Reconsider Me
 

Hello everyone!
This is my first thread and I'm very excited to be a member of The Ledge. Thanks to the many postings on the Mirror Mirror project I've finally realized that the track "Reconsider Me" is in fact an outtake from the original recording sessions for RAL and not a re-recording from the late 90s as I previously thought. What is people's opinions on this song? Do you think it should have been on RAL? And do you think it could have been a hit back in the mid-80s?

It was remixed in 1998, but, yeah, it's an outtake from Rock A Little.

I really like Stevie's vocal on it. It's not as desperate as some of her Rock A Little vocals, but still pretty emotional and rugged.

Could it have been a hit in 1985/1986? Well, Iovine certainly hoped so. I'm not so sure. "Talk To Me" succeeded with that synth-and- chugging drum sound, a la "Voices Carry" from earlier in 1985, as well as 1984's "Missing You" (co-written by "Talk To Me"'s author, Chas Sanford). "Reconsider Me" has a sound that isn't that distinct as far as eras go, to my ears. Were there more "generic" sounding hits in 1985? Bruce, Sting, Tom... all sounded like their usual stuff in 1985. Well, Sting had all those jazz horns on his first solo album. And Tom had Dave Stewart... Even Eurythmics had a more rock sound with Be Yourself Tonight that year. I don't know where "Reconsider Me" fits in soundwise.

However, I like the song very much and always make room for it on my own Rock A Little deluxe CDs.

Interesting point, thanks. I never knew "Missing You" was written by the same guy as "Talk to Me". I wonder why Iovine insisted on bringing in other songwriters' material. Even if Stevie might have been unreliable at that point, she must have had dozens of left-overs and demos that they could have worked on and turned into a hit.

The Warren Zevon version of the song has a really good vocal, but I like the arrangement on Stevie's more.
I do like Stevie's take on the song, but IMO it's not right for RAL. It is too safe a song all around, plus it has none of the vocal wildness that helped make RALStevie distinct from other Stevie eras. I think the only thing the vocal on Reconsider Me & the RAL songs really have in common is that stopped-up nasal sound.

- Jake

Slightly off-topic here but HURRAH for the mention of Voices Carry! I'm a huge Aimee Mann fan and love her work with 'Til Tuesday too but they are never, ever mentioned!

Oh yes they are! Lookey here: http://www.ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/sh...ad.php?t=45209

Am I the only person who considers these songs, for all intents and purposes, identical?

I think Stevie herself wanted the song because she loved "Missing You."

Yes. They are similar in some ways. But I love them both. :)

For a long time I never knew about "Reconsider Me" being a RAL outtake. For some reason it doesn't sound like RAL at all. It's still a lovely song and I listen to it occasionally.

"Reconsider Me" feels so incomplete. Great intro and first verse, but once those 45 seconds are up it's just the chorus repeated for 3 minutes save for an all-too-brief bridge.

I agree. That's why I was so surprised to read on the other threads that is was in fact a real outtake. To me the vocals sound a bit "lazier" and detached or, as darklinensuit puts it, lacking the wildness of the other RAL recordings.
I always thought that the dedication to Jimmy I. was cute. Do we know if he ever commented on their working relationship after he quit RAL? And are they in touch today?

Steve Earle does a great version of Reconsider Me.
With regards to the songwriter question, Stevie has said that Jimmy was always on the hunt for a "hit for Stevie." She said she doesn't consider herself to be a great single writer.

That's interesting, coming from a woman who wrote FM's only US no. 1, Edge of 17, Stand Back etc... Seems like her producers including Iovine did not do a lot to boost her self-confidence.

Hey, I STILL jam out and dance around to "Love In A Vacuum" and enjoy a cold beer to "You Know The Rest", looking at old photos >sigh<... Desperate for the single remix of "Love In A Vacuum"!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really think "Talk To Me" was the way to go with the first single, and it's still Stevie's highest charting solo single! (#2!!!).