Quote:
Originally posted by CarneVaca
No one is crucifying her for being human. You said that her popularity waned for a while as more of a reflection of "changing tastes" than of "her abilities." The record simply does not reflect that. I would say it was a confluence of all of these factors that made her unpopular, not just changing tastes. And I would say "unpopular" without hesitation, as opposed to saying her popularity "waned." Remember Letterman's anti-Stevie rants? Remember the Rolling Stone review of Street Angel?
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Actually I dont remember any "anti-Stevie" rants from Letterman. His beef was always directed at her management. He never said anything derogatory against Stevie personally.
Additionally, those "rants" occured in 1986... so if you're going to refer to 'Street Angel,' which was released in 1994, then the Letterman thing has nothing to do with the discussion, as Stevie appeared on his show at this time.
Rolling Stone, as a rule, has always reviewed Stevie's albums unfavorably, so they're not a very accurate gauge of Stevie's popularity.
As for the reviews of 'Street Angel,' I have a positive one from Entertainment Weekly that I'd be more than happy to post... so obviously not every critic deemed it a failure.
It's true that 'Street Angel' doesn't stand up as one of Stevie's best efforts, but it was by no means an artistic disaster, or a sign that her talent was lost forever.
She was suffering from personal demons, and that album reflects this.
Again, she's human... she's allowed to have an off day, or even a less-than-stellar album.
Johnny Stew