Say You Will - Wrong Songs Pushed By Label/Band
 

They picked two of the least interesting tracks for singles. Hearing "Say You Will" or "Peacekeeper" on TV would not motivate many people to say, "I've got to get that album." Even though some may dislike it, "Everybody Finds Out" or even "Destiny Rules" is different enough to do just that.

"Say You Will" was a doubly bad choice because not only is it fairly conventional, it also isn't particularly good.

Peacekeeper was what brought me to this album. I love that song.

I always thought Say You Will the song was a weak single and song to be continuously pimped live throughout the tour. It always seemed like the most obvious “Christine-ish” song which just doesn’t work for Stevie. Everybody Finds Out or Thrown Down would’ve been far better choices IMO. I think from a live perspective, EFO would’ve been killer.

I liked Peacekeeper back when it came out. It’s a bit forgettable however.

"At least give me time to change your mind" is cringe-worthy. It is completely unlyrical, not to mention a tepid line for a love song.

It's a catchy song, but not a lifetime keeper. And I HATE the bird noises throughout it.

Singles are not picked because of they are the best songs on an album. That has always been the case.
I think Say You Will should have been the lead single and tweaked a bit first. Is it my favorite? No way but its the most radio friendly single on the album. Even Stevie said she never purposely wrote hit songs but when she wrote Say You Will she said if this is not a hit, nothing is. It would have done much better than Peacekeeper. However, the Mac is not a current band. There was no way any song of the album was going to land in the top 15 or something.

With a proper video, it would have done better than Peacekeeper. However, Stevie has never been given the lead off single of any Mac album. They kept that standard for SYW.

What goes into the selection of a single, then?

Tusk the single wasn't friendly to radio, either. There was no precedent on radio in 1979 for that.

In 2003, Fleetwood should have released Come, Illume, or Red Rover as the lead single. The idea should have been to stand out, not to blend in. The only chance for a single from that band to have done anything in 2003 would have been to get listeners to say, "What the feck is that?"

That is indeed what everyone said when Tusk was first played on the radio. Say You Will the single—the sweet little sing-along that was the musical equivalent of a hot cocoa with whipped cream—meant nothing to nobody in 2003, and got sh|tcanned off the radio ere five minutes had passed.

Nothing Fleetwood Mac released was ever going to get radio play, but the idea that Illume, Red Rover, or Come would have is pretty hard to believe.

Yes, Tusk was an unusual song, and certainly an unusual lead single. However, it followed one of the most successful albums ever released... in 1979, just about any song from Tusk that was the lead single would have gotten significant radio play. 2003? No. My local radio station played Peacekeeper regularly, but Come or Red Rover or Illume? Would never have happened.

David David David
You are smarter than all of us put together :)
Tusk is not the standard for any music album. The entire idea of the double album was to go against the grain.
You know as well as anyone that the record company has a big say what the singles are. While most of us may like or think Straight Back is the best or one of the best songs on Mirage, its not going to released as a single.
A great example is Bella Donna. Quoting the man who created the album Jimmy Iovine. Bella Donna was a great album but no one was going to hear it because it had no single. Thus he brought SDMHA to the album. Same concept as Talk To Me.
Isn't it Midnight is the best or one of the best songs on Tango but it was not going to released as the first or fourth single.
You get the point, no?
Its not my standard but they pick the most commercial song possible. (The entire Tusk album was not commercial - that was the idea).

That's exactly right. Fleetwood Mac could have done anything in 1979. They did not have that luxury in 2003. The songs had to be radio friendly in order to have even the modest success that they did.

interesting - could have gone either way probably. Come is definitely interesting and different! so is Red Rover, but in a very different way.

then again, SYW the album and whatever lead single was should have come in 1998, 1999 the latest, not 2003. so it could have all gone differently. they had most of those songs in the can, should have released the album.

oh yeah, i forgot, Stevie needed to record solo album and release best of instead of working with the band, therefore postponing FM album for 5 years.

mine too. i was not a FM fan at the time, and i noticed and enjoyed it.
so yeah it definitely got a regular radio play. it made sense to because the song was catchy and lyrics were sounding political and interesting.

Peacekeeper is the only SYW single i ever heard on the regular radio. i had no clue SYW was also a single and have never heard SYW the song until i started looking up LB and FM music on youtube in 2009.

Who would have thought “Over My Head” could have been the breakout single?

“Miranda” would have been my choice. It’s quirky and catchy.

When I first heard it i CRINGED. Total rip off (even if unintentional) Kodachrome chorus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rlDTK6QI-w

Steal Your Heart Away would have been the best first single to release off SYW.