Trouble in Shangri-La better than IYD and 24KG? - Page 3

sorcerer999 · #31 02-20-2015, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wheart

maybe YOU got bored after 6 months but don't speak for the rest of us. While I like some of Stevie's solo work more than others, I've never grown BORED with any of them.

I wasn't speaking for anyone in particular. I was just offering an opinion based on years and years of being a part of this forum and seeing people's opinions change over time. Their initial favorites (albums, songs) become their least favorites later on in time.

I guess I shouldn't have used the word "bored". I should've used the words "overly critical", as in after a lot of us hear the album front to back, back to front after a long period of time, we start to analyze, and pick things apart...again, going by reading posts from a lot of us, and noticing changing opinions. I too have never gotten bored with any of Stevie records, just disenchanted with certain songs and certain albums. Stevie's music is a lot of things, but never boring.

For me, personally, her music is cyclical. It comes in phases for me. A couple of years ago, I went through a huge RAL phase and listened to nothing but for a very long time. I'm going through an OSOTM phase right now, and enjoying having those songs back in my life. Songs that I hated in years past are now becoming my favorite, as I can truly understand where she was in her life in that time and how it now relates to my own circumstances as I get older. Whereas I couldn't relate to some songs when I was 16 years old, or even 25.

bombaysaffires · #32 02-20-2015, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sorcerer999

I love the sparse instrumentation. I love that you can still hear a guitar reverb echo at the end of IYWML, as well as someone talking in the background at the end of Starshine (you need headphones and the volume way up to hear that one)...and of course the clapping at the end of Lady. It's like guerilla filmmaking. They were in a time crunch. The record, while still showcasing these "tiny" foibles and "mistakes", if you will, is still mixed and mastered extremely well. It all goes back to that time crunch - they didn't have time to give the songs to someone like Chris Lord-Alge to work on for 6 weeks. So they did it themselves, and I think they did a great job.

I wasn't complaining about this stuff... I don't mind that the songs overall are a little rawer and less polished than previous (and certainly far less so than IYD)... I get that she was trying to keep some of the charm of the demos because that's what's made them so beloved all these years.

What I do criticize though, is the quality of the recordings. If you were to play this next to even BD, it sounds tinny, cheap, flat, compressed. And sloppy. You can do quick and quality, it certainly is possible and lots of people do it every day. Raw is one thing, that adds a humanness to the songs; but the sound quality should be like it was done in a professional recording studio and not on a cheap tape recorder. YMMV.

sorcerer999 · #33 02-20-2015, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

If you were to play this next to even BD, it sounds tinny, cheap, flat, compressed. And sloppy.

I guess I just don't hear any of these things. Nothing sounds flat or cheap to me on this album. Just my opinion though. We can agree to disagree.

PenguinHead · #34 02-21-2015, 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wheart

maybe YOU got bored after 6 months but don't speak for the rest of us. While I like some of Stevie's solo work more than others, I've never grown BORED with any of them.

You speak for me. If everything was perfect (which is a very subject term), it would be a very boring world. I will listen to an album repeatedly until it sinks in. then I might not listen to it for months. It's never boring; I just burn out for a while. Then at some point, I'll reconnect with it again, finding different characteristics.

Jondalar · #35 02-21-2015, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sorcerer999

I wasn't speaking for anyone in particular. I was just offering an opinion based on years and years of being a part of this forum and seeing people's opinions change over time. Their initial favorites (albums, songs) become their least favorites later on in time.

I guess I shouldn't have used the word "bored". I should've used the words "overly critical", as in after a lot of us hear the album front to back, back to front after a long period of time, we start to analyze, and pick things apart...again, going by reading posts from a lot of us, and noticing changing opinions. I too have never gotten bored with any of Stevie records, just disenchanted with certain songs and certain albums. Stevie's music is a lot of things, but never boring.

For me, personally, her music is cyclical. It comes in phases for me. A couple of years ago, I went through a huge RAL phase and listened to nothing but for a very long time. I'm going through an OSOTM phase right now, and enjoying having those songs back in my life. Songs that I hated in years past are now becoming my favorite, as I can truly understand where she was in her life in that time and how it now relates to my own circumstances as I get older. Whereas I couldn't relate to some songs when I was 16 years old, or even 25.

Trouble in Shangri La was never my favorite.i listened to it a lot initially to try and find things I liked about it, but it was a disappointment from the start. There are things I do like about it. I wish If You Ever Did Believe, Thrown Down and My Heart were on it.

tabruns · #36 02-23-2015, 09:09 PM

TISL and IYD and 24KG have all been really good albums. TISL made such a splash because it was a real return to form for Stevie, her first album that improved on the previous ones. It was also her last Gold album, but we all know that has to do more with the times than the quality of the music.

If you can get past the coked-out haze that is RAL, the only really sub-par album that Nicks has done as a solo act is SA.

APerfectLie · #37 02-23-2015, 10:59 PM

I will always love TISL. Being one of five people in the universe that likes That Made Me Stronger, I have never had a moment where I put on TISL and been disappointed. That being said, I think IYD is the best album of the three. When IYD first came out it took me a while to enjoy it and appreciate every aspect of it, but four years later I still find myself singing Everybody Loves You in the middle of my kitchen, humming My Heart in the checkout at the store, and blaring the album in my car. I don't know if it is because of the memories attached to the album or what, but for me IYD has remained oh so good after all these years.

TheWILDheart · #38 02-24-2015, 08:11 AM

I seem to be in the mintory. I adore TISL. Even the tracks that people aren't so keen on, I love. The whole thing from start to finish is, IMO, flawless.

IYD is fantastic, but doesn't quite hit the mark as well as TISL does for me.

I thought 24KG was pretty crap. The whole thing sounds rushed and half arsed.

michelej1 · #39 02-24-2015, 02:30 PM

I think TISL is a real album, album. Meaning, I think it sounds better as a whole, thematically, than if you take the songs apart and analyze them separately. The album does definitely have a mood of its own and collectively it's rhythmless, which I think helps make it timeless. I think if you listen to this group of Love Contemplation songs in context with one another it has a greater impact, because they all have a commonality.

I wouldn't say this is as true of IYD or 24K. Michele

James89 · #40 02-24-2015, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheWILDheart

I seem to be in the mintory. I adore TISL. Even the tracks that people aren't so keen on, I love. The whole thing from start to finish is, IMO, flawless.

IYD is fantastic, but doesn't quite hit the mark as well as TISL does for me.

I thought 24KG was pretty crap. The whole thing sounds rushed and half arsed.

This is exactly what I think.

Nicks Fan · #41 02-24-2015, 09:47 PM

TISL is by far the better record out of the three. I don't love every song but TISL as a whole was a very strong album and in IMO was her best work in a long time. For me TISL, Sorcerer, Everyday and Fall From Grace are great. I am not fussy on I Miss You, Love Changes, and Too Far From Texas as her voice on that song was really grating but overall the record was a return to form after the dreadful Street Angel. To me IYD starts off very strong but near the middle and end it falters with some stinkers (Ghosts are Gone, Cheaper Than Free, You May Be The One).

As much I hate to admit it 24KG Is not very good. Most of the songs I find her voice more nasal sounding than normal and allot of the songs were not her strongest demos. There was no need to re record Twisted and while Lady has a good vocal the lyrics are very repetitive. The Dealer is the best song on the record but overall I was very disappointed.

I hope for at least 1 last solo record and 1 last FM record and I hope she brings her best material.

bombaysaffires · #42 02-24-2015, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michelej1

I think TISL is a real album, album. Meaning, I think it sounds better as a whole, thematically, than if you take the songs apart and analyze them separately. The album does definitely have a mood of its own and collectively it's rhythmless, which I think helps make it timeless. I think if you listen to this group of Love Contemplation songs in context with one another it has a greater impact, because they all have a commonality.

I wouldn't say this is as true of IYD or 24K. Michele

Totally agree about TISL.

To me IYD also starts out to sort of have a theme-- of illicit loves or loves that can't really ever be... Secret Love, FWIW, IYD, Sargasso... but then New Orleans shows up and that's way off topic. Then back on topic with Moonlight and Annabel Lee, but then Soldier's Angel throws it all off. Everybody Loves You, Ghosts, You May Be are kinda in the 'loves that can't ever be' vein and the related sub-theme of loves that have to work together and so have a never-really-over connection. Then Italian Summer which doesn't really fit this. And Cheaper which is another oddball. So it sorta starts out, to me, on an interesting exploration of hidden, secret, illicit loves and then kinda starts meandering. But really maybe only 3, 4 songs out of 15 (NO, SA, IS, CTF) are off the general theme so it has a certain topical coherence to it for me.

I agree this isn't really so much true for 24k. 24k again has a collection of songs about illicit and/or doomed affairs (Starshine, If You Were, 24k, Belle, All the Beautiful, Watch Chain, Dealer, She loves him still.... but Twisted, Mabel, Lady, Hard Advice, Cathouse are unconnected to this topic and so is Blue Water sorta for me.. so you end up with 5 songs for sure, and maybe 6, out of 16 that don't fit the theme, which definitely makes it more just a collection of songs than a coherent album.

tabruns · #43 02-24-2015, 10:55 PM

I don't see significant superiority among these three in terms of one being much better than the others. To my ears, all three of these albums have been among the best of her career.

To me, Nicks has released 4 exceptional albums: Bella Donna, TISL, IYD, and 24KG. OSOTM and Wild Heart are very good. RAL is good. Street Angel, as I've said before, is her only really sub-par album. She may have been a mess during RAL but her creativity was still there.....Klonopin really killed that during Street Angel. I wasn't sure she could write decent songs anymore.

dontlookdown · #44 02-26-2015, 12:40 AM

Loved it when it came out, but In Your Dreams is way better - better songwriting by a longshot and much better vocals.
And then 24k Gold is even better than In Your Dreams…

I think TISL has too many clunkers. Title track is gorgeous. It's Rumours-worthy. There are a handful more that are good, but track for track, it's the weakest of her last 3.
She's on a roll now -- looking forward to her new Fleetwood Mac songs.

teedeerocks · #45 02-26-2015, 03:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheWILDheart

I seem to be in the mintory. I adore TISL. Even the tracks that people aren't so keen on, I love. The whole thing from start to finish is, IMO, flawless.

IYD is fantastic, but doesn't quite hit the mark as well as TISL does for me.

I thought 24KG was pretty crap. The whole thing sounds rushed and half arsed.

I totally agree with you about 24 karat.It was rushed and it sounds rushed.I didn't even buy it which is unheard of for me.I've listened to it many times,but I'm just not feelin' it.Having said that,I do love Lady,The Dealer, and Belle Fleur.With the exception of a few songs,I totally love TISL and IYD.But then she came out with the IYD documentary and showed her bossy,self-important personality and, well,I guess that's another thread........