What's your LEAST favorite Stevie album, and why?

louielouie2000 · #1 11-06-2009, 01:12 PM

So we're always talking about our favorites and the bests... but what's the worst of the worst for you? What album do you play the least, or not at all? Why does that particular one give you the creeps?

For me, it's without a doubt The Wild Heart. It's just so cheesy, dated, uber girlie, and over the top melodramatic. From her screaming about enchanted children on the title track, to the epically sappy Beauty and the Beast, the whole thing is a study in nails on chalkboard for me

. Nightbird has the be the very definition of Stevie at her gawd awful worst to me. Nothing Ever Changes is superbad as well, and has to rank up there among the top of Stevie's most self indulging, nailing herself to her own cross songs

.

However, it isn't all bad. I do really like I Will Run To You. I'm always a sucker for a good Stevie-Tom Petty duo. And even tho Sable On Blond has a cheesy-porno-ebony-on-ivory kinda vibe to it, I do like it for some reason

.

TheWILDheart · #2 11-06-2009, 01:40 PM

If I was dead, I'd be turning in my grave right now. I love love love LOVE everything about The Wild Heart.

For me, it's Street Angel. It has some really great songs on it, but as an album it's lacking IMO. Don't get me wrong, I do like it. But it just doesn't compare to BD, WH, RAL and OSOTM which are all fabulous. Stevie seems very absent on a lot tracks and I think her lack of involvement is obvious. But I do love a fair few tracks on it.

LiamMcConville · #3 11-06-2009, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

So we're always talking about our favorites and the bests... but what's the worst of the worst for you? What album do you play the least, or not at all? Why does that particular one give you the creeps?

For me, it's without a doubt The Wild Heart. It's just so cheesy, dated, uber girlie, and over the top melodramatic. From her screaming about enchanted children on the title track, to the epically sappy Beauty and the Beast, the whole thing is a study in nails on chalkboard for me

. Nightbird has the be the very definition of Stevie at her gawd awful worst to me. Nothing Ever Changes is superbad as well, and has to rank up there among the top of Stevie's most self indulging, nailing herself to her own cross songs

.

However, it isn't all bad. I do really like I Will Run To You. I'm always a sucker for a good Stevie-Tom Petty duo. And even tho Sable On Blond has a cheesy-porno-ebony-on-ivory kinda vibe to it, I do like it for some reason

.

:roll eyes:

turquoise5 · #4 11-06-2009, 01:48 PM

Ha, funny how we all have different likes and dislikes...Wild Heart is my favorite, except I have to agree that Nothing Ever Changes is not her finest hour, she should have included Violet and Blue instead. And B&B in concert usually drags on and on.

My least favorite is TOSOTM. The whole album just has a boring sheen over it. Production values put me to sleep - keyboards especially are too heavy and weigh the whole thing down. Fire Burning and I Still Miss Someone are the worst songs. Not much fire or heartfelt emotion on this album as a whole. The exception would possibly be the lyrics for Doing the Best I Can.

wheart · #5 11-06-2009, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

So we're always talking about our favorites and the bests... but what's the worst of the worst for you? What album do you play the least, or not at all? Why does that particular one give you the creeps?

For me, it's without a doubt The Wild Heart. It's just so cheesy, dated, uber girlie, and over the top melodramatic. From her screaming about enchanted children on the title track, to the epically sappy Beauty and the Beast, the whole thing is a study in nails on chalkboard for me

. Nightbird has the be the very definition of Stevie at her gawd awful worst to me. Nothing Ever Changes is superbad as well, and has to rank up there among the top of Stevie's most self indulging, nailing herself to her own cross songs

.

However, it isn't all bad. I do really like I Will Run To You. I'm always a sucker for a good Stevie-Tom Petty duo. And even tho Sable On Blond has a cheesy-porno-ebony-on-ivory kinda vibe to it, I do like it for some reason

.

But Stevie is uber girlie and over the top melodramatic so The Wild Heart makes perfect sense. I do respect your opinion but couldn't disagree with you more. That said, my least fav solo album would probably be Street Angel, although I enjoy it a great deal, just not as much as her others. My biggest problems are the lifeless, klonopined out vocals and the lackluster production. There are, however, some great moments: Blue Denim, Rose Garden and Destiny are among my favorite tunes. It, like all her solo albums, captures a moment in her life, maybe not the best moment but a moment nonethless. The thing I like about her solo records are that they're all so different from each other, in terms of style, sound and energy. I don't feel she's ever made the same record twice or repeated herself, as some artists have been accused of doing.

FMlex · #6 11-06-2009, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

So we're always talking about our favorites and the bests... but what's the worst of the worst for you? What album do you play the least, or not at all? Why does that particular one give you the creeps?

For me, it's without a doubt The Wild Heart. It's just so cheesy, dated, uber girlie, and over the top melodramatic. From her screaming about enchanted children on the title track, to the epically sappy Beauty and the Beast, the whole thing is a study in nails on chalkboard for me

. Nightbird has the be the very definition of Stevie at her gawd awful worst to me. Nothing Ever Changes is superbad as well, and has to rank up there among the top of Stevie's most self indulging, nailing herself to her own cross songs

.

However, it isn't all bad. I do really like I Will Run To You. I'm always a sucker for a good Stevie-Tom Petty duo. And even tho Sable On Blond has a cheesy-porno-ebony-on-ivory kinda vibe to it, I do like it for some reason

.

You've just killed a little piece of my soul.

As for me, it's definitely Street Angel. I just can't get into it for some reason.
Her first three are her best three, imo. Then it's TISL followed by OSOTM then SA.

Artemis · #7 11-06-2009, 03:34 PM

It has to be the Other Side Of The Mirror for me. Rooms on Fire, Long Way To Go, and Whole Lotta Trouble are the only really amazing songs on the album.

I actually like a few Street Angel songs, Blue Denim, Greta, Street Angel - all fabulous. But for me, OSOTM is the album that, overall, lacks a lot of the wow factor and just seems to drag on and on and on.

JazmenFlowers · #8 11-06-2009, 03:37 PM

definitely Street Angel. although I don't dislike it at all, if I have to pick a least favorite, it would be SA. and the reason, is simple. while I like most all the songs in one way or another, none (except for Rose Garden) really touch me or leave a lasting impression. no, not even Jane and all her chimps...

BellaDonna93 · #9 11-06-2009, 03:45 PM

I think, if I have to chose my least favourite album, it has to be Street Angel...or OSOTM...though I like most of the songs on Street Angel. Love Jane

And for OSOTM I like most of the songs too but I have never listen to I still miss someone...so, well, love to sing the songs on SA and OSOTM because it fits my voice, you know

But if I had to chose, those 2 are the ones I chose

holidayroad · #10 11-06-2009, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turquoise5

Ha, funny how we all have different likes and dislikes...Wild Heart is my favorite, except I have to agree that Nothing Ever Changes is not her finest hour

I used to dislike 'Nothing Ever Changes', but I listened to it super closely the other day to post about the Wild Heart songs competition and discovered that's it's a lot better than I remembered!

JazmenFlowers · #11 11-06-2009, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by holidayroad

I used to dislike 'Nothing Ever Changes', but I listened to it super closely the other day to post about the Wild Heart songs competition and discovered that's it's a lot better than I remembered!

woah. Nothing Ever Changes is so epic.

HejiraNYC · #12 11-06-2009, 04:27 PM

It really is a coin flip between SA and TOSOTM for very different reasons. For TOSOTM, Mama veered way off into cheeseland, e.g., Kenny G., Bruce Hornsby, etc. And she relied way too much on the distractingly untalented hack Mike Campbell. But at least the album glistened in a mystical way- it managed to transport the listener to another place. And it was an album that took lots of heart and imagination to create. But I thought for every one gem like "Ghosts" there were two lumps of coal like "Fire Burning."

By contrast, SA was much less cheesy (although "Docklands" has quite an eau de fromage about it). But it just lacked any kind of creativity whatsoever- the kind of drama and fantasy that made even songs like "Desert Angel" bearable. I do love Stevie's vocals on this album though (some of her best ever), but the songs are just so utterly derivative and bland. There is a string of songs, namely "Kick It," "Love Is Like a River," and "Listen to the Rain," that are so hopelessly mundane and uninspired that it makes me sad to listen to them; it makes me sad to realize just how much of her creative spark had been snuffed out by the tranquilizers. This wasn't the Stevie I had known and loved; it was a bad Bob Seger impersonation.

In the end, I think this dubious honor has to go to Street Angel.

AgeOldDesire · #13 11-06-2009, 04:53 PM

This is so easy. TISL. Only a couple of songs on there are anywhere near the caliber she is capable of doing. The editing is poor. The production is third rate. Talk about cheesy. Some of her worst lyrics ever are on this record. Her voice is very monotone and boring. I just hope she doesn't end her solo career on this dud. Masterpiece my ass.

louielouie2000 · #14 11-06-2009, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

There is a string of songs, namely "Kick It," "Love Is Like a River," and "Listen to the Rain," that are so hopelessly mundane and uninspired that it makes me sad to listen to them; it makes me sad to realize just how much of her creative spark had been snuffed out by the tranquilizers. This wasn't the Stevie I had known and loved; it was a bad Bob Seger impersonation.

I always love seeing how everyone views things from differing lenses. To me, those three songs are part of the handful that made Street Angel a really decent, solid album. I like how they're all really upbeat, kinda hard edged, and forceful. Agreed, they're not very "Stevie" per se, but maybe that's why I appreciate them... for their difference?

vivfox · #15 11-06-2009, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AgeOldDesire

This is so easy. TISL. Only a couple of songs on there are anywhere near the caliber she is capable of doing. The editing is poor. The production is third rate. Talk about cheesy. Some of her worst lyrics ever are on this record. Her voice is very monotone and boring. I just hope she doesn't end her solo career on this dud. Masterpiece my ass.

Agree 100%. Like me you probably enjoy the songs produced by John Shanks. I did like this whole album for about 5 minutes earlier this year but that's just because I was desperate for a NEW Stevie solo album and have been waiting since 1994 to get one. I love all of her solo albums from the past. There are a two tracks from SA I don't care for like Jane and Just Like A Woman. I love every song on TOSOTM except Two Kinds of Love. RAL is my favorite of all her solo albums. I bought ALL her solo albums the very day they were released. July 17,1981-Bella Donna, June 1983-Wild Heart-The took forever to arive after being delayed and delayed RAL-Nov. 1985, the I didn't even know she was recording a new album-TOSOTM-May,1989 and Street Angel-1994-I actually can't remember when in 1994.