Rock a Little vs. The Otherside Of the Mirror

[Machu]

I like almost every song on "Rock a Little" so this was an easy decision for me.

[KarmaContestant]

Rock A Little for sure. I mean, come on - it's no contest.

TOSOTM has Rooms On Fire, and then there's *the rest* of the album. Makes me want to drink too much wine while sitting in a room lit up with Christmas lights that should have been taken down four months ago. I am speaking from experience.

Rock A Little, on the other hand, is a mixed bag of tricks, all entertaining. It has some questionable moments, but they're all WTF? in a good way. I never skip a track, and it sounds awesome on vinyl, too.

[mitzo]

I like everything on RAL with the possible exception of Sister Honey and Imperial Hotel

On TOSOTM too much bad songwriting - only like Real Long Way to Go, Ooh My Love, WLT, Alice, DTBTIC, and I Still Miss Someone. OK, like pretty much half of the abum.

[Jondalar]

Rock a Little - I like almost half the songs on it. After I listened to TOSOTM I threw it in the trash.

[Macfanforever]

Both are great albums.I picked Rock a Little.

[GoldDustBoy]

OSOTM is terribly produced, all sparkly, echoey, and bland. There are a couple of songs I like to hear every now and then from it though. I like half of RAL which is still more than OSOTM.

[Blueletter18]

Originally Posted by KarmaContestant

Rock A Little for sure. I mean, come on - it's no contest.

TOSOTM has Rooms On Fire, and then there's *the rest* of the album. Makes me want to drink too much wine while sitting in a room lit up with Christmas lights that should have been taken down four months ago. I am speaking from experience.

Rock A Little, on the other hand, is a mixed bag of tricks, all entertaining. It has some questionable moments, but they're all WTF? in a good way. I never skip a track, and it sounds awesome on vinyl, too.

Hahahaha this is great, I can totally picture that! I can't think of a better way to describe listening to that album.

[TheSorcerer]

Rock a Little is my favourite Stevie album. I love the craziness of it. Plus non-singles like No Spoken Word, If I Were You, Rock a Little and The Nightmare are awesome.

I've always had mixed feelings about The Other Side of the Mirror. It's half-half in terms of tracks I like and tracks I don't. Two Kinds of Love and I Still Miss Someone are both especially hideous.

[PolishStevieFan]

This is tough. These two studio albums rank among my all time favourites. "The Other Side of The Mirror" was my first Stevie's experience and I have been a fan ever since I heard it first time more than a decade ago. Its mystical, fairytale like atmosphere and haunting, poetic lyrics bought me instantly. But then I discovered "Rock a Little" and I truly don't know which one is better. I voted for "Rock a Little" because on this album there's "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You" -one of the most touching and heartfelt songs that I've ever heard.

[starshine]

I'm sure RAL will win this but for me Mirror is better just because I started to collect Stevie /Mac stuff etc so it was a special time for me. RAL is disjointed and not cohsive enough really. I do like some of it but some parts aren't the best really. Too many producers etc. Not that I like everthing on Mirror either but at least it is one producer. Mirror will always be special. RAL just always seemed 'off' to me.

[Christopher]

Um, NO Contest! ROCK A LITTLE!!
Personally I feel TOSOTM would've been better suited up against the aimless "Street Angel."?!?

On one hand TOSOTM has a certain vibe, a sonic crisp breeze, a frozen in time fairy-tale gone bad. Yes, it is Stevie's darkest hour, and likewise the record barely had a pulse. Other than the rollicking "Long Way To Go", the rest of the record was stuck in mid-tempo slow groggy "suspended animation." This (by far) is Stevie's most painfully self-indulgent record, moreso than even "The Wild Heart." Despite a few highlights, if you were not a huge fan of Stevie's, this record would barely hold any interest at all.

"Rock A Little" was a wild card. A thrilling, screaming mimi foray through pop, rock, & funk! I loved every song on RAL and still do. From the crazed "Fatal Attraction" buzz-saw ultimatum opening of "I Can't Wait", to the stepford wife, kneel before the cross, "I Sing For The Things", you just knew this was a special, one of a kind, crazy Stevie moment! I also believe it is her most blatant commercial attempt!. Most of the songs were radio ready. It's too bad "they" decided on HAEWAFY for the 3rd single, when "If I Were You" was the obvious mid 8o's radio gem. If Stevie had her sh*t together during this release, and promoted it properly, instead of avoiding the press, (along w/ 3 videos) this record would have been a bigger success. I even forgive Stevie for all the outside writer inclusions, because "Some Become Strangers" and "Talk To Me" are equal highlights to the Stevie written "Rock A Little" & "No Spoken Word"! Rock A Little is unique! No one else could have a record this amazing & schizophrenic. No one.

[BombaySapphire3]

I voted TOSOTM for the same reason I voted for IYD over TISL.Both TOSOTM and IYD are the more cohesive albums .If it was on a song by song basis the results might be different but we are choosing an album here.

[cantgoback]

ummmm is this even a contest?

[Neal]

I'm in the minority, but TOSOTM gets my pick.

The cohesive feel, the dark fairy tale theme, "RoF"... Love it!

Not to say I dislike RAL; it's always right under Mirror on my faves lists.

[TheWILDheart]

Originally Posted by Christopher

It's too bad "they" decided on HAEWAFY for the 3rd single, when "If I Were You" was the obvious mid 8o's radio gem. If Stevie had her sh*t together during this release, and promoted it properly, instead of avoiding the press, (along w/ 3 videos) this record would have been a bigger success.

"If I Were You" is my favourite song on RAL

Originally Posted by Christopher

I even forgive Stevie for all the outside writer inclusions, because "Some Become Strangers" and "Talk To Me" are equal highlights to the Stevie written "Rock A Little" & "No Spoken Word"!

I have to disagree, actually. As much as I prefer RAL to OSOTM, "Some Become Strangers" and "The Nightmare" are 2 songs I cannot bare and I always thought it criminal that "One More Big Time Rock and Roll Star" wasn't included on the album and these 2 were.