Tango in the Night track listing
 

Is there anything written about the making of the Tango album? Like why You and I part 1 was left off the album (I always thought it would have made such a stunning opening song), or why some songs were used as B-sides and not included.

Not that detailed, but Mick's book is where I have found the more info. This is what he wrote about the songs:

Christine McVie came through too, with some of her most wonderful songs "Everywhere," which glistened like gemstone even in Chris's original demo; "Little Lies," destined to be a hit single on both sides of the Atlantic; and "Isn't It Midnight," which she cowrote with Lindsey and her new husband, Eddie Quintela (who Chris married in October 1986).

Lindsey Buckingham dipped into his postponed solo album for four new songs for Fleetwood Mac: "Big Love," "Caroline," "Tango in the Night" (which originated in the live versions of "So Afraid"), and "Family Man." Lindsey and Christine also cowrote two more album tracks: "Mystified" and "You and I," which came in two parts. We used Part 11 to close the album, and Part I appeared on the reverse of the first single, "Big Love."

......

Stevie finally showed up in January 1987; we'd been working six months, and it was the only time the whole band was in the studio together. We had been sending copies of our working tapes to Stevie's home in Arizona. On her part, she was dreading that Lindsey, in his producing capacity, would be sarcastic toward her, but he made an effort not to be as much of a martinet as he was with the rest of us. He was under some strain with this project, and lost his patience occasionally, but with Stevie we wanted him to be more objective and professional. He tried to make her feel great in the studio, and they got on well. (The love-hate saga between those two will never end.)

Complicating matters slightly in the spring of 1987 was Stevie's admission to the Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs to get her life under control. This was done through an "intervention" by friends, members of her family, and the management company. Stevie spent twenty-eight days in a successful treatment for alcohol problems, but she didn't like being coerced into entering this facility, and Frontline was fired shortly thereafter. (Later she told me that the treatment made her change her way of thinking, and was worth it.)

So the little time we had with Stevie was somewhat disoriented, but she did come through with good songs. `'Seven Wonders" was written by songwriter Sandy Stewart and augmented with new words by Stevie in the studio. "Welcome to the Room, Sara" was a graphic depiction of her experience at the Betty Ford Center, where she had checked in under the pseudonym Sara Anderson. (This song is extremely moving when understood in that context.) "When I See You Again" continued Stevie's string of touching songs of farewell, and was used on Tango in favor of a fourth up-tempo number that Stevie brought in called "What Has Rock ~ Roll Ever Done for You?"

And probably you may find this episode interesting too:

We did have one blowout with Stevie when she came to the studio to listen to the mixes before Tango in the Night was released. After the playback was finished, she began to storm around the studio like a tornado. "It's like I'm not even on this record," she complained. "I can't hear myself at all." I knew Stevie pretty well, and could tell she was angry. Then she threatened us. "All right, maybe I wasn't able to get to the studio that much, but how is it going to look when the record comes out and I might have to tell Rolling Stone that I didn't work on it?"

Christine McVie's eyes narrowed. She'd had a couple of glasses of wine, and wasn't about to be trifled with. "OK, Stevie," she said, "what are you so upset about?"

"I should be singing on 'Everywhere,'" Stevie said. "You should hear me singing harmony on that song."

"I wanted you to sing on it too," Chris said in measured tones that signaled she was furious, "but you weren't here. In fact, we've been working for a year and you were only with us for a couple of days. Now why don't you just say you're sorry and we'll work it out?"

Omits gracefully, Stevie capitulated in front of the whole band, and we gleefully layered her vocals into the mix of the album, which now sounded indeed more like Fleetwood Mac. Stevie had been right after all, and so had Christine.

I remember reading all that years ago but it has been a long time. I guess that's why there's so many extra, rather odd, Stevie vocals in all the remixes. I have this mental image of her forcing Lindsey to sit up all night in the studio with him playing one song after another with the mic on and Stevie just singing whatever she wanted over every song...

"Tell me lies whoa! sweet little lies oooh.... He is what he is... House up on that hill, house up on that hill, well I'm lookin' out for love... yeah mystified baby, oooh mystified.... woah woah woah ain't it midnight baby, pretty girl's face, yeah... Tango with me in the night, baby... oooh she said you you you you and I, baby..."

Would this have been a better studio release? Or better yet, a rerelease:thumbsup:

(No deletions, please) Just other track listings. Am I forgetting any Bsides or outtakes?

1. You and I
2. Big Love
3. Seven Wonders
4. Everywhere
5. Caroline
6. Tango In The Night
7. Joan of Arc
8. Ricky
9. Mystified
10. Book of Miracles
11. Down Endless Street
12. What Has Rn'R Ever Done For You?
13. Little Lies
14. Family Man
15. Welcome to the Room..Sara
16. Isn't It Midnight?
17. When I See You Again
18. You and I (reprise)

You make me remember this:
Who, the media wanted to know, was responsible for the song's carnal love grunts? Stevie Nicks? Lindsey's girlfriend Shari? (Actually it was Lindsey's voice sampled through a variable-speed oscillator.)

LMAO...I think you have a flashback to reality...that really happened on the TITN concert video :D

Is it really a nightmare when you wake up and realize it's all true?

Oh yeah, I forgot about "I WANNA BE WITH YOUUUUUUUU EVERYWHERE". Although I have to admit I kinda liked that. I'm such a Stevie fan I loved all her little extra vocals... as awkward as they were.

I think this could have very well been a double album. I had a cassette like this back in the day where I had the whole Tango album and b-sides and remixes as if it were a full album.

I agree. But after 5 years, coming back with a double album wouldn't be a commercial good idea and Warner wouldn't support it. Besides those songs are not that great so artistically I like more Tango just how it is.

This is what still continues to be wrong with FM. It happened with Tango, it happened with SYW and it is happening now. You can't have 3 (or 4)members work for months/over a year on something and have one member who thinks it's okay to waltz in whenever they feel like it.

well it seems to have worked out in the past. I was not disappointed with Tango or SYW at all.

In fact after viewing Destiny Rules, it seems this is the better approach considering all the turmoil that could transpire :shrug:

Yeah, but Stevie had talked about how in the past, because she's not a musician herself, she'd spend a lot of the studio time sitting around and they only time she'd have anything to do would be to work on her songs and add backup to the others. The band wanted her on call the entire time in case they decided to try out some background vocals on a whim. And that's fine when your band is your whole life but once she had a solo career I'm sure it must have been incredibly stressful spending day after day sitting around waiting for someone to ask you to do 20 minutes of singing when you had all this other stuff going on in your life. I'm not saying she was right to not commit fully to making an album, but I can understand her mode of thinking. And for all we know they scheduled the start of the album without even checking with her first. Didn't Mick say that she was on tour when they started working on Tango? You can't just cancel a bunch of shows to go sit around in a studio.

Yes it should have been a double album as should all post- TUSK Mac releases

I made a Tango with You and I, Part I opening. It flows perfectly into Big Love. The Last track makes a nice bookend now:nod:

Mick