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I should have also mentioned that John plays some kick-ass bass on this album. To be sure, he delivers the most interesting bass lines he's done since Rumours.
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So true. Just listen to what he does on "Illume" _ I think he nearly steals the song, until Stevie comes in with her wailing, bone-chiling conclusion. "Smile at You" has some amazing playing, too. It seems like Stevie's songs really give him a chance to stretch out and experiment, possibly because they're not as tightly structured as Lindsey's.
Stevie keeps sounding better with every album she's put out since "Street Angel." I just wish she would sing like this live. On the TISL tour last year, she studiously avoided all high notes and all emoting, I guess to preserve her voice.
Also, there's a new restraint to Stevie's singing and writing style that I really appreciate. She doesn't oversing like she did in the 1980s (the old "speaking-in-tongues" stuff), and she's using simple, almost country-ish chords on a lot of her new songs. "Say You Will" and "Thrown Down" are probably the most mature songs, musically and lyrically, that she's ever written. The chord progression and melody on SYW's chorus are just classic, sophisticated songwriting _ she really seems to be developing (or rediscovering) some discipline in her writing as she ages.
Lindsey's playing is technically breath-taking, more so than ever, although I'm not sure his virtuosity always serves his songs well. For example, I find "Come" and "Murrow" practically unlistenable _ they're just too much, ya know?