1986 rewind: Rock A Little Review

[aleuzzi]

I remember when I first heard “Talk to Me,” the long-anticipated single from the new album. I was not disappointed but I wasn’t terribly excited either. At the time, I thought her voice on the quiet middle section (where she sings “to veil a swelling tear”) sounded awful, raw, unsteady…Now that’s my favorite part of the song! The only thing I hated then and still hate now were the horns.

When I listened to the album straight through I WAS disappointed. She sounded strained, the synth-heavy arrangements felt false (for her), and the album lacked a consistent sound. I was underwhelmed by the songs (I still think “I Can’t Wait” is a highly-inflated dud). My ears perked up when I heard “I Sing for the Things.” And then I heard “imperial Hotel,” which I thought — and still think — is fantastic! The vocal, the arrangement—it was classic rock-n-roll. I hear people hate on that song and don’t know why. I remember when I first heard it, I laughed out loud: it was a kind of release and relief that she still had the goods, that her instrument could still startle and bewitch me.

Stevie claims HAWAFY is one of her best, most intense songs. I agree, though not with the performance on Rock a Little. Her version on 1998’s Storytellers is where that song shines the way it’s supposed to.