Rank Stevie’s voice Eras

[BigAl84]

I'm biased because of when I was introduced to the band (1997) - for me, I loved her voice between '97-'98. Some of her vocals on Gold and Braid and Outside the Rain on the Enchanted tour were incredible. I agree that the difference between '98 and '01/'02 is pretty remarkable.

Somebody asked if she was still smoking in '01 - there are photos of her at soundcheck with curlers in her hair and holding a cigarette. There were also several fan reports of seeing her behind the scenes holding a cigarette.

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by On Ice

Aleuzzi, thanks for mentioning 1990-1995- these were very good voice years for Stevie, she was singing clearly, coherently and sounded as strong as ever. The BTM show I saw, she sang well through the whole show and one of the best landslide's since the 70's. I also thought the Street Angel years were strong, (listen to her on Desiree on Rick Vito's solo albums, she's one fire there) and the shows were great vocally as well. All in all, while not her most popular period, she was singing well consistently.

Agreed. Her voice on “Blue Denim” alone was incredibly strong. I remember being really impressed with her vocals during this era.

Btw: I had to edit my list. #3 was supposed to be 1996-2000, not 1978-1982.

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by David

Touring and live
1980 (August and September)

May & June of 1980 IMO, though the Rhiannon from Tuscon in August 1980 is phenomenal.

[David]

Originally Posted by vivfox

May & June of 1980 IMO, though the Rhiannon from Tuscon in August 1980 is phenomenal.

Did you ever hear that tape of Cologne Germany in June? Either the tape or the band was very slow, but the intensity was all there — unmatched mid-tour power on all the songs, really, like “The Chain.” No one unfortunately talks about that one from that night.

[David]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

David
I am a bit jealous of these late Wild Heart shows you got to see.

I’m angry that they weren’t captured for posterity. There was a Phoenix news camera at the September 25 Compton Terrace show because it was an all-star night, but nobody seems to have leaked the rest of that film in forty years.

What do you think was the problem early in the tour?

I’m not sure but many of those earlier shows sound like a sinus problem or a drinking problem. The last month must have been just the right amount of flake to send her into the stratosphere with a strong voice that got up there HIGH, very high. She was like the character in Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.”

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by David

I’m angry that they weren’t captured for posterity. There was a Phoenix news camera at the September 25 Compton Terrace show because it was an all-star night, but nobody seems to have leaked the rest of that film in forty years.

I’m not sure but many of those earlier shows sound like a sinus problem or a drinking problem. The last month must have been just the right amount of flake to send her into the stratosphere with a strong voice that got up there HIGH, very high. She was like the character in Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.”

Really cool to hear and for you to share your experience decades later. I saw a very confused show. You would have thought the US Festival show and the show I saw 30 days later were years apart. I remember the bootleg from one of the the later shows in Iowa where Stevie comments on the air there. She says something really funny like she does not know where she is at but loves the air. The Largo show was professionally recorded and even staged (my opinion) with the little girl Elaine. Stevie still seems a bit out of it but not as bad as the week prior that I saw her. Video concerts sold like crazy back then. Clearly with the success of her 1981 recorded concert they wanted to do it again. Once they saw that footage, those plans changed really fast. As you said, too bad one of the later shows was not recorded. I think she was sick and maybe Kim phoned in on the road asking for a divorce. By her Chicago concert she was featured on Entertainment Tonight and it mentioned her marriage was over. After Gold Dust Woman in Pittsburgh she said something like "Nothing can make me feel this much better than I did just a few minutes ago" But she was so high you need a decoder ring to figure things out. Was she sick or did she get bad news or both?

[WalkAThinLine.]

Nearly everything she sang on pre-Wild Heart was great, with her 1975 vocals blending seamlessly with Christine and Lindsey. By 1983, her vocals had become rougher and grittier, although they were mostly salvageable. Her drugged out Tango years were rough, but she eventually rebounded by the time Street Angel was released. Her relatively strong vocals continued through The Dance era but plummeted in quality soon afterwards. Since then, her voice has deteriorated considerably.

[Villavic]

At mid/late 80s, I used to long for her late 70s voice, but actually I loved her during Bella Donna/Mirage years.

Then I loved how she partially recovered his voice in The Dance, from what I understand with the help of a voice therapist.