"Well, I wonder what Greta would say..." A Street Angel Appreciation Thread

[mikebise]

I was just listening to (my expanded version of) Street Angel, and, just like the first time I heard it, I got chills the final time Stevie sings the line:

"I wonder what Greta would say..."

Wow!!!! That background Stevie just comes out of nowhere and takes over ~ I LOVE it when Stevie does that!

"Greta" remains my favourite song from Street Angel, from 1994 to now. I got a huge amount of outtakes a few weeks before Street Angel was released in May 1994, and, even with all of the fabled classics, "Greta" had me the most excited.

One reason I love this song is Stevie's voice and ONLY Stevie's voice on this song (and "Blue Denim"). No damn pack of superfluous backing vocalists! (Sorry, Sara ~ don't UnFriend me!). I just think Stevie can harmonize herself the best. And "Greta" showcases this so amazingly.

Ooh! And if you listen to the end and crank it up, there's Stevie wailing away as the music fades, overdubbing herself...

She also does it wonderfully at the end of "Docklands". Just LOVE the ending, as the keyboards and guitars are swirling wildly, one of the Stevies is begging, "Give me your HAND!" as another Stevie implores, "Hold on..." The backing girls are okay on this song, but Stevie is the star, as she should be.

"Hold on..." just in the background... "I-I-I-I-I-I beg of you!!!!"

Listen, the very last thing is Stevie saying, "Hold on..."

This is just a rambling post about my love for Street Angel. No one will know how much my heart was broken in April 1995 when I first got on the old AOL Stevie Board, and every single poster (it seemed) absolutely hated Street Angel. I mean it, I was heartbroken. I love Stevie's music, and I took it personally to see her savaged so.

All these years later, I try to just ignore the Anti-Stevie "Fans", and just focus on my love for her wonderful music. Sure, I think I've improved the running order of Street Angel's tracks, including the three b-sides and "If You Were My Love", but the songs themselves are all good and feature some of Stevie's BEST vocals of her career.

As much as I love The Wild Heart version of "Destiny" (recorded here in Dallas in 1982), with all of its darkness and wild vocals, I still prefer the Street Angel version. Despite the sadness of some of the lyrics, Stevie still seems hopeful. Oh! Her voice on "Well,it wasn't like the others... it was nothing at all..."!!!!!! Listen to her, Unbelievers!!!

Enjoy/hate my rave/rant. I'll be listening to Stevie rambling at the end of "Destiny" ~

"Heartbroken... unspoken..."