Fireflies

[ontheEdgeof17]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

^^

I'd love to hear it live, esp. since she is being comparatively daring in her vocals these days. Read - that cut is a SLAMMIN vocal from her - and LB for that matter.

You should bust it out for NOTS.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by ontheEdgeof17

You should bust it out for NOTS.

I need a strategically placed vice grip along with the burgeoning corset to hit some of those high notes

[ontheEdgeof17]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I need a strategically placed vice grip along with the burgeoning corset to hit some of those high notes

I'll see what kind of materials I can dig up from Jazzy's closet to make this happen.

Love ya Jazz!

[skcin]

Originally Posted by ontheEdgeof17

Well, Paula stole my Tusk Reissue (), so I can't compare the two, but if I recall correctly, they sound very similar.

Not on purpose! It's not like I needed 2 copies!

[David]

I do not believe these "Fireflies" performances were from a soundcheck (where do people get that idea?). But I do believe they were from a July rehearsal for the final leg. Stevie's voice does the gangster thing, which she dropped into on the latter part of that tour. Both of these songs have simple arrangements -- they're both very straightforward instrumentally (pace Strand), & the band could have pulled them together in a half hour. The question is, Why did the band bother doing "Fireflies" & "One More Night" for a rehearsal when they probably didn't have any intention of adding them to the set.

... or maybe they did. But we do have a recording of the Lakeland gig on Aug. 5 (the first night of the tour leg), & it's just the regular August set.

The other puzzle is, Why would they rehearse at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium instead of their usual soundstage environment?

So the puzzle remains for me & perhaps for others. Perhaps they wanted to film or record the audio of the auditorium rehearsal -- treat it as somewhat of a pre-show show -- in the interests of a live album (which might also explain the use of a theater with nice acoustics & visual layout instead of a movie soundstage). Maybe they had already decided (by July) to release a live album. I think perhaps they had: when the Hollywood Bowl ads started appearing in the L.A. Times, the press was already reporting that the band intended to record those shows for a live album. And we know (from the material we got from Frank/Maureen) that many if not most of the August shows were recorded from the soundboard.

[chiliD]

Originally Posted by David

IThe other puzzle is, Why would they rehearse at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium instead of their usual soundstage environment?

So the puzzle remains for me & perhaps for others. Perhaps they wanted to film or record the audio of the auditorium rehearsal -- treat it as somewhat of a pre-show show -- in the interests of a live album (which might also explain the use of a theater with nice acoustics & visual layout instead of a movie soundstage). Maybe they had already decided (by July) to release a live album. I think perhaps they had: when the Hollywood Bowl ads started appearing in the L.A. Times, the press was already reporting that the band intended to record those shows for a live album. And we know (from the material we got from Frank/Maureen) that many if not most of the August shows were recorded from the soundboard.

Seems like you answered your own question, there, David.

There were a lot of calls by the press in articles reviewing performances during the latter stages of the Rumours tour that they should release a live album, and soon...but, by 1980/81, they were running a bit "behind the times" in the at-the-time ubiquous "Double Live Album" race. (by 1982, who HADN'T released one, or in some artists cases more than one, by then?) Even Mick was pushing to release one to "buy time" while they recorded what became Tusk. But, Lindsey was flat against it.

[skcin]

Originally Posted by David

I do not believe these "Fireflies" performances were from a soundcheck (where do people get that idea?).

Isn't that how it's listed in the liner notes? I may be wrong, I don't have them in front of me.

[David]

Originally Posted by skcin

Isn't that how it's listed in the liner notes? I may be wrong, I don't have them in front of me.

The notes say those three songs were recorded live at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for crew & friends. People are probably getting that confused with the notes for "Dreams" & "Don't Stop," which say they were recorded live at Paris sound check.

It's no big deal. World peace doesn't hinge on it. But it's like the "demo" naming issue -- enough people call something "X" & sooner or later "X" becomes the truth. And then people in the future who become fans get confused & they'll probably start voting Republican.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by David

I do not believe these "Fireflies" performances were from a soundcheck (where do people get that idea?).

Mick Fleetwood's book, I think.

[strandinthewind]

They so against it. In a way, that was a good thing because the "Tusk" tracks on the one they realsed are amongst my fav.'s of their released stuff. I think though, that much of the other stuff, like "Dreams," is from earler tours.

[chiliD]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

They so against it. In a way, that was a good thing because the "Tusk" tracks on the one they realsed are amongst my fav.'s of their released stuff. I think though, that much of the other stuff, like "Dreams," is from earler tours.

And, "Rhiannon" is definitely a late Rumours tour version...it had morphed quite a bit by the Tusk tour.

I think to get the "live" feel, they recorded "Farmer's Daughter", "Fireflies" & "One More Night" at the Santa Monica Civic just to capture "live" basic tracks...then they overdubbed the **** out of 'em; but, by having the basic tracks done live in a theatre/auditorium, it kept the live "feel" throughout the process.

[goldustsongbird]

Originally Posted by David

Stevie's voice does the gangster thing,

(tenextracharacters)

[David]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

Mick Fleetwood's book, I think.

You have a copy of that, right, Chris? Mick writes:

. . . "Dreams" from the Paris sound check, a psychedelic "Oh Well" from St. Louis, "Rhiannon" from London, & so on. We also set up our gear & played three new songs "live" for an audience of crew & friends at the Santa Monica Civic Center--Stevie's "Fireflies," Chris's "One More Night," & a Fleetwood Mac harmony orgy in homage to Brian Wilson's "The Farmer's Daughter."

The purpose of a sound check, which I'm sure just about everyone knows, is to set levels & to make sure that the band's stage monitors are functioning the way they're supposed to. I don't think a sound check has ever been mentioned in relation to the Santa Monica songs. I think a fan said it, & then another fan picked it up, & then another & another -- until history was rewritten.

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

There are several demos, boots, etc. of it.

Here is one from youtube:



It is rather of dreadful IMO.

Here is the piano demo.



It is rather pretty IMO. It also shows LB and FM's slammin production skills.

There are others - so look for them.

I would not consider the first one to be a demo. It's actually the band rehearsing, and working to hammer out the song to get a decent performance. What's so amusing is that this is Stevie's song, yet she doesn't seem to be familiar with it and gets completely lost. It goes without saying that her vocals are horrid here, but this must be an early run through. Suffice to say a lot of post-production was done on the final product as it appears of the Live album.

[cristochango]

I think this should've been released on different album as a single