Stevie's vocals
 

This has probably been discussed on the Ledge before, but I want to ask which FM album does everyone think Stevie produces her best vocals on. I only say this because Stevie's vocals on FM album's have fluctuated so much, probably gradually decreasing as the addiction gets stronger, that people will probably have different opinions. Here are my views:

Fleetwood Mac: Stevie's vocals on this album are full of punch. Aggressive yet never straying out of tune - mostly. Landslide is the exception, which I think is set way to low for her to sing on the album version anyway. Overall, Stevie's vocals are raw and have character - she attacks her songs.

Rumours: I'm not the biggest fan of Rumours, but this is a weird one for Stevie. You have the powerful vocals of GDW - and then Dreams. Compare Stevie's vocals on Dreams to Rhiannon two years earlier. A massive change! Stevie sounds feeble on Dreams, she can barely hold the tune for more than a couple of seconds. When her other vocals on this album are acceptable, I do wonder what happened on this song.

Tusk: Stevie's voice has become bigger - there's more vibrato in her voice, and yet in Tusk I think we see her best vocals. Powerful, yet tuneful - not overly powerful as her later albums would show. Sisters of the Moon is one of her best ever vocal performances IMO, and overall she is excellent.

Mirage: Stevies well into her cocaine adiction at this point - and it shows. She sings out of tune on many songs - the opening of Gypsy for example. Overall, I think Stevie's voice is starting to go here - and the vibrato is increasing.

Tango in the Night - Stevie is at an all time low here. Addicted to Klonopin, TITN is not a vocal performance to be proud of. Not much to say, except it;s understandable when you realise her circumstances.

Behind the Mask - Stevie vocals are OK. Nothing special. I suppose she's vulnerable as she's starting to wean off the drugs. Not her best however.

The Dance - Not a studio album, but I've included it anyway. Stevie's great on this album. She's lost weight, she's off the drugs, she's happy. It shows in her singing. Although her range is decreasing, she still pulls off a wonderful performance, Landslide being a standout.

Say You Will - Stevie is 55 here, so her vocals are good for her age. However, her range has decreased significantly, and therefore her songs are extremely low, which makes the album quite uniform and plain.

So, I would choose either the Dance or Fleetwood Mac. But what about you Ledgies? :wavey:

I like Stevie's vocals all the way up through Mirage.

I chose FMac. I think Landslide is so beautiful it can still have me shed a tear or two. Rhiannon is also gorgeous. I've always loved Stevie's backing vocals as well.

I have a hard time listening to her sing now. Having said that, I thought Illume was kind of cool.

Totally agree. I think "Tusk" was her best, vocally, with Fleetwood Mac. I also think she was at her creative peak (with the band) here. She sounds amazing on all five of her tracks.

You're right about "The Dance". She was sober and happy...and it showed. "Silver Springs" (especially the ending) was outstanding. Her vocals during the live shows for the "Street Angel" tour were stellar, and I think it kind of carried over into "The Dance". She was still courageous enough to go for some higher notes, especially when doing back up vocals on Chris & Lindsey's songs.

"Say You Will" was a crap shoot for her, vocally speaking. I hated how low she sang on most of her new material for that one, but LOVED her vocals on "Running Thru The Garden" and "Smile At You".

Totally disagree about Dreams. It is one of her best vocals, ever. It showcases the incredible flexibility and control she had.

Totally agree that Fleetwood Mac showcases her voice.

Fleetwood Mac/ Rumours era her voice was at its technical best. By technical I mean she could hit any note she wanted when she wanted, she could rock and growl and she could sweetly warble.

By Tusk we see the effects of so much touring (and whatever else) but she could still hit most notes. After this her ability to hit the high notes started really downhill.

Stevie really didn't respect her voice and care for it back in those days-- she does now, after the damage has been done.

They all didn't really take good care of their voices. I'm glad they do now enabling them to record and tour. To me, Stevie's voice these days sounds like she has a clothespin on her nose.

:nod:
:nod:
Agree 100%

Absolutely. "Dreams" is one of her best vocals precisely because it is so casual and conversational; belting it out would have been totally inappropriate for the song. Her vocal perfectly captures the exhausted/exasperated feeling of an ending relationship the morning after that last knock-down, drag-out fight.

I do feel that she was at her best on FM & Rumours, where she had both technical control and tremendous range and could belt as well as sing in a softer, nuanced voice.

The hoarser, deepening qualities of her voice on Tusk & Mirage were fine as well.

After Mirage it's much more hit & miss. I really don't care for the "granny" voice that came to the forefront on SYW ("Destiny Rules" being a particularly bad example).

I will vote for the White album, for the background vocals as well as her leads.

Solo, it's Wild Heart.

Michele

I think she was a better singer on FMand Rumours, but at her most expressive vocally onTusk. She sounded decent on Mirage but I can't even listen to her songs on TITN. I remember being shocked at how incredible she sounded when they regrouped in the late 90s.

Wild Heart is so good. I still listen to it quite a bit.

Tusk era gets my vote without a doubt. Her voice here is so so milk-and-honeyed, it's almost edible. Not only does Tusk contains two of, what I believe, are her greatest songs "Sara" and "Beautiful Child" but it also catches her voice at its most perfect blend of husky and luscious, poised midway on the long dying arc from the clear and piercing Rumours voice to the gritty rock survivor of the '80s/'90s. I love all incarnations of Stevie's voice, but Tusk resonates with me more deeply.

I'm going with Rumours even though the vocals on Fleetwood Mac showcased technical perfection, her raw power had grown by the time they recorded Rumours. There was literally nothing she couldn't do with her voice. The vocal on Dreams is exactly what the song called for and the reason it topped the charts. Gold Dust Woman fits perfectly with any classic rock song. Then there's Silver Springs, her absolute best and as far as marketing goes, if they couldn't find room for it on the album, it should have been a single on it's own. B -Side, really folks, why in the world would you bury a treasure like that on the b-side of a 45? Geesh! Everything about the song is perfect.

That said, I do agree with Tusk as well, her 5 songs are what make the album and not one of them is a pass over. I still scratch my head as to why they didn't get Angel on the radio, such a fun song and the vocal captured some of the "live" feel of her voice at the time.

Mirage also captured a time when her voice was moving in a "good" new direction, raw power and vibrato that was captured perfectly on the Wild Heart.

Tango is a complete write off, :distress: Nothing redeeming here, weak songs and terribly sung.

So glad she came back in the Dance, Silver Springs aged like a fine wine and became one of the best moments of her career. I'm also a fan of Say you Will minus the opening of the perfect Destiny Rules where she should have been soft and pleading and it too, would have been a career highlight. I think she knocked Smile at You out of the park as well as Running Through the Garden.

Today, she's kind of hit and miss. Sounded wonderful on In Your Dreams, but live has been really sketchy. However I like what I'm hearing on the recent clips, so excited about new music. :nod:

It was tough, but I chose Rumours simply because her tone is unmatched. I think each album brought out a different shade of her voice, though. You can tell she was just starting to come into her own on the White Album. She really seemed to capture emotion on Tusk. Mirage showcased her range & flexibility. Tango was uninhibited cocainey goodness. Her Say You Will vocals imparted a certain weathered wisdom. Behind The Mask is really the only one I don't have particularly nice things to say about. She was tranq'd out, and it sounds like it.

But she had already been to rehab and kicked cocaine before she started recording "TITN". Hence, "Welcome To The Room, Sara", which was about her experience at Betty Ford.

While her contributions to this album were lackluster, I think her vocals (with the exception of those few hundred "whassamatta babys") were just fine. Weathered and raspy due to the excesses of the few years prior, but just fine. I love her vocals on "Seven Wonders" and back ups on "Little Lies". :)

I loved her vocals on everything she did from 1973- 1990. After 1990 it was very different to my ears. I think age has a lot to do with the change. I still love that voice but it's not the same as it was " Back in the Day" IMO.