Violet and Blue

Macfan4life · #1 09-06-2023, 05:48 PM

This song was on the 1984 Against All Odds soundtrack. The lead single from the album by Phil Collins went to #1, won a Grammy and nominated for Song Of the Year among other awards and nominations. It was huge. It was Phil's first #1 song in the states. The song was so big that it carried the movie. The movie is not that great. Many times a hit movie carries the song to the charts. The album actually went all the way to #12 on Billboard. It was a huge loss of an opportunity not to release Violet and Blue as the second single. Perhaps there was something preventing them from doing so? The album's second single was Peter Gabriel's Walk Through The Fire that never charted. Stevie's limelight from The Wild Heart was fading and it would have been a much better second single. I don't think it would have been a huge hit but it definitely would have charted. The song got major rock airplay and even pop radio stations were playing it. I remember going to my local record store at the mall and WYDD Pittsburgh had Violet and Blue as #38 on their charts. I think the song would have done better than Nightbird. It was an easy set up but a major fail.
On a side note, my local rock station in March 1984 played Violet and Blue and Christine's One In A Million back to back. I will never forget that moment. Something new from Stevie and something new from Chris.
I always liked the song. You can tell its a live vocal all the way through the song. I love the bridge too. Ten thousand Times....Oh I tried to tell you .......then she yells YEAH!

So overwhelming

vivfox · #2 09-06-2023, 06:45 PM

I love Violet & Blue very much. If I recall, they play a live version of it in the actual movie.

blinker12 · #3 09-06-2023, 07:29 PM

Good post! I bet it would’ve been a sizable hit on the Rock chart, and maybe scraped into the the lower reaches of the Hot 100. By 1984, rock was really starting to get eclipsed by synth pop and dance pop on the charts (which isn’t a complaint - 1983 and 1984 are some of my favorite years in music!).

Steviegirl · #4 09-06-2023, 07:39 PM

LOVED this song! I even bought the stupid cassette of the soundtrack.

I think it's on Enchanted, too? Really good song.

BrownEyedGirl26 · #5 09-06-2023, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steviegirl

LOVED this song! I even bought the stupid cassette of the soundtrack.

I think it's on Enchanted, too? Really good song.

I loved this song at the time and still do!

"Take your Violet and Blue mornings with you......!"

UnwindedDreams · #6 09-06-2023, 08:02 PM

I loved when Stevie added the line from this song to the end of "I Need To Know." Unfortunately she stopped doing that after her 2005 Vegas residency.

Macfan4life · #7 09-07-2023, 04:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivfox

I love Violet & Blue very much. If I recall, they play a live version of it in the actual movie.

You are so right! I remember when I first joined this board asking a question about a different version heard in the movie. I thought maybe it was not Stevie because it was the version that was not on the radio. It is some sort of live or alternate version. Its in the movie when they walk into some club. So maybe they wanted a live sound to make it sound like someone was performing. Regardless I am glad I am not the only one that caught that. I used to watch that movie only to hear the song. Its quite the brutal task because I never liked the movie

greendaze5 · #8 09-07-2023, 09:41 AM

Even though 'Violet and Blue' was never a single, it did get some buzz. I remember a rock magazine printed the lyrics to it.

It should've been on 'The Wild Heart', replacing the boring 'Gate and Garden'.

Also, if 'Violet and Blue' was on the album, it (or 'Nothing Ever Changes') should have been the third single. While I love 'Nightbird', it wasn't meant for Top 10 radio and only went up to the low 30s on Billboard.

Nonetheless, we did get two nice live performances out of 'Nightbird' on 'Solid Gold' and 'SNL'.

Oh - does anyone have a link to the 'SNL' performance if its online anywhere?

Macfan4life · #9 09-07-2023, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greendaze5

Even though 'Violet and Blue' was never a single, it did get some buzz. I remember a rock magazine printed the lyrics to it.

It should've been on 'The Wild Heart', replacing the boring 'Gate and Garden'.

Also, 'Violet and Blue' (or 'Nothing Ever Changes') should have been the third single. While I love 'Nightbird', it wasn't meant for Top 10 radio and only went up to the low 30s on Billboard.

Nonetheless, we did get two nice live performances out of 'Nightbird' on 'Solid Gold' and 'SNL'.

Oh - does anyone have a link to the 'SNL' performance if its online anywhere?

Both audios of Nightbird of SNL and Solid Gold are on youtube. I think the videos are gone but the audio is still up. IMHO the Solid Gold peformance is better than the SNL but is always over looked because SNL is more famous. Stevie sang live on Solid Gold twice and once was Nighbird and I prefer that performance over SNL.

greendaze5 · #10 09-07-2023, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Both audios of Nightbird of SNL and Solid Gold are on youtube. I think the videos are gone but the audio is still up. IMHO the Solid Gold peformance is better than the SNL but is always over looked because SNL is more famous. Stevie sang live on Solid Gold twice and once was Nighbird and I prefer that performance over SNL.

Thanks!

I wish the video for the 'SNL' Nightbird was still up. I haven't seen it ages.

The performance on 'Solid Gold' is up at least (with Stevie singing live and the band miming to the instrumental track):

And 'Stand Back' on 'Solid Gold' is still up too:

WatchChain · #11 09-07-2023, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greendaze5

Thanks!

I wish the video for the 'SNL' Nightbird was still up. I haven't seen it ages.

The performance on 'Solid Gold' is up at least (with Stevie singing live and the band miming to the instrumental track):

And 'Stand Back' on 'Solid Gold' is still up too:

Stevie Nicks was the only artist to perform on Solid Gold who did NOT lip-synch her songs. I guess her agent made a deal with SG producers that she would not lip-synch.

Macfan4life · #12 09-07-2023, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WatchChain

Stevie Nicks was the only artist to perform on Solid Gold who did NOT lip-synch her songs. I guess her agent made a deal with SG producers that she would not lip-synch.

I believe there were a few others that did what Stevie did. She sang live vocals to a pre-recorded track. But most performances were lip synced.
Stevie has said she cant lip sync. I think someone posted many years ago that she actually tried to lip sync on Solid Gold and it was so terrible that she had to do live vocals. Even she points out her first video SDMHA she is flubbing trying to lip sync. When doing a music video they will give her a thousand times to get it right. Solid Gold did not have the budget or patience for constant retakes. But I admire her for singing live on a program that most other artists never did.

DashingDan · #13 09-07-2023, 10:12 AM

I have always enjoyed this song--I bought the AAO LP when it came out--with a lead vocal on the chorus that is preacher-like in delivery, AND those lovely low F#s "hard on my heart", AND the dreamy choir of Stevie's in the background, and the murmur at the start, and the ad libs at the end. All great stuff.
What I've always not liked about the recording: the thuddy sounding drums and sluggish performance of them. It's at odds (no pun intended) with the driving nature of the song. It's as if someone told the recording studio's drum tech, "just keep the time, and we'll get someone else to come in and overdub."

mitzo · #14 09-07-2023, 11:10 AM

Never liked the song at all. Nor Blue Lamp. That style of Stevie is not for me.

UnwindedDreams · #15 09-07-2023, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mitzo

Never liked the song at all. Nor Blue Lamp. That style of Stevie is not for me.

I’m guessing because they both sound TP and the HBish.
Blue Lamp is one of her best compositions of all time. So good that she brought it back for Welcome To the Room… the best song on Tango.

How do you feel about If You Ever Did Believe? It was written in 1981