Who else *doesn't* like Stevie Nicks' songs?

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by David

Warner Brothers could have marketed "Law & Order" till Doomsday, & it would still not have been the smash that "Bella Donna" was.

From my childhood, I remember "Go Insane" being a huge hit on the radio and on MTV, but that's about it. Maybe people thought Lindsey was too weird .

[David]

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

From my childhood, I remember "Go Insane" being a huge hit on the radio and on MTV, but that's about it. Maybe people thought Lindsey was too weird .

Radio play is sometimes misleading, I guess. Or your memory has faded (all our memories fade). I think a clearer picture of the popularity of "Go Insane" or "Law & Order" is found in the sales figures, which are very low for both albums--again, considering the artist was a member of Fleetwood Mac & the composer of songs like "Go Your Own Way" & "Tusk."

These were just not big hit albums ... certainly not anywhere near the scale of "Bella Donna" or "The Wild Heart" let alone any of the Fleetwood Mac albums from that era.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by David

No way. The answer's simple: His material doesn't delight as many record buyers as hers does.

This idea that, no matter what you sound like or write like, you can become a superstar as long as the marketing is behind you is misleading (because it's only true if you wrench it out of context). You could advertise a Satyajit Ray movie on the Disney Channel day & night for a solid year, but kids still aren't going to go see it. It doesn't give those kids anything they're interested in. "Law & Order" didn't give most listeners anything they were interested in (especially if they were expecting another "Go Your Own Way" from that song's composer).

Warner Brothers could have marketed "Law & Order" till Doomsday, & it would still not have been the smash that "Bella Donna" was.

they could have given it away and it wouldn't have shipped as many units... he just wasn't mainstream on that album and thank God for that

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

they could have given it away and it wouldn't have shipped as many units... he just wasn't mainstream on that album and thank God for that

I LOVE Bella Donna and Law and Order EQUALLY.
The difference? I'd gladly play BD if friends were over. The idiotic public GETS it. Law and Order........that's a personal one for me, and I'd only play it when I'm alone. People don't get it, and I'm sometimes glad that I DON'T have to share it with them.
Bella Donna- I love the classic SoCal instrumentation on it. It sounds like Stevie recorded with the Eagles. Purrfection.
Law and Order- LindseyBob is sooooooo far out there, it's like an aural acid trip. Give me another hit of it! It's hard to imagine that he WASN'T on something, making it. It's so freaking weird, I love it!!!

So, I love them both, for completely different reasons. And agreed, LindseyBob isn't for the masses(nor, for their consumption, do I think he ever intended himself).

[Angel69]

I dont think I would classify Stevie's music as plain, un-inspired or boring. There are some songs that are simple like Rose Garden, Landslide, The Second Time but I dont find them boring or un-inspired. They are for the most part acoustic ballads. Then we have her bombastic songs like The Nightmare, Whole Lotta Trouble. And we get her rockers like Edge, Nothing Ever Changes, Fall From Grace, Long Way To Go. And her simply beautiful songs like Beauty And The Beast, HAEWAFY, Beautiful Child, Bombay Sapphire.

Stevie for the most part always tries different styles and ususally hits the mark. Her attempts at country have always been very good like That's Alright, After The Glitter Fades, The Highwayman, Leather And Lace. These songs are more traditional country than anything we get from Urban, Hill or the others.

She has also attempted a funky R&B style with songs like Sister Honey, Love Changes (which I feel could have been a big hit had it been released as a single instead of Everyday), I Cant Wait, How Still My Love, Greta. Then of course there are her traditional pop hits which she has had many. Apart from Bella Donna her solo albums have always been an eclectic mix of material. So I feel it is safe to say that if you dont like her songs, her music is far from plain, boring and Un-inspired. She has for a "rocker" a very diverse body of work.

Songs I am not specifically fond of like Jane, Street Angel, IMO suffer more from a production standpoint than a vocal stand point.

As far as her voice I love it now as I did then. Its very rich. I feel she sings better live than Say You Will suggests. The only song on that disc that maybe could have used a better vocal is Running Through The Garden (though I LOVE that song, there is so much passion in that) On the Gold Dust Tour she was doing some excellent singing, as she has been doing with Petty. Yes she did abuse her voice in various ways but she still has it in spades. Her harmony singing on Insider at the Garden was stunning to say the least. And she kicked the **** out of I Need To Know and Stop Draggin My Heart Around.

[carrie721]

Originally Posted by Angel69

I dont think I would classify Stevie's music as plain, un-inspired or boring. There are some songs that are simple like Rose Garden, Landslide, The Second Time but I dont find them boring or un-inspired. They are for the most part acoustic ballads. Then we have her bombastic songs like The Nightmare, Whole Lotta Trouble. And we get her rockers like Edge, Nothing Ever Changes, Fall From Grace, Long Way To Go. And her simply beautiful songs like Beauty And The Beast, HAEWAFY, Beautiful Child, Bombay Sapphire.

Stevie for the most part always tries different styles and ususally hits the mark. Her attempts at country have always been very good like That's Alright, After The Glitter Fades, The Highwayman, Leather And Lace. These songs are more traditional country than anything we get from Urban, Hill or the others.

She has also attempted a funky R&B style with songs like Sister Honey, Love Changes (which I feel could have been a big hit had it been released as a single instead of Everyday), I Cant Wait, How Still My Love, Greta. Then of course there are her traditional pop hits which she has had many. Apart from Bella Donna her solo albums have always been an eclectic mix of material. So I feel it is safe to say that if you dont like her songs, her music is far from plain, boring and Un-inspired. She has for a "rocker" a very diverse body of work.

Songs I am not specifically fond of like Jane, Street Angel, IMO suffer more from a production standpoint than a vocal stand point.

As far as her voice I love it now as I did then. Its very rich. I feel she sings better live than Say You Will suggests. The only song on that disc that maybe could have used a better vocal is Running Through The Garden (though I LOVE that song, there is so much passion in that) On the Gold Dust Tour she was doing some excellent singing, as she has been doing with Petty. Yes she did abuse her voice in various ways but she still has it in spades. Her harmony singing on Insider at the Garden was stunning to say the least. And she kicked the **** out of I Need To Know and Stop Draggin My Heart Around.

What a great post, Angel69! I totally agree with everything you said.

[The Tower]

Originally Posted by Angel69

There are some songs that are simple like Rose Garden, Landslide....

I think "Landslide" is one of Stevie's least simple songs she's ever written.

I feel she sings better live than Say You Will suggests. The only song on that disc that maybe could have used a better vocal is Running Through The Garden (though I LOVE that song, there is so much passion in that).

The only failing of "Running Through the Garden" is Lindsey's ****ty production. Stevie's vocal is utterly, stunningly, blistering.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by The Tower

. . . The only failing of "Running Through the Garden" is Lindsey's ****ty production. Stevie's vocal is utterly, stunningly, blistering.

I agree!

AND - she somewhat repeats that vocal on Smile at You, which IMO also suffers from LB's lack originality.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I agree!

AND - she somewhat repeats that vocal on Smile at You, which IMO also suffers from LB's lack originality.

i agree too, i love this song... my problem with SYW is mostly LB.. and i'm more of an LB fan

[Angel69]

Originally Posted by The Tower

I think "Landslide" is one of Stevie's least simple songs she's ever written.


The only failing of "Running Through the Garden" is Lindsey's ****ty production. Stevie's vocal is utterly, stunningly, blistering.

As far as Landslide I was speaking in terms of the amount of production on it as opposed to something like Gypsy.

As for RTTG, I love that song though most people dont seem to like the vocal. I love her vocal on it, very powerful and passionate. That song has some great lyrics also.

[JunkFoodGenius]

For me, I first heard Christine McVie's stuff (I grew up listening to lite FM in the 80's), so I grew up with "Over My Head" and "Everywhere" and eventually got into my mother's records and discovered Lindsey Buckingham - I remember realizing he was the artist behind "Holiday Road" and I became a hardcore fan. I remember when "Walls" came out and thinking the back up singer was too good to be just a back up singer.

And I really don't care for Stevie Nicks. I like some songs - I found a cassette single of "Seven Wonders" in college that I wore out, I sing "Stand Back" a lot at karaoke, and one of my favorite songs to sing is "Angel". But I'm not a fan. I think she's a great harmonizer and has written some gorgeous music ("Sorceror" in particular, which I first heard in "Streets of Fire" sung by Maria McKee, I think.)

I think one of the reasons I love "Tango" so much is that it is essentially a "What if Stevie Nicks wasn't in this band?" album and you hear how unique Christine and Lindsey's voices harmonize and blend (which is why "Hold Me" is one of my favorite songs).

What's really hysterical is that a bit more than over a year ago, I met my roommate and Fleetwood Mac came up by her saying that she shared the same birthday as Stevie Nicks. I have the same birthday as Christine. We've even had a Chrstine and Lindsey vs. Stevie Fleetwood Mac Karaoke night (our local dive has quite a bit of Fleetwood Mac - they even had "Sugar Daddy" and stuff from "Out of the Cradle").

I used to be meaner to Stevie Nicks, but I've mellowed. But she doesn't make or break the band for me.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by JunkFoodGenius

I think one of the reasons I love "Tango" so much is that it is essentially a "What if Stevie Nicks wasn't in this band?" album and you hear how unique Christine and Lindsey's voices harmonize and blend (which is why "Hold Me" is one of my favorite songs).

What's really hysterical is

Dude, lay off the junk food! Hold Me isn't ON Tango.
It's on Mirage.

[skcin]

Originally Posted by chiliD

No, I don't think Lindsey's solo career would've hit any kind of Nicksian heights, but I think he would've been more well known by name than he is even now...one reason is that he would've been touring to back his solo albums, which he didn't do until Out Of The Cradle.

I always wondered why the hell he DIDN'T tour solo until OTC.

[JunkFoodGenius]

Dude, lay off the junk food! Hold Me isn't ON Tango.
It's on Mirage.

Ah, Homer, I know that! I was just citing an example and neither "You and I, part I" or "You and I, part II" come close to the harmonizing they do on "Hold Me" - I'm just a little scatterbrained with my stream of consciousness.

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by ummagumma

I'm just curious to see if any other FM fans have the same opinion, because I have yet to encounter one who agrees with me.

Not me, partially

I mean, I started being a Fleetwood Mac fan, but in paralell I was kind of a Stevie fan. However I never was a Nicks fan since I don't like her albums, except the GH or Enchanted, maybe. I can't listen a whole album, but I do adore some of her songs, like Sara, Gypsy, If anyone falls, Stand Back, Troubel in SL, or Storms. And i do like other stuff like Talk to me or Destiny.

But I don't like Beautiful child, No question asked, That's alright or Paper doll. I bought TISL and Street angel, but never liked the whole works. I guess Bella Donna is her best solo album but I don't wanna buy it cause maybe I won't like it.

Same with Lindsey, I don't like L&O nor GI, though I did like OOTC.