Stevie's new voice during the Dance.
 

I just watched the dvd and remembered how I was so blown away by how fantastic she sounded. I was expecting the harsh ragged voice I had come to expect from her live performances, which works for her, but to hear that clear strong just a bit rough around the edges voice was just too cool.

What surprised me (and I am gonna get killed for this comment) was that she didn't sound NASAL ... like she was singing with a nose plug on....ready to jump in the swimming pool....doing a cannon ball, of course!

Stevie sounds nasal?

...too bad it didn't last long.

Have you heard her voice on the current tour? She sounds incredible. There is a certain softness that is there on her slower songs I have never really heard before.

yeah the recorded stuff isnt great. Say You Will wasnt spectacular. She did some great stuff on Shangri La though. SYW sounds forced and "blah" to me.

She hard some soaring, blazing hot vocals though - Smile At You being the stand out one IMO. I think SYW suffered from LB's lack of imagination in production on most of her songs, though even bad LB is still good.

Her Dance vocals were great, I thought. I was stunned by how good she sounded, considering her voice seemed to deteriorate in the late 80s/early 90s. Her then new version of Silver Springs and Sweet Girl were great. This wasn't a fluke: TIS was her best solo record after Bella Donna.

I also love her vocals on SYW. She sounds particularly good on Illume and Everybody Finds Out. In all, she has grown as a performer in ways no one had a right to expect. Bravo to her, I say.

I dont think that can be said of her at all. She's hardly changed over the years, and her voice has only lost more range. That being said, I still love Stevie.

her voice was phenomenal. The Dance was the first time I had ever seen or heard Stevie. I had never seen or heard the Rhiannon of the 70s or SOTM of the 80s and I was still hooked. obvs.

I think she's changed a lot. And one of the most interesting ways she's grown as a singer-artist is in the way she responsibly deals with her loss of range. She may not be able to hit certain peaks anymore, but she restructures material to focus on her stronger lower register.

Hearing the difference Silver Spring in 1977 and Silver Springs in 1997 is merely one example of how she is able to transform old material. There is a clarity and wisdom in her voice now.

^^^
I pretty much agree. the only thing I'll say about that is that she can hit some of those ~*certain*~ notes, but chooses not to.

Not exactly making a great case for how wonderful she is. She can do the songs justice but she just doesn't want to? She's robbing us showgoers blind!

Anyway, the biggest thing I noticed in The Dance is the amazing strength in her voice. Young Stevie used to be much more delicate. And when she yelled and screamed it was like a petite young woman just being feisty. On The Dance, you'd better steer clear of the psycho lady. Powerful powerful powerful. And then she lost it again after Enchanted.

I think she knows she cannot consistently hit them in a live setting without hurting her voice.

yeah, that's what I meant and I guess I forgot that maybe not everyone can read my mind. ;) what I should have said is that she can hit certain notes, but that the times she's tried and failed have scared her to settle into a comfort zone.