Like or Dislike: Beauty & the Beast

[skcin]

This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite Stevie songs. Ever. It is stunning. Her words, the music, that VOICE!!! I can't understand how so many people say "it's OK." OK? OK?!?! It's unf*ckingbelievable!

She pours her heart & soul out in this vocal performance. The music is hauntingly beautiful, my heart skips a beat when I hear it. I have literally been brought to tears many times with this song, and I honestly can't say that about any other Stevie solo tunes. I love every word, but if I had to pick favorites:

"Oh who is the beauty...who the beast
Would you die of grieving when I leave
Two children too blind to see
I would fall in your shadow...I believe"

I'm listening to the live version from LA 7-26 right now & I'm getting chills. I will never, ever forget that first night in Vegas Tues 5-10 when I realized she was doing this instead of HAEWAFY. I actually said "oh my God" out loud when she walked out in that cloak. And the singing? Sheebus. I have to go & watch my vid from Wed 5-11 again when I get home...

I must say that this song was never one that I loved live before this tour. The album version is just so perfect, IMO, and it was never really matched (at least on the boots I have.) I never would have longed for it to be back in the setlist. But I'm so glad she decided to do it, because it blew me away. She put everything she had into it.

[BTFLCHLD]

Originally Posted by skcin

I have to go & watch my vid from Wed 5-11 again when I get home...She put everything she had into it.

did you post the video here?

[StevieNicksEO17]

I love this song. I never really listened to it that much or appreciated it until she did it on tour. That's when I totally fell in love with it.

[GypsySorcerer]

Probably my favorite song off of TWH. I love everything - the production, the strings, lyrics, Stevie's delivery. Favorite lines: "Timeless is the creature who is wise/And timeless is the prisoner in disguise" and "My love is a man who's not been tamed/Oh, my love lives in a world of false pleasure and pain."

[mikeschmike]

This song is definitely one of her best, both lyrically and vocally. It sounds even better today, which is a rarity for her songs IMO.

[ShangriLaTroubl]

This song is one of my favorites out of all of Stevie's songs--that is the main reason I was so thrilled she brought it back to her tour this year. Interesting though how we feel about songs...my cousin likes Stevie, but isn't totally into her or anything like me--and he thinks BATB is just plain boring.. I don't understand how ANYONE could feel that way about this masterpiece of a song, but to each his own I guess.

Everything about BATB is fantastic to me..the lyrics, her voice (then and now), the incredible music--everything

Chris

[WildInTheWind]

I gave it the second highest rating. I like it, but not as much as everyone else seems to. There is a master reel version that I LOVE. It's a simpler piano version and it is absolutely beautiful.

[Neal]

BATB is one of only 3 songs that save TWH, imho. I've always liked it, but the live performances this past year have really bumped it into my top 10...

[JazmenFlowers]

oh how can I describe my love for this song. it is like a shakespeare play to me...so many depths and layers and it is simply perfection to my ears. I will never ever forget the Vegas performance of this song.

[[email protected]]

Absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it, most LIVE, but also love the studio version.
Don't care for the fast, kind of "Country" style demo version...It is a wonderful song to sing, and it demands such voice control and power and passion, no wonder she brought it BACK to the live shows!

Love LOVE it!~Barbara

[ontheEdgeof17]

Love it! It's one of her epic songs that grabs ahold of you and doesn't let go.


My personal favorite version is the Red Rocks '86 live/retouched version. Her voice is so raw and emotional in it. I just picture the whole venue in my head, with the fire....and the rocks with shadows......gives me chills. I love how the editing has all the crowds screams and yells....and they slowly fade when Stevie begins to sing. LOVE IT!


As for the WH version, I can barely listen to it now, without wanting to pop a live version in the cd player in it's place. This tour rebirthed the song, that was almost forgotten.....I'm glad it's back in the spotlight.

[Richard B]

A perfect ending to a great album.

[Johnny Stew]

This song breaks my heart everytime I hear it, and always makes me think of a dear friend whose beauty I almost lost.

[SapphireSister]

Beauty and the Beast - where do I even begin (I'll try to make this one short guys). For the longest time before I became a die-hard the only Stevie solo album I had was Timespace and I would only listen to the 3 songs I knew and loved plus BATB. I kind of forgot about it for a while until I became a hardcore fan and that's when I really fell in love with it.

If there is a song that is a masterpiece it is this and not just a Stevie song - any song. The vocals are stunning and haunting. We see so many sides of the singer in the song, as if she's actually changing as a person while singing it. It's a deeply personal song for her and can feel her pain. It's one of the few songs that can bring me to tears each and every time I hear it. The harmonies with the girls are stunning! My favorite from Lori and Sharon. When I hear them in this song I say "there are those angels" because they seriously sound like angels. The orchestra in this song is amazing and so is the whole story about how it was recorded is really touching.

Musically, lyrically, and performance wise it is a perfect 10. It is probably my favorite ballad of all time. I love ALL of the live versions and practically died as I stood in front of her and she did this song (and it was a complete surprise!). I think it is her best song live. It's as if she is in another world when she sings it. So incredibly moving to hear it live as if she's pouring out her soul to us, especially back in the day when she was obviously in a lot of pain. I am so glad she brought it back and that people have fallen in love with it that may not have loved it before. I was in love with it way before she did it on this tour. I could go on and on about how much this song moves me and how much it means to me but you get the picture.

So much for short.

[amber]

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