All the Street Angel bashing

[seekerj]

I've noticed a lot of bashing of the Street Angel album in various threads. There is a lot of general negativity about the album, but nothing specific. There's a lot of "it just sucks", and then there's comments about the time of Stevie's life that it was released and what she was going through at the time (Klonopin); the focus seems to be on Stevie's personal life at the time and not the songs. There's not a lot of comments about the actual songs themsleves, or what specifically is wrong with these songs.

I personally like most of the songs, and, IMHO, I think if you remove all the ones that Stevie didn't write (which are very, very trite), it's a good album. I even think Stevie and Thom Panunzio made huge improvements with the production, compared to what Glynn Johns did.

So I'm interested in finding out what everybody thinks. What specifically does everyone not like about the songs ?

[chriskisn]

Well actually I like the album, it was one of the first Stevie albums (actually think it was the second after Timespace) that I bought, so I never hated it like some do.

The title track is one of my favourite Stevie songs...

Plus she covered Dylan - maybe not so well but at least the gal tried...

[Stew_Matthews]

I don’t know whether it is a bad album or not, I have heard worse. But in comparison with Stevie’s other work, it sounds inferior to me. On the occasions that I want to listen to her, there isn’t anything really outstanding or musically interesting that encourages me to play Street Angel instead of say Bella Donna or Trouble in Shangri-La. I’m afraid it is just pretty bland for me. Unconditional Love wouldn’t get on her other albums, it is musically & lyrically weak I think and the Dylan cover was a bad mistake. I think the album could have been improved with a stronger producer. She should have been encouraged to do a bit more work with the lyrics on her own tracks. A lot of the words sound more appropriate for demos rather than the finished article. For example, on Greta, that whole ‘she’s got her bags packed etc…’ just sounds a bit silly to me. However that is just my view, I recognise that others like Street Angel and I can understand why the title track and Jane are well received.

[Remy]

Sorry, but who exactly is Glynn Johns?

[wheart]

I've been playing SA a lot recently (I have to be in the mood for it) and always find myself pondering its pros and cons. Overall, I do enjoy it and think it has a certain charm, though it's far removed from Stevie's prior work. As Stevie said herself, she doesn't "twirl" on this record . There are a few songs (Jane, Kick It, Listen to the Rain) that I feel need to go. Aside from that, the major problems that I detect are the flat production, sluggish arrangements, and the emotionless vocals. Neither Stevie's voice or the music inspire any sense of the drama, mystery, passion or heartbreak that we've come to expect. However, there are a few bright spots, at least for me. I adore Destiny and feel it's the only song where Stevie does show some emotion. I love listening to Greta, though I'm not sure what the appeal is. I think it's probably the lyrics. Rose Garden is excellent because it is stripped down and doesn't sound like everything else on the record. I wish she would put this song back in her solo set. Love is like a River is a great song, and could be a great recording if she had redone the vocals and stepped up the beat a bit. It sounds way too slow for a potential rocking song.

[RockALittle250]

Originally Posted by Stew_Matthews

I don’t know whether it is a bad album or not, I have heard worse. But in comparison with Stevie’s other work, it sounds inferior to me. On the occasions that I want to listen to her, there isn’t anything really outstanding or musically interesting that encourages me to play Street Angel instead of say Bella Donna or Trouble in Shangri-La. I’m afraid it is just pretty bland for me. Unconditional Love wouldn’t get on her other albums, it is musically & lyrically weak I think and the Dylan cover was a bad mistake. I think the album could have been improved with a stronger producer. She should have been encouraged to do a bit more work with the lyrics on her own tracks. A lot of the words sound more appropriate for demos rather than the finished article. For example, on Greta, that whole ‘she’s got her bags packed etc…’ just sounds a bit silly to me. However that is just my view, I recognise that others like Street Angel and I can understand why the title track and Jane are well received.

Yes, i completely agree. Lyrically, the songs sound incomplete. In my mind, they feel like demos that she just threw together, and then called it an album. There's just too many fragments within the songs, and collectively they don't fit together on the same album.

[LukeA]

"the forgotten chimpanzee" sums it up pretty well for me... and not just regarding that one song.

Seriously, though, it was a half-assed effort by all involved- from the record company (I've seen better packaging/liner notes in bootlegs) on down to the producers (already been discussed) and Stevie herself (in full-on zonked out defeatist mode).

[louielouie2000]

I'm glad this was brought up, because I was just defending Street Angel in another thread. I think because Stevie herself trashes the album so, that her fans do the same. I absolutely believe she wants to disassociate herself with the album because of what she was going through/coming out of at the time, not necessarily because of the content of the album. I think she feels ashamed she found herself addicted and in rehab again, and that's why she disowns this period of time. Are there some bad songs? Absolutely... but not more so than any of her other albums.

I hold steadfast to my belief that Street Angel is a solid little album, and the right album for the times. It was a straight forward back to basics rock album that she badly needed to make after Other Side of the Mirror, given what was going on musically in the early/mid 1990s (grunge: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, etc). She needed to put away the shawls and airy fairiness for this album, and show she was a legit rock artist, and I think she accomplished that mostly. I put Blue Denim up there with any of her songs she's recorded... it's a real foot tapper, it has great Stevie lyrics, and a rather timeless production. Greta is a really fun, whimsical little song. The title track is really haunting to me... it's one of her most visual songs of her career to me. There are some great rock tracks on the album too including: Love Is Like a River, Listen to the Rain, Blue Denim, and Kick It. Agreed, there are some stinkers. Unconditional Love and Jane make the top of my list. But again, I even think there are some clunkers on her self proclaimed masterpiece, Trouble In Shangri La (as well as Bella Donna, Wild Heart, Rock a Little, and Other Side of the Mirror).

The great thing about Stevie's albums is they all have a distinct flavor. Street Angel is just another link in that chain for me, and I for one am so glad we have it .

[David]

Originally Posted by Remy

Sorry, but who exactly is Glynn Johns?

He was the original producer on the album. He & Stevie didn't enjoy working together, & he split before she was satisfied with the album. So she hired another guy to repair what they could of it, but that didn't get very far, either.

Listen to the OFF THE RECORD with Mary Turner from 1994 for additional information.

[Stew_Matthews]

Originally Posted by RockALittle250

Lyrically, the songs sound incomplete. In my mind, they feel like demos that she just threw together, and then called it an album. There's just too many fragments within the songs, and collectively they don't fit together on the same album.

You express more eloquently the point I was trying to make.

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

It was a straight forward back to basics rock album that she badly needed to make after Other Side of the Mirror, given what was going on musically in the early/mid 1990s (grunge: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, etc). She needed to put away the shawls and airy fairiness for this album, and show she was a legit rock artist, and I think she accomplished that mostly.

And on what tracks exactly did you pick up that Nirvana/Pearl Jam, 90's vibe? Rose Garden? I struggle with the concept that this album had any edge.

[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by Stew_Matthews

And on what tracks exactly did you pick up that Nirvana/Pearl Jam, 90's vibe? Rose Garden? I struggle with the concept that this album had any edge.

No, I'm not saying the album was in any way comparable to Nirvana or had any particular kind of edge. I'm just saying that the fluffy pop and escapist 80s were long gone when Stevie came around to record Street Angel. The music of the mid 90s was much more about hard reality vs the fantasy of the 80s, and was much more straight forward. People had put away the synthesizers in favor of much more back to basics electric guitar rock too. That's essentially what Stevie did with Street Angel in my eyes. She went from a heavily synthesized fantasy album with Other Side of the Mirror, to a back to basics straight forward rock album with Street Angel. Nirvana's music was never terribly groundbreaking either mind you, it was just the poster child for musical taste taking a sudden left turn. They may have helped pioneer a cultural shift, but they certainly didn't pioneer anything in music that hadn't already been done by the Who or Led Zeppelin a quarter of a century earlier.

[wolfontherun]

Several songs are cumbersome and lack any real passion or melody. Take away 5 songs and you have a better album.

Using the word chimpanzee has got to be one of tha all time worst lyric choices of any writer. This alone is enough to write off the entire work.

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by wolfontherun

Using the word chimpanzee has got to be one of tha all time worst lyric choices of any writer. This alone is enough to write off the entire work.

Umm...my pet chimpanzee was quite happy and proud that Stevie made that reference.

[skuncles]

For me personally the album sounded like it was missing Stevie's mystic ways. The albums release date kept getting pushed back (starting in 1993) until it was finally released in 1994. I had the single for "Maybe Love" and wasn't overly impressed with the song but I did like "Inspiration" (the b-side) and figured that the rest of the album should be pretty good. So when the album finally did get released I ran out to get it that afternoon and listened to it when I got home. I was not impressed at all. I thought that I must have outgrown Stevie's music. Then a few months later when I heard the Off The Record interview and found that Stevie herself hated the album, I was releaved.
It's not her best, but it has aged better than "Rock A Little". I love RAL, but that album is very dated. It sounds like your typical mid 80's pop album. That's what make "Rumours" and "Bella Donna" classics, they weren't recorded to sound like what was current at the time.

[priestofnothing]

Originally Posted by wolfontherun

Using the word chimpanzee has got to be one of tha all time worst lyric choices of any writer. This alone is enough to write off the entire work.

Chimpanzee and also LAUNDROMAT. WTF?