"Sable On Blonde" Appreciation Thread

[The Tower]

"Well, have you come to see...
That my face- it is not seeeeee-een
Oooh, outside my frost-covered windows"

"Just how deep....
Do-oo you hold that dream-a?!?!?
In your hands each night??
Well, in your hands each night???
Whoa, in your hands each night?!?!??

Oooooo......

Well, I think it was you-ouuuu, bay-beh......
This time....."

Stevie Nicks rules my universe...

[strandinthewind]

Child - she SOARS on that. How many notes are above the T measure? Certainly the SEEENNNNNNN :wavey:

That song on The Enchanted tour would have kicked it - I mean she hit the same notes on SA.

[Phoenix]

Sable on blonde is a Sexy song.There just seems to be alot of passion in Stevies voice. The whole song just has a cool feel to it IMHO.I love at the end when She is singing the "This time I think it was you babe....." Plus, I really like Mic Fleetwoods opening drums.:thumbsup:
(I'll save my complaints about the back up singers UHHgAAGAHHSs in the begining for another thread:laugh: )

[The Tower]

Child - she SOARS on that. How many notes are above the T measure? Certainly the SEEENNNNNNN :wavey:

That song on The Enchanted tour would have kicked it - I mean she hit the same notes on SA.
The song in written in G flat, with her whole Dreams/Rhiannon chord structure. Sheer greatness......

[strandinthewind]

She lowered fifth, dominant tone of the C major scale

But at least Chopin and Schubert liked it :cool:

[foxyluva]

There are no Stevie songs I can say that I don't like - but this song is not all that good to me. My least fav on WH :sorry:

[Sahara]

A lovely, lovely song. So atmospheric and sexy. Love it.

[ontheEdgeof17]

Top 10 Stevie song for me......

...I hated it when I was younger...seemed so "old" and "adult-like".....but now...I understand it so much and appreciate the lyrics and know how she felt when she wrote it....Absolutely beautiful.

[wheart]

Always been one of my absolute favorites. I love the third "In your hands each night" toward the end. I've always loved the lyrics, too.

[JazmenFlowers]

one of my all-time favorites. everything about this song is strong, yet fragile. her vocals kick much ass.

that's why I included my version of it on the Gold Dust Project.

[DavidMn]

For me, it's about a 5 out of 10. Middle of the road.

[Janis_no1]

I've got to be quick so my one post has to be to this!

I absolutely love and appreciate that song! Abslutely love it, it was the first Stevie song that haunted me in my dreams as it was highlighting something happening at the time... funny how her songs do that. I had the line "well i think it was you baby... this time" and the line would just repeat itself over and over again during the course of the day.

What a fabulous song!

[SapphireSister]

For years this was one of my least favorite Stevie song mainly due to the music (it's slightly on the boring side) BUT in the last few months I've gotten so into the lyrics that I've learned to appriciate the song. IMO they are some of her best and as a general rule if I don't like the music to a song there is no way I'm going to like the song no matter how good the lyrics are but SOB is the exception. The music has really grown on me because of the incredible lyrics. Now that being said, they are also some of her most enigmatic lyrics and I'm not sure what this song is about exactly but it just doesn't matter because whatever the hell she is saying the words are just so damn beautiful. Even when I hear Stevie talk about this song and say what it's about I'm still confused. I'm sure as with most of her songs there is a lot going on that we will never know about.

"Was...freedom by choice
Or baby...was it love
Was it a thorn in your side
Something that you hide
Something you don't touch
Because it hurts too much"

That's my woman, simply gorgeous!

[wheart]

For years this was one of my least favorite Stevie song mainly due to the music (it's slightly on the boring side) BUT in the last few months I've gotten so into the lyrics that I've learned to appriciate the song. IMO they are some of her best and as a general rule if I don't like the music to a song there is no way I'm going to like the song no matter how good the lyrics are but SOB is the exception. The music has really grown on me because of the incredible lyrics. Now that being said, they are also some of her most enigmatic lyrics and I'm not sure what this song is about exactly but it just doesn't matter because whatever the hell she is saying the words are just so damn beautiful. Even when I hear Stevie talk about this song and say what it's about I'm still confused. I'm sure as with most of her songs there is a lot going on that we will never know about.

"Was...freedom by choice
Or baby...was it love
Was it a thorn in your side
Something that you hide
Something you don't touch
Because it hurts too much"

That's my woman, simply gorgeous!


But isn't she singing "something you don't TRUST because it hurts too much? It sure sounds like it. That always bugged me because I like the original lyric better.

[SapphireSister]

But isn't she singing "something you don't TRUST because it hurts too much? It sure sounds like it. That always bugged me because I like the original lyric better.

Nope, it's definitely TOUCH (I just checked the album and the nicksfix) and I always though it was touch, not trust. I like touch better I think. It makes sense that you don't want to touch something (or go near a person) because it hurts too much as in it will hurt if you continue to be around this person and have a love affair with them.

[Janis_no1]

Maybe we should just ask stevie..... ???

[SapphireSister]

Maybe we should just ask stevie..... ???

Of course, because then we'll get the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth :laugh:!

[Ghost_Tracker]

The song in written in G flat, with her whole Dreams/Rhiannon chord structure. Sheer greatness......


why?

( I'm not being sarcastic or something, I'm literally asking - I don't know a lot about "chord structures," etc. )

I do totally love this song also, though, and just in terms of the lyrics and the total performance, composition etc. I agree, I think it's total genius. :)

[Jason T.]

This song is my favorite Stevie solo probably only tied with "How Still My Love." I nearly melted the first time I heard it -- and I sort of still do when I play it. :rolleyes:

[Ghost_Tracker]

Nope, it's definitely TOUCH (I just checked the album and the nicksfix) and I always though it was touch, not trust. I like touch better I think. It makes sense that you don't want to touch something (or go near a person) because it hurts too much as in it will hurt if you continue to be around this person and have a love affair with them.



Uhhhh - i.m.o. neither Nicksfix or the liner notes are always 100% accurate.
"Official" yeah, "100% correct, always, every time" - uhhhh - no.
But I think maybe I agree with you, it sounds like "touch" to me also... Seems to connect with the surrounding lyrics a little better, too, I think. Connects with the "thorn in your side" line, also, I think -
be careful of the roses 'cause they have thorns, etc.

[David]

This song is my favorite Stevie soloWell, possibly mine, too. It's beauty, it's beauty, it's beauty.

There is also something interesting aboutthis song: You can sing it in a heavy metal voice & it still sounds "right." :confused: :thumbsup:

[ragandbone]

Well, possibly mine, too. It's beauty, it's beauty, it's beauty.

There is also something interesting aboutthis song: You can sing it in a heavy metal voice & it still sounds "right." :confused: :thumbsup:
Do you have a sound file of this to share? I mean you, singing it in heavy metal voice.:thumbsup:

[David]

Do you have a sound file of this to share? I mean you, singing it in heavy metal voice.:thumbsup:
I, uh ... well ... I ... uhhh ... I errrrrrr ... aye-aye-aye ..... :shocked:

[Janis_no1]

Of course, because then we'll get the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth :laugh:!

yes well you know that if five different people ask her we'll get five different answers! :laugh:

[BlackWidow]

one of my all-time favorites. everything about this song is strong, yet fragile. her vocals kick much ass.

that's why I included my version of it on the Gold Dust Project.
What is "The Gold Dust Project?"
http://www.buckinghamnicks.net/bn/images/SnLTusk.JPG

[foxyluva]

Well, possibly mine, too. It's beauty, it's beauty, it's beauty.

There is also something interesting aboutthis song: You can sing it in a heavy metal voice & it still sounds "right." :confused: :thumbsup:

Maybe I have to listen to it again - after all you people raving on about it I feel as if Im missing out :laugh:

[Janis_no1]

Maybe I have to listen to it again - after all you people raving on about it I feel as if Im missing out :laugh:

:laugh: peer pressure!! :rolleyes:

[sable]

Sable on blonde is a Sexy song.There just seems to be alot of passion in Stevies voice. The whole song just has a cool feel to it IMHO.I love at the end when She is singing the "This time I think it was you babe....." Plus, I really like Mic Fleetwoods opening drums.:thumbsup:
(I'll save my complaints about the back up singers UHHgAAGAHHSs in the begining for another thread:laugh: )


i love the end part too!!! i just soooooooooo love this song. :wavey:

[MacMan]

Maybe I have to listen to it again - after all you people raving on about it I feel as if Im missing out :laugh:

I had to too, have another listen, it had been awhile... It's still a great song... Nice, easy listening, groovy sound...

[amber]

I, uh ... well ... I ... uhhh ... I errrrrrr ... aye-aye-aye ..... :shocked:
If you did, I might like the song more. :D
It's my second most skipped on WH (after gate and garden).
It's growing on me, though. Good lyrics, flat music. (hi, Sapphire!)

[Janis_no1]

Shoot well there are some people who dont like it... hmmm there you go. I used to hate I Will Run to You because of the terrible 80's sounding synth at the 2.15 part... used to shit me, and i guess still does.

I like Nothing Ever Changes too... oh i just like so much Stevie. Guess thats why im here huh! :laugh:

[amber]

Shoot well there are some people who dont like it... hmmm there you go. I used to hate I Will Run to You because of the terrible 80's sounding synth at the 2.15 part... used to shit me, and i guess still does.

I like Nothing Ever Changes too... oh i just like so much Stevie. Guess thats why im here huh! :laugh:
I'm totally into Nothing Ever Changes right now. BTW, did you send Emmeline her thingy? :wavey:

[Jason T.]

Well, possibly mine, too. It's beauty, it's beauty, it's beauty.

There is also something interesting aboutthis song: You can sing it in a heavy metal voice & it still sounds "right." :confused: :thumbsup:

You know what the strangest thing about that comment is -- not the content itself, rather that I completely understand what you're saying.:thumbsup:

[Janis_no1]

I'm totally into Nothing Ever Changes right now. BTW, did you send Emmeline her thingy? :wavey:

I put up my response on the Off Topics thread. As i posted i sent emmiline her article since either just beofre or just after xmas. I put a return address on it but haven't received it back. I cannot send her another one either as i bought 6 copies: four for the ledgies who wanted it, and the other two for me. Emmline asked for one too after i bought them and i sent her the one out of my two. I only had one pm from her just under a week before she put up the thread and i had been flat out so didn't even know till i received an email from a ledgie friend telling me to get online and check my pm's then to go to the Off Topic section. Not much further i can do... i sent it, emmiline didn't receive it and i dont have another to send. Not much either of us can do unfortunately :o

[amber]

It's so good! I am always surprised when people say they hate it. I think it's one of Stevie's sexier songs. Just the way she sings it, and of course, "I can turn all your music on/ I can make you feel alive." It has a good beat, too... always thought it would have sounded killer onstage. That, Sable On Blonde, and Nightbird are my faves on Wild Heart.
That is totally the hook. I loves it. (the "I can turn all your music on" part. It's soooooooo sexeh!)
I, too, think it would sound good onstage, and also it would have been a good choice for a single. At the time.
That is sweet SOB is one of your faves. I really do like the lyrics, I wish the music was more dynamic, less flat chords - but it's still okay. To me it is a subtle song, for to grow on me.
Currently my faves (behind Stand Back, the eternal fave) are WH (I used to not like it, suddenly I love it :shrug: ) and Enchanted and Nightbird and Nothing Ever Changes. :laugh:
Nightbird harmonies are death defying.
Enchanted probably seems a strange choice, but it really gets me rollicking. In fact, I would call Enchanted a rollicking good time. Never liked it as much live, but in the context of Wild Heart, I love it a lot. It's a "screamer". (meaning, I love it cause I can just let loose and sing it loud and sloppy)

[foxyluva]

Shoot well there are some people who dont like it... hmmm there you go. I used to hate I Will Run to You because of the terrible 80's sounding synth at the 2.15 part... used to shit me, and i guess still does.

I like Nothing Ever Changes too... oh i just like so much Stevie. Guess thats why im here huh! :laugh:

Im totally all about Nothing Ever Changes :thumbsup:

Iv'e been listening to Sable On Blonde constantly over the last day - and I have to say its still not really all that good to me :sorry:

I LOVE everything Stevie - but SOB will be in my bottom 10

[skcin]

Sable On Blonde? On of her best. It took a long time, but it grew on me & it's now one of my faves. She's so passionate.

"In your hands each night!"

"This time I think that it was you babe...WHOOOAAAAOOOAAAAOOOOAAAAOOOOOOOO!"

Good stuff.

Oh, and Nothing Ever Changes is fantastic too.

[GypsySorcerer]

"Sable on Blond" is one of my favorites, though it took me some time to warm to it. I love the lyrics, and it's my favorite vocal from her on WH.

"Nothing Ever Changes" is another great one. I was listening to it on repeat in the car yesterday. :D

[Mike B]

(I'll save my complaints about the back up singers UHHgAAGAHHSs in the begining for another thread:laugh: )

Ooh, I'll complain about it! (Great spelling, btw - "UHHgAAGAHHS" is just how it sounds!) That kickoff almost, almost makes me dislike the song. It is so...sickeningly sweet, I guess?

But the rest of it is so great I can't help but love it. It's got some of her best imagery - the frost covered windows, "in silence she says 'Excalibur'". I don't know how well it would work live, but I wish she had tried it back on the WH tour.

I can give some love to Nothing Ever Changes too. Now that song should have been a staple in her setlist for the past twenty years over something like INTK.

[chiliD]

OMIGOD, what has the world come to when chiliD comes to the Stevie Nicks Ledge to drop some love on a Stevie solo song??? :eek: :shocked:

"Sable On Blond"! :thumbsup:

From my first listen back in '83 until I heard "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind" just before the release of Street Angel, "Sable" was my favorite solo Stevie song. I just wish "blond" was spelled correctly...it annoys the hell out of me that the trailing "e" is omitted.

ChiliD's Top 5 Stevie solo songs:

1) Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind
2) Sable On Blond
3) No Spoken Word
4) If I Were You
5) That Made Me Stronger

[skcin]

^ WOW! ^

Nice to see ya - and agree with ya! :wavey: For once.

[Nixxxed]

I'm in the "used to hate it, now love it" category...

When I first heard the song (about 10:00 AM in the morning the day the record was released in '83 :laugh: ), I didn't like it. It was an early summer morning, and at that moment listening to songs about long grey winter days/nights just didn't connect. Especially after my mind had been blown a minute or two earlier with "Nothing Ever Changes." And it sounded like a leftover Mac track - much more so than any other solo song. So, I just never paid it much attention.

Then, about 10 years later, I listened to the entire album after a long night of partying. It was January and cold and grey, and I was literally covered in blankets, surrounded by lit candles, and coming down... And it made perfect sense in that moment, and sounded comforting as well.

It also helped that I had read the WH press packet interview, which a good friend had gotten when Timespace came out. For the life of me, I just didn't understand the "excalibur" line before reading the explanation, and it kinda ruined the rest of the song.

[JazmenFlowers]

ChiliD's Top 5 Stevie solo songs:

1) Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind
2) Sable On Blond
3) No Spoken Word
4) If I Were You
5) That Made Me Stronger
mighty fine tase there sir!

[David]

And it sounded like a leftover Mac track - much more so than any other solo song.That's interesting, & something many of us have felt, & we should talk about this. Why does "Sable on Blond" sound more like a "leftover Mac track" than virtually any other track from Stevie's solo career from 1981 to the present (because I do agree, it does)?

Surely the answer must lie at least in part in the instrumentation & arrangement. Of course, Mick Fleetwood is there, drumming a very classic-sounding Mick Fleetwood way. That's half the program right there. But also "Sable" doesn't have the Oberheim mentality that so much of the rest of the album does. Instead, the whole thing is put together in a way that resembles Fleetwood Mac: Mick's drum, the bass line, the electric guitar & a Fender Rhodes (or likeness). That's essentially what you hear in the track, although there may be more. It's interesting to think that Stevie and/or her producers deliberately set out to mimic Mac, from nearly top to bottom; because the entire thing seems a very conscious pastiche of the band's classic sound.

When Stevie says, "In silence she says Excalibur" & remarks on the psychological & emotional power she derives from calling on this power, I think Excalibur represents Mick Fleetwood = Stevie's knight in shining armor, her best friend, her love, her sisterhood confidante, her bete noire, the guy who, according to Stevie herself, saved her countless times from any number of problems--musical, personal, managerial, etc.

Mick Fleetwood permeates "Sable on Blond," from his drums to the deliberate mimic of Fleetwood Mac (Mick's band) to the emotional resonance of Stevie's situation: torn between wanting to stay in Fleetwood Mac for its power & its stature & wanting to be only a solo star & guide her own destiny. The role that Mick Fleetwood played in that decision, as it played out over the years in Stevie's life, must have been enormous, & I think it deserves more analysis & attention.

[strandinthewind]

^^^^

I tend to agree with you here, though I am uncertain that Sable on B. is all about Mick. I think it is in the sense that he influenced her a great deal then. But, the aspect of that song I find beguiling is the fact that she is hidden from sight through most of it - behind the frost covered windows, the face that is not seen, etc. All of that imagery is bold and stunning to me - yet it depicts a somewhat frail personage that she likes to be. Then, when the strength is needed, she calls on her magic via Excalibur, which to me invokes the image of her going from shy to sword wiedling with light all around her. Anyway, just my thoughts presented in a rambling manner :cool:

[Nixxxed]

That's interesting, & something many of us have felt, & we should talk about this. Why does "Sable on Blond" sound more like a "leftover Mac track" than virtually any other track from Stevie's solo career from 1981 to the present (because I do agree, it does)?

For me, it's mostly the drums. Mick is instantly recognizable when he plays on anything. Same thing for his playing on Lindsey's "Trouble"... But the opening harmonies and guitar accents also play a large part in setting that Mac mood.

Why they decided to produce Sable that way is a mystery to me. About a year after I connected to the song, the same friend (from previous post) came over and surprised me with the partial demo on a cassette. The demo sounds like it should be on the album, instrumentation-wise (not to mention the tempo and vocal differences). But the mood of the demo isn't right.

[chiliD]

Why does "Sable on Blond" sound more like a "leftover Mac track" than virtually any other track from Stevie's solo career from 1981 to the present (because I do agree, it does)?

Well, yeah...Mick's playing drums. AND...the biggest part, I think...is the guitar part. EDIT: Yep, it's Waddy. That is probably his most tasteful guitar parts he's ever played since Linda Ronstadt's "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me". And, in another Linda Ronstadt parallel, Linda's long-time bass player pal since the Stone Pony days, Kenny Edwards, plays bass on SOB, too. E Street-er Roy Bittan is on piano, Sandy Stewart on synth. A

[SapphireSister]

I have SOB in my head. It is so amazing how this song has grown on me. I really see the beauty in it and it's hard to believe after I despised it for so long. This song is an epic, I'VE SEEN THE LIGHT!

By the way I have an amazing demo of this but it cuts off after about 2 minutes. Does anybody have the complete demo? It's more rockin' than the album version.

[JazmenFlowers]

I have SOB in my head. It is so amazing how this song has grown on me. I really see the beauty in it and it's hard to believe after I despised it for so long. This song is an epic, I'VE SEEN THE LIGHT!

By the way I have an amazing demo of this but it cuts off after about 2 minutes. Does anybody have the complete demo? It's more rockin' than the album version.
I have that same demo and it is awesome, but it's the only one in circulation, I believe.

[JazmenFlowers]

What is "The Gold Dust Project?"
sorry...I just saw this.

The Gold Dust Project was something I put together last year. Fans submitted their own recordings of Stevie songs. Go to golddustproject.com.

If you'd like a copy, PM me.

[SapphireSister]

I have that same demo and it is awesome, but it's the only one in circulation, I believe.

So it cuts in after the song starts and cuts out before it finishes right? What a tease! It's such a great demo :( I thought maybe I had a bad copy.