[On Ice]

Oh my 18 years- makes me feel older than BTM recently turning 31. Like BTM, I loved SYW when it came out- the crisp, clear guitars and interesting musical twists and turns made for an engaging listen. Hindsight though, the length makes it hard not to skip some of the weaker songs. I agree wholeheartedly that the inclusion of Christine would've taken that oh so slight annoying edge off the record. My favs are:

1. All of Stevie's songs except Silver Girl. Best is Destiny Rules followed by Smile at You and Everybody Finds Out. She is great vocally for the most part and the writing is solid throughout except the aforementioned track. I do have a preference for the Wall of Sound Thrown Down- what an amazing first single that would've made for SYW, the song is awesome. While good on SYW, Wall of Sound just takes the song to a whole other level- best song hands down since the Wild Heart.
2. Lindsey comes in about 60% to my ears, his main strength has always been crafting brilliant, catchy pop, not art rock (he uses the I'm So Afraid formula for all of these songs)- he desperately needed to choose between Come and Morrow, both on one record was hard to get through. What's the World Coming To, Miranda and Peacekeeper are his best.

Also, the tour marks the last time I saw them live, which was a great show. I don't find myself playing SYW much these days but honouring its anniversary, I'm going to put it on this weekend between listening to the wonderful reissue of the masterful live 1980 (and 82) album.