down, perhaps somwhat similar to "Bella Donna", or even parts of "Street Angel"-production-wise. But probably we'll be getting her most bare record ever.
I have grown to love "The Dealer." And I loved "Lady" straightaway. In fact, I've grown to love the current "Dealer" over any of the BD outtakes. And "Lady" is superb in my opinion. Before it was just a sweet litlle song. But Stevie current performance & mature voice take it places it never went before! That's a song that simply doesn't need additional production. It's her torch song. Her voice, alone, with just a simple piano track is perfection. And her singing is so impassioned, and sage enough to not need anything to detract from that.

When you hear some calling out for a little more ambiance, or atmosphere on certain clips, don't mistake that for wanting over-production. Just a little nuance. A subtle string arrangement, or a backing vocal. I think most of us are loving the raw, unfiltered, feeling coming through the two songs we've gotten, as well as the clips (so far.) Stevie always did say that even her closet friends and assosiates would always ask to hear the demos after she fully recorded a song (either with FM or Solo) and they always preferred her demo. I think that was her goal & will be her ultimate achievement on 24 Karat Gold. To stay as true to the demos as possible, with a few exceptions.

You've talked yourself into disappointment; dismissing this song and the album based on a snippet? You should take a breath and let your judgement/expectations stand until you hear the entire album. In a few days, weeks, months, and years, your perspective can change.

I agree with this. I am a little surprised though at how little echo or reverb there is on her vocals in all her work with Dave. It was such a hallmark to a lot of her previous work, and on some songs it really did enhance the song-- it nicely complemented the sparseness of certain songs (the Blue Water demo, Forest of the Black Roses to name two). Maybe someone can think of one I am missing, but I don't think Dave has used it on any song he's produced for her.

"Moonlight" is overflowing with echo and reverb! Did you forget about that one? ;)

:eek:

Other than the very beginning, I hear more layering on Moonlight than echo. I honestly just don't hear it like on stuff like Bella Donna, Kind of Woman, Outside the Rain or many of her demos. :shrug:

Well I said I would listen to this snippet, (still not listening to others)
I seriously like this song, I love her voice it sounds mellow and soft, with just a glimpse of her younger voice.
Not a hint of being strident or shouty. Yep I love it.

I like it... It's got a lot to live up to, as I love, love, love the demo so much. We can't yet hear the harmonies, which really make this song so special, and it's difficult to imagine the final result from a 10 second clip. I'm very much looking forward to hearing the whole song.

I have ended up preferring the new version of The Dealer, which really surprised me. I'm wondering if the same thing will happen with Blue Water?

This is the only preview from the album that I'm excited about.

"Lady" I like, but she shouts the whole second half of the song instead of singing it. I was never mad on "The Dealer" demo anyway, but her nasally vocal has really put me off.

First time I've ever not been freaking out over a Stevie release in my entire life.

Yeah, the shouting is my least favorite thing about modern Stevie. She's utterly lost all nuance & her signature beautiful tone because of it. She often credits her vocal coach as the savior of the universe... I just want to shake this person, though. :laugh:

I have to say I've transitioned back into being more nervous than excited. I really, really love about half of what I'm hearing, but the other half is as bad as the other is good. It almost makes me wonder if we're getting another Street Angel. That album was so maddening because half of it's material was as strong as anything Stevie had recorded- the other was absolutely the worst.

Not to get into a SA discussion, but the strong moments on that album are currently greatly outweighing anything I've heard of 24KG so far.

Perhaps you're reading too much into my post? Or haven't read my other posts regarding 24 Karat Gold. I am really looking forward to this record. Probably moreso than I was for IYD. I think it's going to be really special. But as you well know, everyone has their favorite demos, and "Blue Water" was never in my top 30 demos/outtakes. So essentially I was trying to express that I want to like this song more than the demo, which is nice, but imo, I feel Stevie has many more beautiful piano demos still in the vault than BW. I hope the entire new version proves me wrong & I love it, not just like it.