In Praise of Stories

[DrDark]

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I don't understand the hate this album gets from a lot of fans. Okay, so unlike her other albums it's fairly melodic and radio-friendly and she said she did it more-or-less just to prove she could make a record like that. The fact remains it's a great album.

[bluesman]

It never struck me as being anything other than a great album. I think it fits in well with the rest of her work.

[yarnforhair]

I appreciate it for what it is and appreciate that she wanted to do it instead of disregarding that sound. is it my favorite? no, but i sure do love it.

[alonbp]

I definitely don't hate stories, and I don't mind it being radio-friendly, it's just that it's hardly Polly at her best, I think. there are songs in it that I just don't like, and that's something I rarely say about Polly's songs. The fact she made that album just in order to prove she can do something like that still puzzles me. why would she do that? if that's the raison d'être of the album, than it's bound to be treated differently from her other works. In the right mood (a happy one) I do find myself listening to it, and I do like it, because it isn't a bad record, it's just that she can do so much more, in my opinion.

[Pitifuljoy]

What is Polly at her best though? Is that saying that she should stick to what she knows? That's a bit limiting though right?

I'm guessing she did an album like Stories because it was a bit of a challenge for her, to be able tp pull off such a thing more or less. I think she did it beautifully, and that's not a biased opinion because I'm a fan. If the album sucked, I would have no problem saying so.
All of her albums have different vibes and that's where I think she succeeds when she says that now dreaded phrase, "I don't want to repeat myself" .

[alonbp]

Polly at her best for me is Polly in ITD and in WC. I don't think she stuck to what she knew in these records, so that's definitely not what "polly at her best" means to me. Don't know why it does to you. I was just trying to say that Polly has better albums than Stories. I have nothing against its sound - it's beautiful. I too think she pulled it off. But the record just isn't high on my list.

[protocols]

Stories is my least favorite of her main albums. There are some truly great songs on it (as well as some duds), but I don't think it has very much of a soul. As an album, I find it taxing to listen to because it's very compressed and mastered so loudly. It's not a very dynamic recording. It's full of reverb, has tons of overdubs, and lyrically shallow at some points, but it's a pop album, so I suppose that's part of the fun! Some of it sounds strained to me; I don't get the impression that she's making the kind of music she loves, and I find that disappointing because when she's really passionate about what she's singing/playing, that energy comes through and it's never less than amazing.

[DrDark]

It's not my favorite either. I have to wonder if Polly's own statements about the album have affected people's perception of it. They certainly cannot have helped.

[bluesman]

Maybe Stories was all about passing 30? If your going to dip your toes into the pop world, regardless of the reasons why you choose to do it, you might not want to wait much longer. It can be a weird birthday for some people, maybe she thought what the hell I'm going to check this out for a bit, thought better of it later. The first time I heard it I thought wtf? had to force it down a few times before I became comfy with it. Now I would have a hard time finding anything bad to say about it. Just another part of the journey. Funny though, when i started trying to think of "my least favorite song" I really didn't know how I was going to answer it so I'm thinking "what do you listen to the least" SFTC was the first thing that came to mind.

edit: i was reminded suddenly of a pole yarn did at the old garden "What's your favorite Polly look?" and SFTC was tied with '95 at the top. I'm guessing nobody's going to jump up and say it's the best album by a long shot but at the same time people love the look (& whats not to love). Sounds just like pop music don't it?

[Pitifuljoy]

Polly at her best for me is Polly in ITD and in WC. I don't think she stuck to what she knew in these records, so that's definitely not what "polly at her best" means to me. Don't know why it does to you. I was just trying to say that Polly has better albums than Stories. I have nothing against its sound - it's beautiful. I too think she pulled it off. But the record just isn't high on my list.

Oh no, don't get me wrong. I was just curious as to what you meant. I myself don't know what "polly at her best" means actually. I guess I should have worded myself better.

On and hmm, she labeled this album her "New York" album right? So, NY inspired the pop/rock music route?

To me, it's makes sense now, as to why after Stories, she went the UH HUH HER route, given that Stories was her polished, lush, rock album, and UH HUH HER was the opposite.

[bluesman]

On and hmm, she labeled this album her "New York" album right? So, NY inspired the pop/rock music route?

I think it was other people, media etc. that referred to it as the New York album, references to Patti Smith and all that. She tried hard during interviews to due away with the term.

[Big Machine Writing]

I guess Stories is in the same league as UHH for me. There are some of her best songs on both those albums, but i still don't like too much on the albums, and skipping tracks is pretty frequent. They are the only two albums of hers that i will skip tracks on. What she wanted to achieve at the time worked, but they just don't sit with me as highly as everything else she has done.

[alonbp]

Polly at her best for me is Polly in ITD and in WC. I don't think she stuck to what she knew in these records, so that's definitely not what "polly at her best" means to me. Don't know why it does to you. I was just trying to say that Polly has better albums than Stories. I have nothing against its sound - it's beautiful. I too think she pulled it off. But the record just isn't high on my list.

Oh no, don't get me wrong. I was just curious as to what you meant. I myself don't know what "polly at her best" means actually. I guess I should have worded myself better. .

It's OK
thought I could pull this off but this smiley creeps me out still.

[Shadowboxer]

I never liked the CD until this summer, songs like: Big Exit, Good Fortune, One Line, This Is Love, Whores, Beautiful Feeling are amazing!

[supersonic]

I definitely don't hate the album, it has some catchty tunes, but I don't find it as interesting as her other records. What I love with Polly is her originality. I love that she makes music that's not easy to categorize. I have no problem labeling Stories - It's a pop album, and a good one.