Docklands

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by Regina

But, of course, I'm a bit warped.
I know it doesn't fit Stevie's lifestyle at all...but I think she is such a romantic that I can picture her hearing this song for the first time, and picturing herself in this wispy slip of a pathetic dress, taking her entire family's wash out to some river somewhere (ignoring the laundromat mention) and beating them against the rocks to get them clean--then hanging them up on some tree branches...all the while hoping for some young, rich stud to take her away from all this.
Um...or is that just me???

That was pretty damn funny! I think I just might like this song a wee-little bit more now.

[Hawkeye]

I LOVE Docklands. Like you said her voice is great on this song. Its really a great song. Some of the lyrics are a little weird, btu heh I think they're funny. But I really love the "sometimes I feel like Im in a foreign land and there's a mirror Im looking through" possibly my favorite Stevie lyrics not written by her there. And then of course Give Me You HAA AAND in the DOCKLANDSSSS. I BEEEEG of YOOOOUUUU. MAn you got me wanting to put this song on RIGHT NOW.

[svnwndrs]

Now, I think I have said this on this message board many times, but I DO like this song. Yeah, it doesn't really sound like a "Stevie song", but I think thats why I like it. It's different. I like the imagery. I like the "laundromat" line, because it makes Stevie seem more real. Like for once, she is portraying a character in a song that is not this "lonely princess" that she seems to portray a lot. In this song, she seems to come across as this girl, who lives near the docklands (which is supposed to be, from what I heard, a rough part of London) who has hopes and dreams and is just trying to get by.
I have also said this before, but the Master Mix version of this song is WAY better than the released version. I like the music on that one, because the song comes across a little more dark, and it's funky! The vocal on it is the same, but it is a different mix. Where the released version is rock, the Master Mix is more like "pop/r&b/reggae". Speaking of the vocal, I think it is one of the best vocals Stevie has done from the '90's.
Another thing, I think that somebody probably wanted Stevie to sing this song. Maybe it was Glyn Johns who blackmailed Stevie and said "If you don't sing this song and put it on this record, then I'm not producing this record" or something of the sorts. But who knows, that just crossed my mind a few times while listening to it and after hearing how Johns bossed Stevie around during the sessions. He was from London I think, anyway.
But if that isn't true, then why did she sing it on the Street Angel Tour?

[lagringader&r]

Originally Posted by diamondsnake

It disturbs me that one of my favorite songs is the hatred of most Stevie Nicks fans. I seriously love this song. Her voice is great on it and it is just such an unusual tune. Am I the only self respecting Stevie fan that is in love with this track?

Sincerely,

I'm with you 150%. I love, love, love SA and every song on it. Yes, I do. I can't play SA Survivor because I can't bring myself to vote any of them off. That's how much I love SA. Docklands is no exception. This is one of Stevie's cds that has met with so much criticism, even from the hardcore fans, even from Stevie herself. She had a tough time of it when SA was born and maybe that's one of the reasons it impacts me the way it does. I really feel her in this recording. I always feel her, but the depths she had sunk to and the emotions she conveyed with SA aren't obviously apparent or appreciated by everyone, but if you bypass the glitzy, unimportant frills and concentrate on the feelings she had and the messages she was trying to send out (or even just vent for herself) you can't help but feel all of it right along with her.

So, I agree. I love Docklands. I love SA. I love you, Stevie and don't ever be ashamed of that masterpiece. You touched more souls than you know with it.

(Oh and did I mention I love SA)!

[trackaghost]

Originally Posted by DeadliestPoison

I like it.

Yeah, but then you hate Sara and Gypsy....

Originally Posted by KarmaContestant

I don't hate Docklands. But I don't like it either...it's sort of a long story...

When Street Angel was released (after three previously announced released dates, and three subsequent delays) I cruised downtown and bought the CD that day. First of all, considering it was her first solo LP since TOSOTM - her first in five years - I was pretty excited about getting a new Stevie album. When I picked it up and looked at it, I thought to myself "Hmmm...it's pink." The warning bells started going off in my head right away, but I love Stevie, so there was no way I was going to pass on the album. I took it home, closed the curtains, turned off the phone, grabbed my cigarettes, popped the disc in the stereo, and sat down with a drink to get the maximum listening experience. I had the lyric book with me, so I could read along with the words to each song.

Frankly, the whole album was terribly disappointing to me. I was just not impressed that, after FIVE YEARS, this was the best album she could come up with? The biggest disappointment of all...was Docklands. It's not so much the lyrics, or the music, or Stevie's vocal (which is really well done). It's not a bad song at all, really. It conveys some great imagery, and is interesting lyrically. The problem I had then, and still have to this day, is that it does not fit in with Stevie's own personal style. It doesn't sound like a Stevie Nicks song, musically; it doesn't read like a Stevie Nicks song, lyrically; and it doesn't fit in with anything else that is on the album...except maybe the song Street Angel. Just my opinion.

I totally agree. I remember the disappointment too. It was such a let down after such a long wait. It's funny, although I don't mind the cover now, at the time I did think it was just not Stevie. Even the lyric book is really quite sparse. Although I've come to appreciate Street Angel to an extent over the years that feeling of initial disappointment has always tainted it for me. And her voice isn't too good on that album.
I'm not a big fan of the Sandy Stewart numbers or that god awful Dylan cover either. At the time, Stevie sounded in a time warp, a burnt-out fading rock star. I realise people have come to love the album but honestly, Street Angel really is a fan favourite only.

Btw, is Docklands about the place in London? Cos I know that Docklands and it makes the whole song even more ludicrous to me.

[LEATHER&LACE64]

Originally Posted by diamondsnake

It disturbs me that one of my favorite songs is the hatred of most Stevie Nicks fans. I seriously love this song. Her voice is great on it and it is just such an unusual tune. Am I the only self respecting Stevie fan that is in love with this track?

Sincerely,

I never cared much for this song until recently--I began listening to my walkman at lunch and hearing it thru headphones gave it such a new life to me. I like it. But I know how ya feel, almost everyone here hates Leather and Lace~~~and it is one of my all time favorite songs of hers and always has been.

[David]

Originally Posted by svnwndrs

Now, I think I have said this on this message board many times, but I DO like this song.

I love it, too, & love singing & playing it. I'm bummed because Stevie threw it out of her set in 1994 by the time she got to California. Better one "Docklands" than a million "Stand Backs."

Yeah, it doesn't really sound like a "Stevie song", but I think thats why I like it.

I think it sounds like Stevie all over & through & through.

Sometimes I feel like I'm in a foreign land
And there's a mirror I'm looking through

just screams Stevie. And:

There are people who roam the docklands
There are ships passing in the night
There are thousands of things that I have dreamed
Gone in the daylight

is just beautiful! Why is everybody always fixating on the appearance of the word "laundromat" as if that were some sort of shibboleth of kitchen-sink realism? Are fans literal-minded or what? (The first question is genuinely interrogative, but the second is rhetorical.)

It's different. I like the imagery. I like the "laundromat" line, because it makes Stevie seem more real. Like for once, she is portraying a character in a song that is not this "lonely princess" that she seems to portray a lot.

I dunno. The line I cited above could perfectly describe the Stevie who used to complain about having to move constantly from solo scene to Fleetwood Mac scene & how that made her feel psychically split & very lonely because she couldn't fully settle in to either scene at any length. I think "Docklands" is very Stevie.

I also love the "demo" with the richer harmonies & the less driving beat. (Is that really a demo?)

[SapphireSister]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

I LOVE Docklands. Like you said her voice is great on this song. Its really a great song. Some of the lyrics are a little weird, btu heh I think they're funny. But I really love the "sometimes I feel like Im in a foreign land and there's a mirror Im looking through" possibly my favorite Stevie lyrics not written by her there. And then of course Give Me You HAA AAND in the DOCKLANDSSSS. I BEEEEG of YOOOOUUUU. MAn you got me wanting to put this song on RIGHT NOW.

My sentiments exactly. I LOVE this song and sometimes play it over and over. I find it humorous when some of my most beloved Stevie songs are hated by the masses (i.e. Docklands and The Nightmare) but it really has no baring on my opinion whatsoever.
My favorite part of the song is also "sometimes I feel like I'm in a foreign land and there's a mirror I'm looking through". I get chills when I hear that! I don't care if the lyrics don't fit our favorite Stevie persona. I love to hear things that are out of the box and atypical Stevie. I mean mix it up a little guys! I can't even explain how much I love the music to this song. I'm going to put in in right now and dedicate it to all of you who hate it so

[skcin]

Originally Posted by SapphireSister

I find it humorous when some of my most beloved Stevie songs are hated by the masses (i.e. Docklands and The Nightmare) but it really has no baring on my opinion whatsoever.

I recently fell in love with The Nightmare. The lyrics are some of her best, IMO. I wish it had darker, more haunting music. But I love it anyway "So about the moon and her sisters, how dare he take them prisoner!"

Docklands - Once I get past the laundrymat line, I'm good. I like the music itself, the flow of the song, the vocal.

[SapphireSister]

Originally Posted by skcin

I recently fell in love with The Nightmare. The lyrics are some of her best, IMO. I wish it had darker, more haunting music. But I love it anyway "So about the moon and her sisters, how dare he take them prisoner!"

Docklands - Once I get past the laundrymat line, I'm good. I like the music itself, the flow of the song, the vocal.

I'm glad you've seen the light! The initial reason I fell in love with The Nightmare was this music (this is usually what attracts me to a song and then if I like the music I get into the lyrics). The music to the song has such great energy, comparable to that of I Can't Wait. It's one of those songs you can blast in the car and just rock out too and that's one of my favorite things to do I just don't understand why other people don't feel the great energy of this song and I just love the melody too. I was shocked when I found out it was one of the top most hated.

[Serendipity]

Its really odd to read all of your comments because I am very much part of the 'Docklands-hate commitee'. Mostly because I am literal-minded and I dont much like the inclusion of realism in the lyrics. However, you've all made some really interesting points and you've actually made me want to go and listen to it again. Especially the comments on some of the lyrics being more Stevie-esque than I first thought. I'll let you know if I change my opinion!

[svnwndrs]

Originally Posted by David

I also love the "demo" with the richer harmonies & the less driving beat. (Is that really a demo?)

Yeah, I like that version, too. It sounds so cheap and...I dunno..."ragged"(?) that that makes me love it even more. Stevie sounds kinda sick when she recorded it though. Oh, well. Gotta love those Klonopin years!

P.S. I also get chills when I hear that line "Sometimes I feel like I'm in a foreign land, and there's a mirror I'm looking through". I love how Stevie is sort of yelling/singing on this song. Sounds cool like that.

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by diamondsnake

I love that song! "I think you're uptight lady, out of sight!" I love that ending part...

that is my absolute favorite part too...I like Docklands, don't really listen to it much, but I like it