What's with all the Shangri-La bashing?

[DeeGeMe]

I love both albums. I think both are great albums in fact. I don't know why you can't love both.

[markolas]

It does seem like people are trying to overcompensate, or something. I like TISL, and don't see a problem with her vocals at all. It's just about a perfect album to me - but IYD is the only one besides BD and RAL where I like every song. WH, OSOTM, and TISL all have 1 or 2 that I can't stand, and SA has about half a dozen.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by mylittledemon

haha, well I'd like the "Revisionists" to take a look at Street Angel, then TISL (which was her next record) and then compare quality.

Yeah.

Now tell me TISL stinks.

When TISL came out I thought it was the best solo album she'd ever done. My love for it has slowly unravelled over the years, though. In time the production has come to sound very muddy, and Stevie's vocals sound extremely uninspired. Like others have said on the subject of TISL, the first 4 songs were stellar, and the last few were great as well. But this album kinda rots from the inside out because of the lackadaisical tracks in the middle.

And yeah, I am one of those people who has come to love Street Angel over the years. Compared to the murky production of TISL, 17 years on, Street Angel still crisply sparkles out of the speakers. I love the very quirky lyrics on Street Angel, especially compared to the almost cliche-for-Stevie lyrics on TISL. I adore the very back to basics straight forward guitar driven rock character of Street Angel. Yes, the album is *highly* flawed, but it's warts almost give it more character.

So why do I currently love In Your Dreams more than TISL? It seems more genuine, for starters. TISL kinda seems like a lazy all stars party. Stevie has passion again in her vocals, she's singing beautifully again... gone are the nasally belting monotones of TISL. As a whole, the production is much cleaner in IYD. The roots style music is soooo appropriate for the times and what all is going on in the world. In it's own way, IYD is almost Stevie's interpretation of the modern protest album. She's reminding us we need to get back to love, fantasy, and beauty. IYD makes a statement about the world and the times we're living in. TISL really didn't have a distinct message.

Who knows, my love for IYD very may well cool over time just as my love for TISL has. And perhaps in time I'll come to adore TISL again. After all, I once thought Rock A Little was the worst piece of crap Stevie'd ever vomited up , and now I think it's SUCH a strong album. I'm keeping my mind open to change, that's all .

[bluefox4000]

TISL.....total mixed bag. It's a Big step up from SA. Still not perfect though Stellar Tracks bogged down with filler. One of the big problems for me.....is her overly nasal vocals. On some tracks it's like nails on a chalkboard. I give it 3 stars. Not bad.....not great though.

Mick

[TrueFaith77]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

When TISL came out I thought it was the best solo album she'd ever done. My love for it has slowly unravelled over the years, though. In time the production has come to sound very muddy, and Stevie's vocals sound extremely uninspired. Like others have said on the subject of TISL, the first 4 songs were stellar, and the last few were great as well. But this album kinda rots from the inside out because of the lackadaisical tracks in the middle.

And yeah, I am one of those people who has come to love Street Angel over the years. Compared to the murky production of TISL, 17 years on, Street Angel still crisply sparkles out of the speakers. I love the very quirky lyrics on Street Angel, especially compared to the almost cliche-for-Stevie lyrics on TISL. I adore the very back to basics straight forward guitar driven rock character of Street Angel. Yes, the album is *highly* flawed, but it's warts almost give it more character.

So why do I currently love In Your Dreams more than TISL? It seems more genuine, for starters. TISL kinda seems like a lazy all stars party. Stevie has passion again in her vocals, she's singing beautifully again... gone are the nasally belting monotones of TISL. As a whole, the production is much cleaner in IYD. The roots style music is soooo appropriate for the times and what all is going on in the world. In it's own way, IYD is almost Stevie's interpretation of the modern protest album. She's reminding us we need to get back to love, fantasy, and beauty. IYD makes a statement about the world and the times we're living in. TISL really didn't have a distinct message.

Who knows, my love for IYD very may well cool over time just as my love for TISL has. And perhaps in time I'll come to adore TISL again. After all, I once thought Rock A Little was the worst piece of crap Stevie'd ever vomited up , and now I think it's SUCH a strong album. I'm keeping my mind open to change, that's all .

I agree with every word you've written in this post.

Re: the bolded material, I quote Stevie herself: "9/11 changed EVERYTHING." [emphasis added]

[RavenOfRhiannon]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

When TISL came out I thought it was the best solo album she'd ever done. My love for it has slowly unravelled over the years, though. In time the production has come to sound very muddy, and Stevie's vocals sound extremely uninspired. Like others have said on the subject of TISL, the first 4 songs were stellar, and the last few were great as well. But this album kinda rots from the inside out because of the lackadaisical tracks in the middle.

And yeah, I am one of those people who has come to love Street Angel over the years. Compared to the murky production of TISL, 17 years on, Street Angel still crisply sparkles out of the speakers. I love the very quirky lyrics on Street Angel, especially compared to the almost cliche-for-Stevie lyrics on TISL. I adore the very back to basics straight forward guitar driven rock character of Street Angel. Yes, the album is *highly* flawed, but it's warts almost give it more character.

So why do I currently love In Your Dreams more than TISL? It seems more genuine, for starters. TISL kinda seems like a lazy all stars party. Stevie has passion again in her vocals, she's singing beautifully again... gone are the nasally belting monotones of TISL. As a whole, the production is much cleaner in IYD. The roots style music is soooo appropriate for the times and what all is going on in the world. In it's own way, IYD is almost Stevie's interpretation of the modern protest album. She's reminding us we need to get back to love, fantasy, and beauty. IYD makes a statement about the world and the times we're living in. TISL really didn't have a distinct message.

Who knows, my love for IYD very may well cool over time just as my love for TISL has. And perhaps in time I'll come to adore TISL again. After all, I once thought Rock A Little was the worst piece of crap Stevie'd ever vomited up , and now I think it's SUCH a strong album. I'm keeping my mind open to change, that's all .

I think this is exactly what I was asking for Louie. Your love for TISL has dwindled, and you have clear reasoning for it (although one doesn't really have to justify why you like or dislike something) and you don't bash those who like it. It's just a stated opinion, and not an admonishment of those who disagree. As much as I like TISL, I do have to agree that the middle of the album gets a little bogged down...

[tabruns]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

When TISL came out I thought it was the best solo album she'd ever done. My love for it has slowly unravelled over the years, though. In time the production has come to sound very muddy, and Stevie's vocals sound extremely uninspired. .

See I don't get this comment about her vocals when I hear Nicks on "Sorcerer" going for higher notes for the first time in a long time on an album.

[tabruns]

Originally Posted by Jondalar

Look at the bad reviews on Amazon for IYD, they come from the I love TISL people. This thread should almost be flipped.

Yes, and I don't understand this perspective either. Again, its like "omg I have to defend TISL against the new album", when really no you don't. There's no reason to not consider them *both* to be excellent Nicks albums (if you feel that way).

[mylittledemon]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

When TISL came out I thought it was the best solo album she'd ever done. My love for it has slowly unravelled over the years, though. In time the production has come to sound very muddy, and Stevie's vocals sound extremely uninspired.

And yeah, I am one of those people who has come to love Street Angel over the years. Compared to the murky production of TISL, 17 years on, Street Angel still crisply sparkles out of the speakers. I love the very quirky lyrics on Street Angel, especially compared to the almost cliche-for-Stevie lyrics on TISL. I adore the very back to basics straight forward guitar driven rock character of Street Angel. Yes, the album is *highly* flawed, but it's warts almost give it more character.

You've certainly made me look at it in a different light. I do love certain things about Street Angel... Blue Denim and Destiny mainly... but overall as a record I find it very weak... and it hasn't grown on me over the years. Unlike TISL which I liked from the start, and my honeymoon phase with it has waned but I still enjoy it.

[tabruns]

Originally Posted by mylittledemon

You've certainly made me look at it in a different light. I do love certain things about Street Angel... Blue Denim and Destiny mainly... but overall as a record I find it very weak... and it hasn't grown on me over the years. Unlike TISL which I liked from the start, and my honeymoon phase with it has waned but I still enjoy it.

I'm in the same boat as you. To me, Street Angel just lacks that special Stevie spark that every other one of her solo albums has. I keep calling it "pedestrian" writing because that's how it sounds to me....there isn't anything really creatively sharp about it.

I do understand why some like it, though, because some people seem to really dislike the sleeker production on RAL and TOSOTM. Production-wise SA seems like a throw-back to BD and TWH (although in my opinion the songs aren't nearly of the same calibre).

[drzubritsky]

I loved TISL when it was released and still believe it holds up well. At the time, I was particularly impressed with how the production struck a good balance between fresh-sounding and overly trendy (even more surprising given the number of producers). Certainly the album isn't perfect...TMMS and IMY aren't among her stronger compositions and I question the inclusion of TFFT. But overall I think it holds together quite well as a collection of songs.

The one item that I would concede to the revisionists are her vocals. I really didn't have any issues with her TISL vocals at the time (although I did notice that her range had diminished since The Dance). In fact, it wasn't until SYW that I began to notice the lack of variety and nuance in her vocal delivery, which I then realized had been a problem on TISL. It's too bad because the monotonous quality is most pronounced on two of the albums best compositions: POTU and the title track. But her vocals certainly don't sink the album for me. I just realize that they could have been better (particularly when I heard "Call On Me For Magic" which was recorded in the same time frame - why oh why did she not employ these capabilities on the TISL tracks?!)

With the amazing quality of IYD, it's hard to imagine a Stevie Nicks fan not being incredibly impressed and pleased that she has delivered two of the strongest, most consistent albums of her career at this stage in her career. I can't think of many female rockers that have been able to pull off such high quality albums in their 50s and 60s!

[tabruns]

Originally Posted by drzubritsky

With the amazing quality of IYD, it's hard to imagine a Stevie Nicks fan not being incredibly impressed and pleased that she has delivered two of the strongest, most consistent albums of her career at this stage in her career. I can't think of many female rockers that have been able to pull off such high quality albums in their 50s and 60s!

I agree. I *am* very impressed that she put out TISL and IYD.

If anything, it makes me feel that if she hadn't been so addicted to coke/Klonopin to keep up with the pressure that she could have produced even more great albums. I think TWH, RAL and TOSOTM are good albums (and SA is fair) but they're all somewhat effected by those addictions.

[ahafan02]

Originally Posted by mylittledemon

You've certainly made me look at it in a different light. I do love certain things about Street Angel... Blue Denim and Destiny mainly... but overall as a record I find it very weak... and it hasn't grown on me over the years. Unlike TISL which I liked from the start, and my honeymoon phase with it has waned but I still enjoy it.

Street Angel is MILES better then OSOTM

[tabruns]

Originally Posted by ahafan02

Street Angel is MILES better then OSOTM

Alas, TOSOTM is MILES better than SA.

[wildheart048]

I agree with the original poster...I had noticed that too...even from Stevie a bit in some of the interviews...I loved TISL, and continue to do so...in some ways, it seemed to me similar to Bella Donna, arguably our Bella Donna's greatest work. Which makes this one Wild Heart...I'm joking, as I know it doesn't mean any such thing...but I think there are similarities...and WH was my personal favorite ...this one has a very good chance of taking over that role for me...

Honestly, I've seen this before when someone puts out something new then the last thing they did gets trashed and it always annoys me....