17 Reasons This 'Rhiannon' Clip Is the Coolest Thing in the Universe
1 This is the oldest video performance of Rhiannon that we have. It's watermarked and faded but it represents Stevie and Lindsey in their prime. I hope that one day when a boxset of Fleetwood Mac's discography will come this concert will be remastered and released on the white album deluxe edition.
2 Stevie's hair is like Suzie Quatro's.
3 She hasn't developed her stage look now but we can already have some foretaste from her pink/white blouse with butterfly wings.
4 Stevie has pants. bell-bottom high-waist pants.
5 Stevie has feathers in her ears, barely noticeable. Just like Janis Joplin, her inspiration.
6 Her voice is a bit soured, in the early tour she still hadn't learned how to use her voice, but she still puts on a great performance.
7 The song, and Stevie herself, is "unripe" compared to the later rendition but more spontaneous.
8 Mick himself is far from the elegant drummer sir we see on the Rumours tour. And he had a bad hat day.
9 Lindsey is hot with his satin blouse, hair in the air, pretending to have sex with is his guitar.
10 Stevie's Rhiannon dance is already fully developed, and it lasts almost an entire minute.
11 Stevie's lip biting at Stevie 5:45 (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_kTZXoabnY#t=345)
12 The words that end the studio version, "dreams unwind, love's a state of mind", have only a brief mention and Stevie's ready to rock out.
13 She starts fluttering her bat-wings while Mick and Lindsey head-bang their instruments.
14 Stevie's chord suffers when she screams "please take me with you to the sky", making the performance even more heart-felt.
15 She keeps on screaming and stomping until the end, keeping the pace with the band even with her tired voice.
16 Stevie's last scream "take me like the wind, like the sky" makes her face red.
17 At 7:02 (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_kTZXoabnY) she throws her head and arm down trailing behind her silk sleeve with an elegant gesture; the song is now over.