Song length--as everyone else says. But by the time Mirage came around, the band was also working on a formula--three Stevie songs for every single album. Four or four-and-a-half songs for Christine; five for Lindsey. (That he got the most of all three only makes sense because he was the producer--and because as the sole male voice in the band, his songs balance the seven songs performed by women. That's my guess.) But then there is also the case that after Tusk, Stevie was hoarding her best material for her solo albums. Not until Say You Will do I sense FM is once again a priority commitment with re: to her songwriting.
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