Smile at You - Deluxe Outtake

[brad975]

I'm not sure if there's been much discussion of this, but I'm a little mystified by the outtake of "Smile at You" chosen for the Deluxe Mirage.

I've heard the famous "angry" version from the Mirage sessions, and I just heard an incredibly clear sounding version from the Tusk time period on YouTube (with searing guitar). I think both of these are better than the outtake chosen for the Deluxe Mirage.

Two things in particular bother me about the officially released outtake:

* She doesn't get through two full choruses (as on the other available outtakes). The song doesn't have a particularly dynamic chorus to begin with on first listen, so I think it needs at least 2 run-throughs.
* But when you do think she's going into a second full chorus, it stops short on "You needed someone to depend on ME." Me? Shouldn't that be another "You" as in the other versions? It sounds like a goof.

This isn't one of my favorite Stevie/Mac songs. But I do admire her wailing on the "angry" version. That's the most dynamic element of the recording to me. Maybe Stevie didn't want the world to hear her sound so angry, so she indicated a preference for another take. I don't know.

But it seems like a missed opportunity. The Tusk "Smile at You" would have been great to have on that Deluxe Tusk too.

As far as the SYW version, I can see why Lindsey added in the "Turned away and ran, just as fast as I can" sections. Because it could be argued that the song needed some added interest. But that bugs me also because it's ungrammatical. "Just as fast as I could" doesn't rhyme, however.

It was helpful to hear where those lines came from on the released outtake. But Stevie split them apart and sang them a little differently so that it didn't sound strange. "I should have turned away and and ran, just as fast as I can" effectively becomes the chorus on the SYW version, because she only does what I think of as the original chorus ("...My first mistake was to smile at you...") once on this version too.

This is just my opinion. I guess there's no absolute rule that a song needs a clear chorus. What do you think about the released outtake or other versions?

[aleuzzi]

Originally Posted by brad975

I'm not sure if there's been much discussion of this, but I'm a little mystified by the outtake of "Smile at You" chosen for the Deluxe Mirage.

I've heard the famous "angry" version from the Mirage sessions, and I just heard an incredibly clear sounding version from the Tusk time period on YouTube (with searing guitar). I think both of these are better than the outtake chosen for the Deluxe Mirage.

Two things in particular bother me about the officially released outtake:

* She doesn't get through two full choruses (as on the other available outtakes). The song doesn't have a particularly dynamic chorus to begin with on first listen, so I think it needs at least 2 run-throughs.
* But when you do think she's going into a second full chorus, it stops short on "You needed someone to depend on ME." Me? Shouldn't that be another "You" as in the other versions? It sounds like a goof.

This isn't one of my favorite Stevie/Mac songs. But I do admire her wailing on the "angry" version. That's the most dynamic element of the recording to me. Maybe Stevie didn't want the world to hear her sound so angry, so she indicated a preference for another take. I don't know.

But it seems like a missed opportunity. The Tusk "Smile at You" would have been great to have on that Deluxe Tusk too.

As far as the SYW version, I can see why Lindsey added in the "Turned away and ran, just as fast as I can" sections. Because it could be argued that the song needed some added interest. But that bugs me also because it's ungrammatical. "Just as fast as I could" doesn't rhyme, however.

It was helpful to hear where those lines came from on the released outtake. But Stevie split them apart and sang them a little differently so that it didn't sound strange.

This is just my opinion. What do you think about the released outtake or other versions?

I had similar questions and agree with you about the other versions being better.

[sorcerer999]

I think the "Tusk" version of Smile At You is the best version! IMO, I think it's waaaaaaaaaaayyyy better than the "Angry Mirage" version. And I agree it was a missed opportunity to remaster and include it on the Deluxe "Tusk".

In regards to the grammatical errors in the song, have you ever heard of a gentleman named Bob Dylan? He just won the Nobel Prize!

[pattyfan]

Originally Posted by sorcerer999

I think the "Tusk" version of Smile At You is the best version! IMO, I think it's waaaaaaaaaaayyyy better than the "Angry Mirage" version. And I agree it was a missed opportunity to remaster and include it on the Deluxe "Tusk".

In regards to the grammatical errors in the song, have you ever heard of a gentleman named Bob Dylan? He just won the Nobel Prize!

I'm not up enough on my Dylan, obviously. Can you include some examples? I only know the well-known Dylan songs and I can't think of any mistakes off the top of my head.

Thanks

(And just for the record, there is a big difference between an error vs an error on purpose because the writer thinks the character in the song might say something like that vs. register differences.)

Kevin

[BigBigLove]

Originally Posted by pattyfan

I'm not up enough on my Dylan, obviously. Can you include some examples? I only know the well-known Dylan songs and I can't think of any mistakes off the top of my head.

Thanks

(And just for the record, there is a big difference between an error vs an error on purpose because the writer thinks the character in the song might say something like that vs. register differences.)

Kevin

I think they're referring to an infamous exchange (in the "Say You Will" documentary) between Stevie and Lindsey in which Stevie responds to a suggestion from Lindsey about person/tense by saying that he "wouldn't say that to Bob Dylan" or something to that effect.

[pattyfan]

Originally Posted by BigBigLove

I think they're referring to an infamous exchange (in the "Say You Will" documentary) between Stevie and Lindsey in which Stevie responds to a suggestion from Lindsey about person/tense by saying that he "wouldn't say that to Bob Dylan" or something to that effect.

Ohhhhh, OK I always thought that was so funny because she kind of proved Lindsey's point. No one does that to Dylan because Dylan doesn't do that.

Anyway, thanks.

Kevin

[sorcerer999]

Originally Posted by BigBigLove

I think they're referring to an infamous exchange (in the "Say You Will" documentary) between Stevie and Lindsey in which Stevie responds to a suggestion from Lindsey about person/tense by saying that he "wouldn't say that to Bob Dylan" or something to that effect.

I'm glad somebody got my joke! My sense of humor is a bit off kilter...as is my execution of jokes, apparently.

Originally Posted by pattyfan

And just for the record, there is a big difference between an error vs an error on purpose because the writer thinks the character in the song might say something like that vs. register differences.

Agreed, Kevin! Sometimes I think Stevie creates these characters in her songs as alter egos of herself. So, when confronted with these errors, she goes into full on defense mode (a la the "Bob Dylan" excuse) and "gaslights" her obvious "errors" as "errors on purpose"!