I caught the version with commercials, unfortunately, so I missed a few things. I just wanted to add to what people have already said:
About Stevie's face being touched up. I take this as a given. I mean, she's always been insecure about how she appears on film _ look at the additional photography done for the "Red Rocks" and "Tango" videos. This documentary is no exception. You can see in certain parts that her face looks "overexposed" (smoothed) while everyone else's looks normal. And I remember someone reporting rumours a while back that the documentary's broadcast had been delayed because Stevie was unhappy with how she looked and wanted the footage retouched.
It doesn't bother me much, but I do think it's unnecessary. No one
expects her to look 30 anymore!
The documentary solidified my belief that the album is WAY overproduced. I liked each of Stevie's "Phoenix Four" songs in DEMO form (as heard in the doc) better than I do on the album. Both the "Silver Girl" and "Destiny Rules" demos sounded scrappier and more vital than the finished versions. I think Lindsey, as a producer, has become too overwrought in his approach _ increasingly so since the mid-1980s.
I LOVED the exchange between Stevie and Lindsey about the "Thrown Down" lyrics. How many people these days would have the nerve to challenge Stevie on something like that? For the record, I think he was right... Stevie came across looking plain stubborn here. She didn't offer any argument apart from variations on "That's just the way I want it."
As much as I don't particulary like Mick, his observations are often spot-on. I liked his debunking of Lindsey's "starving artist" bit, and also his analysis of how Stevie was inspired to write a handful of disciplined new songs once she saw Lindsey's dedication to the project.
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