Best lyrics songwriter

[Villavic]

Who do you think is the best songwriter in the Rumours lineup, but just in terms of LYRICS, not the music

[Macfan4life]

Stevie is by far the best poet in music. Some of her poetry translates into song nicely while others not so much. She no doubt is the deepest writer of the 3 Rumours writers.

Chris is the best writer of pop songs. Her simple verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus is the best in the bizz. Her warm style comes through in brilliant love songs that make you blush.

Each of these 2 women have completely different styles of writing. Its impossible to pick which is better. Chris is the better writer of pop songs while Stevie is the better writer of poetry in epic songs.

Lindsey is really good too. But I don't think he is in their league. Although he has written some brilliant songs.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Stevie is by far the best poet in music. Some of her poetry translates into song nicely while others not so much. She no doubt is the deepest writer of the 3 Rumours writers.

Chris is the best writer of pop songs. Her simple verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus is the best in the bizz. Her warm style comes through in brilliant love songs that make you blush.

Each of these 2 women have completely different styles of writing. Its impossible to pick which is better. Chris is the better writer of pop songs while Stevie is the better writer of poetry in epic songs.

Lindsey is really good too. But I don't think he is in their league. Although he has written some brilliant songs.

Ditto to all of this. And I think Bob, who is probably well read, beats them all.

[GypsySorcerer]

If we're talking '75-'81, Stevie. Anyone who writes Rhiannon, Landslide, Dreams, etc. in a 5-year period is clearly a talented songwriter. However, her decline has been sharp, and since Rock A Little, she's managed only a handful of "classics" on each of her albums.

Christine is the most consistent. Her knack for writing catchy hooks is unrivaled. She has written some beautiful lyrics ("Why"), but I think of her primarily as a pop songwriter.

Lindsey, IMO, has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. I gravitated more toward his material on SYW than Stevie's. The past 20 years or so, he's really been creative.

Overall peak: Stevie
Fewest Duds: Christine
Strongest currently: Lindsey

[bwboy]

Stevie’s lyrics have always been more intense and metaphorical, often with hidden subtext that make the songs even better when you decode them. Christine showed a real growth from Tango on- I don’t know how much of that was due to her co-writer or what, but there was a maturity to her songs that wasn’t previously there. Lindsey has shown little growth throughout his career, lyrically. There’s nothing written on his last album that lyrically differs from either his first solo album or his work with Fleetwood Mac. That doesn’t mean I don’t like his work, I just don’t see much growth or substance to his lyrics. And just because Stevie writes deeply personal songs doesn’t mean they’re all great- Desert Angel, When I See You Again, and Illume are just some examples of deeply personal songs that aren’t great. Also, that newer song she did during the pandemic.

[Macfan4life]

So true about consistency. Christine really has no duds and has an excellent record and something you have to take into account. Its like a baseball player who consistently hits singles every game. He gets on base every game and is a super star. Home runs and triples are not his thing.
Stevie just has more epic songs because her writing is deep, poetic, and intense. There are many hidden meanings and metaphors. However post 1983 her writing declined and there was no Lindsey or Jimmy to craft her poetry into song. She still wrote some good stuff but it was the exception not the norm. Stevie from 1973-1983 was very crafty and her throw away songs that were cut from albums floor you when you think the Mac passed on Sleeping Angel, Silver Springs, and for a time Smile At You and many more.
There are so many variables and Chris definitely gets a higher grade for consistency.

[bombaysaffires]

but the question was the lyrics alone, not combined with their accompanying music.

In that regard, Chris's lyrics can be somewhat "moon-spoon-June" and a certain degree of formula (btw, she knows this and has talked about it in interviews). She tells the same story on most songs, with just slight narrative variations. Her lyrics can be a bit trite, but saved by some good music.

Stevie's lyrics reflect far more those of a storyteller. Her music on the other hand is the same two notes over and over. Her (best) songs are lyrically complex, with really monotonous music (punched up by Lindsey as producer and by all the others as players... eg, Dreams.)

So lyrics alone-- Stevie. (This has changed over time, as has been already noted by others... her lyrics have not been as good or original in later years).

[sue]

Lyrics alone..

Definitely..Stevie. wonderful stories woven from personal life. That you can melt into.
Lindsey. Again personal and a bit self..self.
Christine. She could have written for Tin Pan Alley or the Brill building, a pro..

[DownOnRodeo]

Originally Posted by bombaysaffires

Chris's lyrics can be somewhat "moon-spoon-June" and a certain degree of formula

Lindsey too.
The main difference between them is that the narrative in Chris' lyrics is highly transparent whereas Lindsey's point is more opaque at times.

Lindsey starts with the music and slaps a rhyme on top.
Sometimes the mechanics of the rhyme is on the nose, but other times the rhyming and scansion are shaken up, to good effect.

Loving you isn't the right thing to do
How can I ever change things that I feel?
If I could, baby, I'd give you my world
How can I, when you won't take it from me?

Chris has snippets of lyrics lying around but basically starts with the music and lyrics at the same time, correct?

Stevie starts with free-form poems--jumbled collections of loosely collected phrases that aren't bogged down in strict rhyming and scansion requirements. It's all very right-brain and to great effect--until it runs off the rails, or (Dylan forbid) you sit down and try to actually figure out what on earth she's talking about sometimes.

I think some of the best lyrics of the three can be those that are outliers to their usual approaches--the more restrained lyrics of Stevie (most of her early stuff--ex. Designs of Love, Races Are Run, Crystal, Landslide), the more opaque and wordy lyrics of Lindsey (Down On Rodeo, Wait For You), and the structurally least formulaic of Chris's lyrics (ex. YMLF, Brown Eyes, Songbird).

[aleuzzi]

Very few of Stevie’s overall songs are coherent lyrically. Her best lyrics are: Landslide, Rhiannon, Dreams, Silver Springs, IDWK, Leather and Lace, After the Glitter Fades, and (especially) That’s Alright.

Many of her other songs have lines and phrases that SOUND cool but are little more than a mood. I’m thinking of Gold Dust, Sara, Gypsy, Edge, How Still My Love. Without the music and the impassioned vocal, most of her lyrics lack much intrinsic interest.

But she is at least more reaching and intriguing than either Christine or Lindsey.

That said, I believe there’s more poetry in either Sugar Daddy or Hold Me than any Nicks or Buckingham tune. The best lyrics are honest and unpretentious.

[FuzzyPlum]

I think Lindsey has placed much more of an emphasis on the value of lyrics as he’s aged. Early on he focused on the overall feel/mood of a song. Some of the wording of his songs was always rather trite or throwaway, to the point he was always clearly the weakest song writer in a lyrical context. But more recently, including on Say You Will and especially on his solo work the lyrics have been a much more valuable and thought through contribution to the overall song.
I think the lyrics to Sad Angel are really terrific.