TITN: Stevie's Songs.

[wolfontherun]

Ok I know this has been discussed before but there are new people here so lets have another round.

I think these are her weakest contributions to the band and often wondered what hapenned.

Was it the drugs, was Lindsey too angry with her to help make her songs better, was she fed up with the Mac?

I have never really hated anything from Stevie Solo or with FM but Welcome is just so horribnle. No melody, no ispiration in her voice. SW is nice but not her song really and I think there werre other producers involved in the production who were not credited. It sounds nothing like A FM song to me.

Then there is Whats a matter. I do like this one and I love the way L finishes it off for her.

[bucklind17]

I know I'm in the minority, but I love Stevie's Tango songs. Tango is album I listen to the least of the Rumours lineup and Stevie's songs took some getting used to at first, but I really love all three, for different reasons. Are they the strongest songs ever? No. But "When I See You Again" is one of my favorites of hers, I love "Welcome to the Room" and "Seven Wonders" is catchy and pop. So yeah, I can give you quite a list of Stevie songs I like less than these, haha.

[nailatixela]

I think they are the weakest of her FM songs overall on an album, but not by much for me. I really like WTTR...Sara and When I see you again. 7W would be my least favorite of the three.

I think they could have been better - there are a TON of great demos from the RAL era that didn't go on RAL that I think FM should have used for TITN.

[Villavic]

don't know if it counts but Paper Doll from the Chain was the very weakiest imho.

and I agree titn songs were not her best effort, but I like them

[iamnotafraid]

I like Seven Wonders and Welcome To The Room Sara, but I really cringe when I hear "When I See You Again".

[Street_Dreamer]

They are definitely her weakest in my opinion. I think a lot of that has to do with her making Rock A Little and touring in support of that album and not having a break between that and the Fleetwood Mac album.

Matt

[David]

Originally Posted by wolfontherun

I think these are her weakest contributions to the band and often wondered what hapenned.

I think SEVEN WONDERS & WHEN I SEE YOU AGAIN are great tracks & pretty good songs (although Nicks didn't write the former). But WELCOME TO THE ROOM is a crappy track & perhaps an even crappier song.

Was it the drugs, was Lindsey too angry with her to help make her songs better, was she fed up with the Mac?

I'm not in the game of blithely ascribing drug use or emotional conflict to performance issues (other than maybe sexual performance). The annals of pop music are filled with examples of drugged-out songwriters writing great songs & other drugged-out songwriters writing awful songs. The same can be said about songwriters in emotional turmoil.

Furthermore, I think the oft-repeated idea that when Lindsey is "mad" at Stevie, he sabotages her songs by giving them bad arrangements is a loony idea with absolutely no direct evidence or even anecdotal evidence.

I have never really hated anything from Stevie Solo or with FM but Welcome is just so horribnle. No melody, no ispiration in her voice.

I agree with you. It sucks.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by David

Furthermore, I think the oft-repeated idea that when Lindsey is "mad" at Stevie, he sabotages her songs by giving them bad arrangements is a loony idea with absolutely no direct evidence or even anecdotal evidence.

Hey! What more anecdotal evidence do you need? Just think of the 50 Stevie songs that sound the worst and know that Lindsey is directly responsible for them.

"He could take my songs and do what I would do if I had musical talent. When he wasn't angry with me, that is. That's why there's seven or eight great songs, and there's 50 more where he wasn't happy with me and didn't help me."

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by michelej1

Hey! What more anecdotal evidence do you need? Just think of the 50 Stevie songs that sound the worst and know that Lindsey is directly responsible for them.

I also think I've heard Stevie say he neglected/hurt her songs on purpose in the later years. Or at least stopped putting real effort into them. I can't remember in what interview it was but I think it was on video.

[David]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

I also think I've heard Stevie say he neglected/hurt her songs on purpose in the later years. Or at least stopped putting real effort into them. I can't remember in what interview it was but I think it was on video.

The majority of Madame Nicks' opinions don't even rise to the dubious level of anecdotal.

Incidentally, what Stevie Nicks song on a Fleetwood Mac album demonstrates an absence of "real effort" on Lindsey's or Fleetwood Mac's part? Not WELCOME TO THE ROOM, surely. It shows plenty of effort -- complexity in the arrangement of instruments (a Fleetwood Mac trademark), top-notch technical performance from instrumentalists & backup vocalists, pristine mix & mastering, etc. The idea they all had for the song sucks, but that isn't the same as saying it shows no effort. The same distinction applies to SAY YOU WILL, as far as I'm concerned. I don't like what the band did with some of it, but it all shows enormous effort. None of it is tossed off casually or carelessly. I can't think of a single Stevie Nicks number on an FM album that doesn't show a great deal of effort. Absolutely none of it indicates sabotage from cranky ex-lovers or jealous bandmates.

When Stevie doesn't like the results, she blames people who help her with ideas, with arrangements, with orchestration, etc., over & over again, & who get very little credit for it among the listening public.

[jwd]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

Make Me A Mask was another amazing song that should have made it on the record. Christine could have had Heart Of Stone included too.

Christine could have gone solo at this time. I think she sounds the most amazingly on top of her game on TITN.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by David

The majority of Madame Nicks' opinions don't even rise to the dubious level of anecdotal.

The idea they all had for the song sucks, but that isn't the same as saying it shows no effort.

I agree with this, even if you think demo versions of the song sound better, what doesn't work can't be chalked up to neglect. Take something like Silver Girl. Of all the bad things I can say about it, I can't accuse the production of being slipshod. When Stevie's unarticulated vision of a song is not met that doesn't mean that Lindsey was not happy with her.

I do accuse Running Through the Garden of not being produced, but that's just me being silly. The problem with it is that it wasn't made . . . tight. Too many flowers to cut down.

Michele

[priestofnothing]

Originally Posted by wolfontherun

Was it the drugs, was Lindsey too angry with her to help make her songs better, was she fed up with the Mac?

I have never really hated anything from Stevie Solo or with FM but Welcome is just so horrible. No melody, no ispiration in her voice. SW is nice but not her song really and I think there werre other producers involved in the production who were not credited. It sounds nothing like A FM song to me.

Then there is Whats a matter. I do like this one and I love the way L finishes it off for her.

I totally agree with everything you've said here. I used to think Linds got his revenge on SN on this album. I don't enjoy any of her contributions to this album, not even Seven Wonders. I do like her b-up vocals on Little Lies though, but that's not her song.

To paraphrase Stevie on Linds "he made wonderful songs for me - uh, when, uh, when he was happy with me...." I think he was most unhappy and frustrated with Stevie during this period - and it definitely in her songs on this album. And proving the theory, right after the album, he quit the band, so he was pretty fed up with all of it.