My nit picks about the Live album

Macfan4life · #1 11-02-2015, 02:04 PM

This is just a fun thread to encourage talk and debate about a great album. Thank goodness they did this album. In Mick's book he writes most everyone was against it but him. I think he sort of forced the issue and so thankful he won.
IMHO the Mac was at its peak during the Tusk tour so thankfully many songs were captured.
The highlights:
Amazing version of Over and Over. The harmonies! Just everything about this song live is better than the album version. My favorite part is the Lindsey jam at the end. Its hypnotizing!
Amazing version of Oh Well. Lindsey may not be Peter Green but Lindsey took Oh Well to a level that it was not played before. Out of this world! Just incredible guitar work!
Amazing version of I'm so afraid! Probably the best version ever. Lindsey is always on fire with this song live but this version he is at his best.
Amazing version of Sara. Its so good it was not surprising that it was tweeked in the studio before release. Vocally and musically its a treasure. Best live version of Sara ever IMHO.
Monday Morning is amazing. Its the perfect example of what the Mac is live compared to the studio.

My nit picks:
Dreams. IMHO this is the worst live version of Dreams. Stevie is trying way too hard and is all over the place vocally. I think this is because this version was recorded during the Rumours tour when Dreams was the big hit. It just sounds like Stevie is all full of herself and fawning all over the song. Every other version of Dreams both solo and with the Mac is better than this version.
Don't Stop. Not my favorite live version plus Lindsey breaks a string at the end. Not sure why they kept this version to put on an album.
One More Lonely Night. Maybe should have been kept for a B side somewhere.
This album is so good and needed The Chain and Sisters to make it complete. But to include these 2 long live songs there would have to be some sacrifice. I would drop One More Lonely Night, Fireflies, and Not that funny. I like Fireflies but since this is a live album and the Mac is at its peak, I think its more important to include Sisters live.

Wdm6789 · #2 11-02-2015, 04:08 PM

Ahh. You beat me to it.

The only nit picks to come to mind right now are: I would have rather had You Make Loving Fun instead of Say You Love Me.

Dreams didn't sound that good.

I don't like the line "wouldn't you like to be the one holding her tight." From One More Lonely night. Christine likes being held tight, I feel like she mentions it in a number of her songs. For One More Lonely Night, I think she should have said "wouldn't you like to be the one holding her tonight."

secondhandchain · #3 11-02-2015, 08:04 PM

Dreams sounds good but they added background vocals. It's the same version as the one with the moon background. Lots of sweetening across the board.
I actually like one more night. Love the background vocals.

iamnotafraid · #4 11-02-2015, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

This is just a fun thread to encourage talk and debate about a great album...

"Great album"? I don't know about that.

Long story short, this should have been my
first Fleetwood Mac album. But for some reason
the RCA Record Club never sent it out to me. So
a little while latter Stevie's Wild Heart would be
my introduction to her, and then the Mac's Tusk
on a trade.

I would rate the live album very mediocre if not for
the following songs:

Landslide, (as fragile as her voice is).
Fireflies.
I'm So Afraid, this is the essential version.
The Farmer's Daughter.

UndoingTheLaces · #5 11-02-2015, 11:26 PM

This is actually one of my favorite versions of Landslide. I think because she sounds so fragile. Plus, she's done it so many times over the years and this one is so different from any of the others and I love that. When i sing this at karaoke I tend to mix in a lot of things from different versions that I like, but I use a lot from this one. I especially like how she changes the lyrics in the last verse, "I'm still afraid of changing" and "children are getting older". I think it's great when a song can grow and evolve with an artist.

aleuzzi · #6 11-02-2015, 11:33 PM

Yeah, I'm with Imnotafraid on this one. Not a great album, in my book.

My problems with the record (as opposed to mere nitpicks) are that many of the performances sound half-baked or substandard. I don't see how this could have happened considering all of the great bootleg and concert recordings I've heard from this band.

Stevie sounds terrible on Landslide. Christine is out of tune on portions of Over and Over. Lindsey is as tiresome on Never Going Back Again as he is today when he sings it. The best live performances are Over My Head, Sara, and Oh Well--all of which sound solid, energetic, but nowhere near the excellence of their studio counterparts.

Had the band done a complete live show date instead of several performances across several years, it might have sounded more cohesive.

However, the new material on the record is underrated, in my opinion. Fireflies is a great little tune. Fun, catchy, inspired. One More Night isn't one of Christine's best (or her worst) but her performance of it is warm and convincing. Lindsey's arrangement of the unexpected Farmer's Daughter cover is adorable.

The soundcheck tunes (Don't Stop and Dreams) sound clean but mediocre. I enjoy watching the videos of both of them, since the band's visual appeal often helps carry their tunes over on stage.

secondhandchain · #7 11-02-2015, 11:55 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQA-gMR8xaI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEi7GPkxfsE

Is it me or these the same versions but the live album version is cleaned up and sweetened.

Actually I just compared and is definitely the same version. Why the felt they had to go in the studio and add the background vocals (as much as I love them) is beyond me. Show us what you sound like live. It's funny they even re recorded the opening drum beat. ha.

PenguinHead · #8 11-03-2015, 12:32 AM

All the varied opinions/perspectives of the LIVE have validity. It is somewhat perplexing that they didn't pick the best performances, or that some signature songs were noticeably absent.

This album is unique because it took a very unconventional approach. Instead of presenting one concert, or picking the cream of the crop performances from various shows, they offered up a mixed bag.

Some performances were from the 1977, others from the Tusk tour. And then there were a couple of sound checks, out ot the blue oddities like Firefies and One More Night, a great performance of the Buckingham Nicks song Don't Let Me Down Again, and a nod to the past with Oh Well.

As Christine described it at the time "it's a warts and all album." It seems the intention was to show a somewhat scrappier character; a less polished side of the group.

That said, I hope they will eventually release a series of albums that feature the best performances from each tour circa 1975-1982.

landslide95 · #9 11-03-2015, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamnotafraid

"Great album"? I don't know about that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamnotafraid

"I would rate the live album very mediocre.

I have to agree, it is my least favourite Mac album. With that being said I still like a lot of the live versions on this album. I do think that The Chain was definitely needed.

Landslide always sounds wonderful live, it stirs up great emotions whenever I hear it. I'm So Afraid was wonderful on this album too. Lindsey always plays this very well live. It's like his hard-core Landslide.

Don't Stop ( one of my fav Christine songs) wasn't great on this album. The quality, just like the Clinton Inauguration, wasn't the best. They could have chosen a much better live performance of this song.

Macfan4life · #10 11-03-2015, 07:09 AM

Everyone makes some great points and many of them I agree with. But to rate this album you have to go back in time and put it in context. There was no internet. There were no bootlegs on CD's, tapes, or download files. The only way to hear live Fleetwood Mac was to go to a concert. There was no youtube to look at shows. No I-phones to record concerts. I bought this album at K-mart in 1983. I was simply blown away. The album demonstrated the HUGE difference between Fleetwood Mac studio vs live. They are a different band live. There are some serious rocking songs on this album. In the early 90's I lived in West Palm Beach and there was a hard rock station that would never play Fleetwood mac. But they would play Oh Well from this album. The live version of Rhiannon is incredible. Still to this day its the best live version I ever heard. I love the early day intro "this is a song about a Welsh Witch."
Even Over My Head is transformed from a sleeper to an upbeat rocker.
I just am so happy those harmonies on Over and Over were captured live for the world to hear. This album just made everyone know how good a guitarist Lindsey is on the stage. So glad they even included Don't Let Me Down Again. As I mentioned, there are a few alterations I would make. But the world is definitely better with this live album in it. I don't think its fair to compare it to the technology today where you can hear any Mac show live anywhere else.
One more point and this is probably the biggest point. Ever since the Dance, Fleetwood Mac live is very studio like live in concert. The songs are much more studio sounding live. This of course is from technology. Up until 1982 the Mac never had back up singers, additional percussionists, etc. They were in raw form live. These older shows make them much more into a rock band.
There are such amazing songs on this album that its probably one of my favorites. I much prefer this unleashed version of the Mac compared to the almost wimpy Dance.

landslide95 · #11 11-03-2015, 08:22 AM

I think whether this album is a favourite or not, there is no denying that the Mac are one of the most fantastic live acts still around. They haven't lost it, their energy just gets bigger with every tour.

Did anyone else have a say on what performances went on this record, other than Mick of course?

#12 11-03-2015, 03:55 PM

I was so disappointed with I'm so Afraid. No Stevie harmonies! Lindsey is still great but her haunting harmonies are just perfect for that song.

I also prefer earlier versions of Landslide.

Rhiannon is almost perfect though

and I loved the 'new' tracks.

guillamene · #13 11-03-2015, 04:42 PM

I can well remember buying this way back on vinyl and then buying it as an expensive CD import from HMV in London in 1990. Actually this CD version is quite unusual in that it is two separate jewel cases with separate covers, artwork and track listing, rather than the conventional double cd jewel case.
LIVE remains a big favourite of mine: if I could only bring one 'official'(ie non bootleg) Fleetwood Mac cd to a desert island I think that this would be it, if only for the fact that it is taken from the three tours -'75, Rumours and Tusk tours and, as such , offers a good selection of the material played at these shows.
However, I do have my nit picks and they are very straightforward ones:
IMO three song should have been left off:
Not That Funny- never liked this indulgent song
Never Going Back Again- much prefer a version from the Rumours tour with John and Mick(like Sin City or Nashville '77 versions)
One More Night - just a filler.

In place of the above I would have included :
Station Man -White Album Tour
The Chain -Tusk Tour
You Make Lovin' Fun -Tusk Tour

Highlights for me:
Monday Morning (powerful opener),Say Yoy Love Me, Oh well,Over my Head,Fireflies and the beautiful Farmer's Daughter ( delighted to hear this on The Dance tour)
I actually burned a single cd leaving out my three nitpicks and this is what I listen to now instead of the full double cd version.

AliceLover · #14 11-03-2015, 06:00 PM

it was just such a mish-mash of everything. I will say I do love that version of Landslide, the vocal is unbelieveable. The Rhiannon is obviously stellar, as well as ISA and GYOW. That was one of the first places where I heard how powerful Lindsey's guitar playing could be.

I wish we got a full soundboard from the Tusk Tour instead.

Wdm6789 · #15 11-03-2015, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Everyone makes some great points and many of them I agree with. But to rate this album you have to go back in time and put it in context. There was no internet. There were no bootlegs on CD's, tapes, or download files. The only way to hear live Fleetwood Mac was to go to a concert. There was no youtube to look at shows. No I-phones to record concerts. I bought this album at K-mart in 1983. I was simply blown away. The album demonstrated the HUGE difference between Fleetwood Mac studio vs live. They are a different band live. There are some serious rocking songs on this album. In the early 90's I lived in West Palm Beach and there was a hard rock station that would never play Fleetwood mac. But they would play Oh Well from this album. The live version of Rhiannon is incredible. Still to this day its the best live version I ever heard. I love the early day intro "this is a song about a Welsh Witch."
Even Over My Head is transformed from a sleeper to an upbeat rocker.
I just am so happy those harmonies on Over and Over were captured live for the world to hear. This album just made everyone know how good a guitarist Lindsey is on the stage. So glad they even included Don't Let Me Down Again. As I mentioned, there are a few alterations I would make. But the world is definitely better with this live album in it. I don't think its fair to compare it to the technology today where you can hear any Mac show live anywhere else.
One more point and this is probably the biggest point. Ever since the Dance, Fleetwood Mac live is very studio like live in concert. The songs are much more studio sounding live. This of course is from technology. Up until 1982 the Mac never had back up singers, additional percussionists, etc. They were in raw form live. These older shows make them much more into a rock band.
There are such amazing songs on this album that its probably one of my favorites. I much prefer this unleashed version of the Mac compared to the almost wimpy Dance.

Don't you mean up until 1987?