‘The Other Side of the Mirror’- likes and dislikes (what are yours?)

[CreepingDeath]

Love:

Rooms on Fire
Long Way To Go
Doing the Best I Can (Escape From Berlin)
Ooh My Love
Ghosts
Alice
Juliet

Just ok:

Two Kinds of Love
Cry Wolf
Fire Burning
Whole Lotta Trouble (could have done without the brass section)
I Still Miss Someone (Blue Eyes)

[Nikolaj]

A big SN fan who can't get through an SN album even once? How do you know you can't "stomach" it if you haven't heard all of it? If it makes sense to you (both), that's what matters. It's not that I intend to or love to be combative or seek validation- for those who think it sucks, they should think that, based on their own opinions, whether they fully know the work or not! Honest. But if you have never gotten through it even once, your opinions aren't of the full album, as you haven't heard it. That's cool. If I couldn't get past track 3 or 4, I wouldn't want to keep listening, either.
'Doing The Best That I Can' is nearly at the end, and it's well-loved by many. And also not, by others.
The passage in 'Ghosts' about the past that you live in and the future you are frightened of... blows me totally away, I think it's brilliant. It's great writing.
I'm coming to think that happy, satisfied people hate TOSOTM because they can't relate to it. Maybe it takes a certain kind of ability to relate to devastation that makes others appreciate it.
But certainly, it is not liked by many; and well-liked by less, who seem to like it a lot.
It also can be it's a lousy album. Having actually heard it, many times, I think it has a lot of greatness in it.

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by daniellaaarisen

I've never listened to this album the whole way through. I can't stomach it.

Coming from YOU, this statement totally dumbfounds me.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by APerfectLie

Bella Donna has sold over 4 million. Wild Heart and RAL have sold over 2 million each. TISL? 648,000. More sales than Street Angel, but not much when you consider The Other Side of The Mirror and Timespace both sold over a million copies each.

Timespace and The Other Side of the Mirror only went platinum after The Dance. Street Angel only went gold after The Dance.

[jannieC]

Originally Posted by vivfox

Coming from YOU, this statement totally dumbfounds me.

I remember having trouble listening to it all the way through when it was released.

[fringed n fab]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

Timespace and The Other Side of the Mirror only went platinum after The Dance. Street Angel only went gold after The Dance.

She didn't even like it for reasons some of us can understand. I loved the tour though even though I'm glad she's dropped the long instrumental feel to some of her solo sets in recent years. The musicians sound better today.

[chiliD]

Originally Posted by Nikolaj

A big SN fan who can't get through an SN album even once? How do you know you can't "stomach" it if you haven't heard all of it? If it makes sense to you (both), that's what matters. It's not that I intend to or love to be combative or seek validation- for those who think it sucks, they should think that, based on their own opinions, whether they fully know the work or not! Honest. But if you have never gotten through it even once, your opinions aren't of the full album, as you haven't heard it. That's cool. If I couldn't get past track 3 or 4, I wouldn't want to keep listening, either.
'Doing The Best That I Can' is nearly at the end, and it's well-loved by many. And also not, by others.
The passage in 'Ghosts' about the past that you live in and the future you are frightened of... blows me totally away, I think it's brilliant. It's great writing.
I'm coming to think that happy, satisfied people hate TOSOTM because they can't relate to it. Maybe it takes a certain kind of ability to relate to devastation that makes others appreciate it.
But certainly, it is not liked by many; and well-liked by less, who seem to like it a lot.
It also can be it's a lousy album. Having actually heard it, many times, I think it has a lot of greatness in it.

Unfortunately, I've "gotten through it" more times than I can count. (Come to think of it, it's about time for me to do my annual TOSOTM play through). The result is always the same. (and that is taking into account of my mental state and the type of "self-medication" I'm using at the moment....and the worst listen-through is when I'm "totally unmedicated")

I'm ready to hit the "eject" button when "Rooms On Fire" ends...but I tell myself "no, you HAVE to listen to it all the way through, since something may sway your opinion". Uh, no. Same feeling about the album regardless.

Other than the opening track, it's guano.

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by fringed n fab

She didn't even like it for reasons some of us can understand. I loved the tour though even though I'm glad she's dropped the long instrumental feel to some of her solo sets in recent years. The musicians sound better today.

That Street Angel tour was a suprise. Her career tanked and I was expecting much. I saw her at the Ohio State Fair, and it was the best I've ever heard heard her. She sang Talk to Me and Rooms on Fire. Talk to Me sounded just like it did on the record. Great vocal. That was a great concert. She was really trying.

[chiliD]

Originally Posted by chiliD

, it's guano.

Originally Posted by petep9000

hahahaahahahahahahahaahah

Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your server.

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by chiliD

Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your server.

You know, the last time you ventured into this forum, I think Washington was still persident!

[chiliD]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

You know, the last time you ventured into this forum, I think Washington was still persident!

Denzel???

[fringed n fab]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

That Street Angel tour was a suprise. Her career tanked and I was expecting much. I saw her at the Ohio State Fair, and it was the best I've ever heard heard her. She sang Talk to Me and Rooms on Fire. Talk to Me sounded just like it did on the record. Great vocal. That was a great concert. She was really trying.

I was there all day and at the show too! And I remember (me, my sister, and her bf at the time) as we sat down we started chatting to this blond girl sitting next to us who came totally decked out in Stevie wear, long black shawl and all, and as the lights clicked off and the show started, as soon as that girl saw Stevie take the stage she came up out of her chair and started dancing and chanting in trance and she scooted off and we never saw her again lol. But yeah, awesome show that night and I loved the backdrop on that tour. I remember my sis' bf saying Stevie had badass hair. He was a fan but it was his first show ever seeing her. Fun, fun night!

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by Nikolaj

A big SN fan who can't get through an SN album even once? How do you know you can't "stomach" it if you haven't heard all of it? If it makes sense to you (both), that's what matters. It's not that I intend to or love to be combative or seek validation- for those who think it sucks, they should think that, based on their own opinions, whether they fully know the work or not! Honest. But if you have never gotten through it even once, your opinions aren't of the full album, as you haven't heard it.

True. In fact, on vinyl in particular I used to find that the tracks that resonated with me the most were often the closing ones. I think they sequenced it that way.

Moreover, opinions can change. So, not only do I listen all the way through, but sometimes I've had a change of heart about songs (or in the case of TISL, an entire album) because I listened several times to something I didn't much like the first time around.

Michele

[tilthefirefades]

Opinions can definitely change. I thought that RAL was the worst thing ever, and I had listened to it many times all the way through. Just recently however, it has become one of my favorites! On the same token, I used to love WH, but slowly over this past year I have started to detest it

[baboles]

Originally Posted by greendaze5

This album seems to get mixed reviews. Share your thoughts! Mine are below:

LIKES :

- ‘Rooms on Fire’, ‘2 Kinds of Love’, ‘Ooh My Love’, ‘Doing The Best I Can’, ‘Real Tears’

- Great video for ‘Rooms’

- The Alice in Wonderland theme

- The cool mini hologram that came with the Brit release (and the bigger one you can order separately)

- Stevie gets her 1st hit single in Europe with ‘Rooms’

- nice tour book

- Stevie yelling at the security guards for roughing up her fans at one of the 1989 shows (“Don’t f*ck with my people, or I’m gonna get real f*ckin' angry!!!!”

- Nice covers for the '2 Kinds of Love' and 'Whole Lotta Trouble' singles


DISLIKES :

- ‘Cry Wolf’ (yawn - boring and not written by Stevie) ,’ Fire Burning’ (never liked this one), ‘Juliet’ (whassup with the talk-singing?!), ‘I Still Miss Someone’ (the Dolly Parton version is WAY better)

- Stevie’s ugly stage clothes for this tour (the hats, bustiers, platform sneakers, shoulder pads, etc.)

- Her klonopin addiction at this time (as seen in her zombie state of mind while on stage)

- No video for ‘2 Kinds of Love’

- To me, this album signaled the beginning of her career slump at the end of the 1980’s (when her 2 singles after ‘Rooms’ didn’t chart)

- Don't like the covers for the whole album, or for the 'Rooms' single.


Roland

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head! I love "Alice" especially! I really have to be in a special mood to listen to this record. Sometimes, TOSOTM can be a really magical album, but it has more weak moments than strong ones.