1982 Sara
 

I've been listening to some bootlegs of Tusk and Mirage shows. I am really enjoying how they played Sara in 1982. They seem to play it at a slightly faster pace than they did in 1979. Lindsey's guitar is what really sticks out to me, I love how he played it on the Mirage tour. My favorite one to listen to is the Sara from the 10-15-1982 Denver Colorado show. Stevie sounds kinda rough during this performance, but the rest of the band is on point, the instruments sound great. Too bad we didn't get the full live set on deluxe Mirage.

Don't get me started :eek:
IMHO every song performed on the Mirage tour was perfection and the best they ever did. Best versions of Sara, Sisters, Go your own way, The Chain, Gypsy, You make loving Fun, Eyes of the world.
The only exception in my book is I'm So Afraid. The Live album version is the best ever.

Its so frustrating we cant see or hear these hidden gems. And the band only released the HBO concert with their re-issue of Mirage. It just drives me nuts :eek:

I like also how they performed Dreams on the Mirage tour, it's a bit more original and "funky".

The lack of a full Mirage-era concert on the reissue is simply dumb and yet again this band not knowing how to market their own good work.

That being said, Sara was never my favorite on this tour. I think they really nailed it on the Tusk Tour and something about Mirage versions just didn't seem as good. It is definitely played with a bit faster and to me there was just something missing in those Mirage shows.

Sara was never as good as it was at end of Tusk tour. Most of the songs arrangements were streamlined and fewer notes on Mirage tour. Saisters benefitted from the simplification. Sara and others seemed phoned in. I think of the tour had gone be longer then Chris and Linds would have remembered how to play the songs. On every tour since theyve played fewer pparts and relied more on support musicians. The more they add to try and sound nd like the Tusk tour the less it sounds like it

Tusk Tour Sara
 

Have to agree w/jmn3. The Mirage versions are good, but they can't touch Tusk. All the little lyrical variations you can hear between the shows, the tack piano, the way it sticks to the studio version and manages to be a little different. Those are the best performances of that song. I wish it would have been done on The Dance, maybe that would be the ultimate live version then, but Tusk tour takes the cake. Everything about those is right. The Cleveland/Richfield show has one of the best.

Agree with all of this... the Tusk versions were best. It's somehow warmer and more heartfelt. The Mirage stuff to me sounds more"synthesized" and cold. As was noted, some songs benefitted from this, like Sisters, but Sara does not. Angel has never sounded as good as the Tusk tour and even that wasn't as good as the album for me. :(

Interesting point about how the sound changed as they added more supporting musicians. Even though they're playing the same notes, they just don't come through other people's fingers the same unique way they do from Chris or Lindsey's. It changes the whole vibe and makes it more like sterile, studio musician sounding. :sorry:

Absolutely agree with this! I've noticed the same thing with Silver Springs after Chris left. Compare the 2003 (through now, really) versions to the 1997 versions with Chris' playing - it's incredibly sterile and generic sounding.

Billy and Rick playing and singing on Go Your Own Way is similarly lacking in the same way. The whole mood of the song was shifted and not only because of the voices!

The Cleveland Richfield bootleg is insanely good!

I enjoy Mirage Tour Sara, I'd rather them have played it how they did than not at all, the only complaint I have about SOTM is Lindsey singing the bridge, that irks me. But one thing that has always kinda puzzled me is the lack of the "ooh-oohs" in both Tusk and Mirage Tour's SOTM. Maybe Christine and Lindsey just wanted to focus on playing. Mirage Tour definitely has the best The Chain performances. I prefer 1975-1976 performances of Rhiannon and I'm So Afraid. I've always thought the inclusion of Brown Eyes was odd since it was from the previous album and not a single I believe, but I wish they'd bring it back.

I love that Sisters is more rocking during Mirage and the lack of "ooh's" as you say. I think Lindsey singing the bridge gave Stevie time to mess her hair up for the spooky dance she did. So I just love all of that. Sisters really matured on the Mirage tour to pure perfection IMHO.
I do retract one statement I made earlier. I think some versions of Sara on Tusk are superior to anything on Mirage. The Live album version of Sara is my favorite. But part of it was touched and sang in the studio so I don't know if it is fair to consider that.
Sometimes on Tusk Stevie would be out of time singing Sara (big surprise, right). That ruins it for me. I like when she catches the timing of the song and the lyrics and music are in sync. Its not easy to catch a version like this but the Live album version is a good example. I don't really care for the 1980 Richfield Sara because she lost her timing and is out of sync for a bit.
I love that Christine was so proud of Brown Eyes that she included it on the Tusk and Tango tours.

But Brown Eyes hasn't been performed during the Tusk Tour but on on the Mirage Tour.
Yes the Live album Sara was performed partly in St. Louis and partly in studio. The Melbourne performance isn't bad however.

That was an oops moment. I meant Mirage and Tango.
I was a bit disappointed to learn several years ago that the live Sara on the live album was studio touched. It sounds SO good and flawless. I like it when she opens the song with a short "fire" instead of the long "you never told me about the fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"

What?! It's studio dubbed? I'm just finding this out, that really disappoints me, that was one of my favorite versions.

The Largo 1979 Sara is really good, there is a video of it on YouTube. I like when Stevie sings "he was singing... to meeee" instead of just "he was singiiiiiing"