Like or Dislike: Ooh My Love

[skcin]

Once upon a time, when I first started getting into solo Stevie (probably right around '97 - I had always been a casual fan, but I didn't have any of her solo work until this point) I fell in love with this song. I thought it was beautiful and romantic and dreamy.

Now? Well, not so much. It bores me a bit, to be honest. I don't think it's awful, I don't skip it, I usually sing along, but there's no passion in it for me. Good lyrics, they fit with the album's theme of fairy tales & castles & such. But the music isn't very magical, IMO.

The vocal is too monotone for my taste, especially the chorus harmonies. And this is one of the "muddy" songs on the album - like you're listening to it underwater (who talked about this before - Quim? David? I can't recall.)

Favorite lines:

"And all this talk...about love and hate
And our separation way on down the line...
Well they just can't wait, can they?
No they just can't wait..."

"Oh...but there was a time when...he called her "angel..."


"There was a light that lighted the way to the chamber...
Where they spent all their time, well..."

So, it's just OK for me. Not great, not terrible. Average. Nothing all that special. I'm surprised that this made it onto Enchanted, but "Doing the Best That I Can" did not. And I don't think I'd care for it live, I think it would drag.

[JazmenFlowers]

from the moment I heard that first beat I was in love...I think the everything about it is magical. the music is perfect for the lyrics and I think the vocal is great too. I do think the vocal is lacking just a teeny tiny bit, but that's my only criticism. one of my favs from OSOTM.

[Rickypt]

I listened to OSOTM the other day for the first time in ages. I used to dislike this song, along with several others on the album. But I'm finding a new appreciation, especially for Ooh My Love. A little too overproduced like the entire album, and certainly nowhere Stevie at her best, but a nice midtempo song that has held up pretty well.

[Johnny Stew]

One of my all-time favorites, and easily one of the best songs on The Other Side Of The Mirror.

From Billboard magazine's review of Enchanted....

"Enchanted" combines live rarities and B sides with radio hits like "Stand Back." But the emotional highlight is "Ooh My Love" (originally buried in the long-forgotten "The Other Side of the Mirror"), about a princess who feels like a prisoner in her own castle even though she's still terrified of the world outside. It's Nicks' love letter to her fans, and, like the rest of "Enchanted," it makes you admire her fierce compassion for the lost girls in her flock. She's lasted so long as an icon because she's never forgotten how it feels to teeter in high heels on the edge of seventeen.

[ELIUD]

I love that song so much. I think lyrically it shows that she was really aware about her popularity ebbing and that things might be going downhill for her after that album. She was losing confidence. There's more songs like that on TOSOTM but this one is sweet and a favorite of mine.

[strandinthewind]

I love the "ooo hey hey baby" vocal.

Coll song, but not earth shattering and it was the first time I thought "where is the voice"

[foxyluva]

I LOVE this song - one of my very favourites

[chiliD]

Bleccccccch!

[foxyluva]

Originally Posted by chiliD

Bleccccccch!

lol - did you mean BELCH???

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by foxyluva

lol - did you mean BELCH???

No that's only if you have too many beans for dinner.

[chiliD]

Originally Posted by foxyluva

lol - did you mean BELCH???

No, I meant "Bleccccccch!".

[MacMan]

All this talk... about love and hate (of the song) I think I have to give this cd another spin.. it's been awhile.

This song is one of the stand-outs on the cd for me - love the funky opening and pulsing bass throughout. Visually, it would have made a great video!

[David]

I like this one. Dumb words, but makes you want to take care of Stevie--she's the heroine once again.

I agree with macMan, the pulsating bass gives a little movement to the whole thing. Too many songs on OSOTM don't move, unfortunately.

[gldstwmn]

I like the song but the demo version is so much bouncier. I wish a cleaner version would surface.
I love the "Oooh hey hey baby" part.

[SillyDreamer]

i like this song a lot... often i find myself waiting for the subtle change in lyric: "Well, it was a strain on her---it was a strain on me." I like to hope it was not just Stevie randomly riffing on a whim, but a conscious attempt on her part to break out of the third-person bubble she had come to rely on. Although occasionally it very effectively aided the imagery in a song, it seemed that around this time it became less an aide and more a crutch-- a silly attempt protecting herself at her most vulnerable. Silly because Stevie's songs are so obviously personal that changing lines to the third-person--"What can I do when I'm crazy for you?/SHE wonders how many more hours HER heart will feel broken"--it does more to damage the flow of the story than to actually distance her from the experience. We know it's her own heart she's talking about... so why pretend? The song ain't called "She Can't Wait," is it? It's like when you're talking to someone who says, "I've got this friend who has this problem..." Pretty transparent.

Anyway, that was quite a rant. I'm sorry for that. Just expressing that part of the reason I like this song is because it is a sign to me, however feeble, that Stevie can actually address her pain when she wants to. In "Ooh My Love," she's not simply telling us about this lonely girl in this grand castle, and isn't it a romantic story. It's her saying "it's ME! I am going through a hard time!" She hasn't always been that honest with us, although she succeeds elsewhere on this album with songs like Doing the Best I Can. Now, if she had chosen to instead write those lines "Doing the best She Can," a great song about self-awareness would have been lost.

Ok, I'm really done now.