reviews for Say You Will

[ThePenguin]

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/module...sin=B00008X8NY

and also found info aobut band/albums at http://www.epinions.com/content_2258608260

-Lis

[stefan]

Originally Posted by ThePenguin

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/module...sin=B00008X8NY

and also found info aobut band/albums at http://www.epinions.com/content_2258608260

-Lis

In best South park voice: I`ve learned something today:

"Silver girl is a true gem of a song and... Murrow Turning Over In His Grave" and "Red Rover" are non-sensical fillers. Probably meant to be creative and avant garde, they simply annoy with repitition and poorly mixed instrumentals."

Yeah the mixing is real ****ty. Glad silver girl is making up for the loss

[rezamatic]

"His crypto-folk structures and adventurous, Brian Wilson-inspired sonic textures are anything but predictable, illuminating "Miranda" "Red Rover" "Come" and even the mildly pedantic harangue "Murrow Turning Over in His Grave"."


.... at least it's MILDLY pedantic of a harangue. Because after all, who likes their harangues to be overly pedantic or even, dare I say it, EXORBITANTLY pedantic? .... Critics can be so higgledy-piggledy sometimes.

[dissention]

"Nicks hits the jackpot with her already classic, "Silver Girl", a true gem of a song"



"Buckingham's screeching is still not a surprise"



"Nicks' vocals -- which can wander into nanny-goat range if left unchecked"

[amber]

Originally Posted by stefan

In best South park voice: I`ve learned something today:

"Silver girl is a true gem of a song and... Murrow Turning Over In His Grave" and "Red Rover" are non-sensical fillers. Probably meant to be creative and avant garde, they simply annoy with repitition and poorly mixed instrumentals."

Yeah the mixing is real ****ty. Glad silver girl is making up for the loss

of course, south park voice made it funnier.
Perhaps crack was involved in the person's review? Or, perhaps they, too, are a silver girl, caught in a high tech world, and can therefore more readily identify with that song?

[michelej1]

Click for Nice Photo of SnL, embracing in the shadow of dim stage light
http://somethingelsereviews.com/2012...you-will-2003/

Something Else Reviews

On Second Thought: Fleetwood Mac – Say You Will (2003)

Posted by Mark Saleski, May 12, 2012

Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours is one of the truly iconic records of the 1970s. Like Led Zeppelin’s IV, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon and the Eagles’ Hotel California, Rumours spent a lot of time spinning on turntables everywhere … including those of FM radio.

I don’t think I ever owned a copy of it back in the day … and yet somehow I knew all of the songs. You could call this phenomenon “pop music osmosis.”

Along with radio and ‘scene’ dominance, Fleetwood Mac, like their 1970s colleagues (cripes, is it OK to use the word ‘colleague’ when describing a rock band? it feels kinda weird) was a textbook case of the collective whole being far greater than the sum of its parts. Something just clicked for them in that final ‘classic’ lineup. So now I fast forward to the year 2003, and Fleetwood Mac releases Say You Will. It’s many years down the road and the classic lineup has changed. Christine McVie has retired. What would this do to the sound? The chemistry? The balance? With no sunny McVie tunes in the mix, would this record be too dark? Too weird?

As it turns out, Say You Will was neither too dark nor too weird. What it was: a great pop record.

Things were certainly different though. With McVie gone, the songwriting was now evenly split between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Also, Buckingham’s guitar moved forward to take over as the main instrument of texture. This is a good thing: Lindsey’s playing here is amazing. Pick a style and it’s there: from silky folk fingerpicking to sometimes jazzy fills to blistering lead work to near metal riffing … all of this wrapped around Stevie Nicks’ still gorgeous voice.

What’s not different? The songwriting is still definitely quite strong. And Stevie and Lindsey are still referring to each other … or maybe they’re not. See … the thing is, with Fleetwood Mac’s soap-opera history, we’ll always think that Stevie’s talkin’ about Lindsey. Also not changed is that signature vocal harmony. One of the funny things about the after-effects of “pop music osmosis” is that you tend to hear ‘phantom’ voices. So even on the tunes where Christine McVie is not guesting on background vocals, you hear them anyway. Your brain just wants them there.

Oh, I forgot to mention John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Maybe they’d prefer it that way … because as both members of the less-is-more club they accomplish what they always have in the past: laying down a solid base over which each tune rides.

Did Say You Will take a place next to the “great” Fleetwood Mac records (in my mind that would be Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, and Tusk)? I think so. In some ways, it was every bit the record that Tusk was … but without the baggage of the heavy expectations caused by being the followup to Rumours.

[michelej1]

Q 107, Classic Rock By Dave SwansonApril 15, 2013

http://q1077.com/fleetwood-mac-say-you-will/

After the huge comeback success of the live reunion album, ‘The Dance,’ in 1997, Fleetwood Mac were back in a big way. The obvious questions started flying, asking about the chances of a new Mac LP. In spite of a short round of drama, they answered that question with the full-flying ‘Say You Will, ‘ which was released on April 15, 2003. The album marked the return of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to the clan, but also saw the departure of mainstay Christine McVie.

After the 1987 ‘Tango In The Night’ LP, Buckingham left the band to concentrate on his solo career. The Mac soldiered on and issued two more albums, ‘Behind The Mask’ (1990) and ‘Time (1995), by which time Nicks had also split. The 1997 reunion set the stage for big things to come, but following the tour, Christine McVie made the decision to retire. Buckingham, Nicks, John McVie and Mick Fleetwod regrouped as a four-piece to put an album together. Fortunately, they already had a head start.

Lindsey Buckingham had been working on a solo album since the late-’90s and had, in fact, called up his old band mate McVie and Fleetwood to play on a few tracks. A planned album titled ‘Gift Of Screws’ never materialized (the title was used for his 2008 solo set), but tracks from that batch of recordings found a home on ‘Say You Will,’ and after a little tweaking, became full-fledged Fleetwood Mac songs.

‘Miranda,’ ‘Red Rover,’ ‘Come,’ ‘Steal Your Heart Away’ and ‘Murrow Turning Over In His Grave’ — all classic Buckingham tracks — are from those solo sessions. In ‘Murrow,’ Buckingham’s wired and haunting vocal derides the state of media, and coupled with some equally haunting and fiery guitar work, the song just soars. ‘Steal Your Heart Away’ is the hit that got away. It’s pure Fleetwood Mac pop that begged for radio play, but alas, was not to be. Ditto for the LP’s title track, written by Stevie Nicks. ‘Say You Will’ shows Nicks off in her signature style and though it just missed the Top 20, it proved the band were back in top form.

‘Come’ is a very heavy and very harsh rocker that borders on psychotic. Buckingham really lets his demons lose here, delivering a blistering guitar solo, while ‘Red Rover’ shows off a more gentle and intricate guitar style from the man. Meanwhile, other amazing gems like ‘Miranda’ and ‘Bleed To Love Her’ proved that the songwriting fountain of Buckingham was far from dry. The songs on ‘Say You Will’ rank with his best.

That’s not to say it’s all Lindsey’s show here. Miss Nicks puts forth a heaping batch of her own pearls here like ‘Silver Girl,’ ‘Smile At You,’ and the dynamic ‘Destiny Rules,’ which is one of the best tracks on the album. It’s a long record, with 18 tracks that clock in at well over an hour.

‘Say You Will’ hit No. 3 on Billboard and made it to ‘Gold’ status. Though a far cry from the mega-billion and counting sales of ‘Rumours,’ it was definitely a solid showing commercially. Artistically, however, it was a genuine triumph.

The four-piece version of Fleetwood Mac are still together and on the road, but have said that another album might not be in their collective future again. If ‘Say You Will’ were to be the last full-length album the band ever release, it certainly qualifies them as going out on a high note.

[editme2]

Glad to see "Say You Will" getting some love. I've long thought that as a whole it ranks right up there with the band's best. Stevie's songs "Say You Will," "Destiny Rules," "Silver Girl" (yes!), "Thrown Down" are true gems. And Lindsey's "Murrow," "Miranda," "Steal Your Heart Away," and "What's the World Coming To?" are just about perfect.

Was the album a bit bloated and perhaps a little self-indulgent? Yes.

But it sounded so good.

[michelej1]

April 18, 2015 by Nick DeRiso Something Else Reviews

http://somethingelsereviews.com/2015...-say-you-will/

Fleetwood Mac’s overlong Say You Will sorely missed Christine McVie

Christine McVie’s absence on Say You Will, released this week in 2003, unbalanced Fleetwood Mac’s delicate dynamic. The album ends up feeling like a conversation between two people, namely Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, rather than a true band effort.

In truth, that’s what Say You Will was once supposed to be, a new duo recording. Place these same songs under the Fleetwood Mac banner, however, and you begin to miss McVie’s brief respites of pure, joyous pop. Her absence keeps this album from rising above the middle of the Fleetwood Mac pack.

That said, Stevie Nicks hadn’t sounded this engaged since she put out Bella Donna more than 20 years before. Post-rehab, she finally returned for a Fleetwood Mac album and tour as an important contributor. There’s a refreshing melancholy about “Goodbye Baby,” which showed Nicks could inhabit other personas besides that of the witchy woman. (Conversely, when she returns there for “Illume,” it feels a little rote.)

Lindsey Buckingham? Well, he’s still weird. It’s to his credit, of course, since Buckingham is principally responsible for moving Fleetwood Mac away from the sometimes-staid sensibility (either toward white blues or, later, toward soft rock) that the group always had. But, too often of late, it seemed Buckingham had hardened into a musical experimenter — one whose solo stuff could be unlistenably convoluted.

Say You Will gave Buckingham license for a return to more mainstream impulses, and we find him luxuriating in some gorgeous Beach Boy-ish harmonies and song structures (the terrific “Come”), even if he must indulge himself with one guitar meltdown tune. There are moments when the album almost finds greatness — particularly in moments like “What’s the World Coming To” and “Bleed to Love Her.”

All that was missing, alas, was Christine McVie — and a sharper eye for editing. At 18 songs, Fleetwood Mac’s Say You Will is simply too long. A few tracks could have been left aside, and a few others should have been McVie songs.

[SisterNightroad]

10 Years Ago: Fleetwood Mac Release ‘Say You Will’
by Dave Swanson

After the huge comeback success of the live reunion album, ‘The Dance,’ in 1997, Fleetwood Mac were back in a big way. The obvious questions started flying, asking about the chances of a new Mac LP. In spite of a short round of drama, they answered that question with the full-flying ‘Say You Will, ‘ which was released on April 15, 2003. The album marked the return of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to the clan, but also saw the departure of mainstay Christine McVie.
After the 1987 ‘Tango In The Night’ LP, Buckingham left the band to concentrate on his solo career. The Mac soldiered on and issued two more albums, ‘Behind The Mask’ (1990) and ‘Time (1995), by which time Nicks had also split. The 1997 reunion set the stage for big things to come, but following the tour, Christine McVie made the decision to retire. Buckingham, Nicks, John McVie and Mick Fleetwod regrouped as a four-piece to put an album together. Fortunately, they already had a head start.
Lindsey Buckingham had been working on a solo album since the late-’90s and had, in fact, called up his old band mate McVie and Fleetwood to play on a few tracks. A planned album titled ‘Gift Of Screws’ never materialized (the title was used for his 2008 solo set), but tracks from that batch of recordings found a home on ‘Say You Will,’ and after a little tweaking, became full-fledged Fleetwood Mac songs.
‘Miranda,’ ‘Red Rover,’ ‘Come,’ ‘Steal Your Heart Away’ and ‘Murrow Turning Over In His Grave’ — all classic Buckingham tracks — are from those solo sessions. In ‘Murrow,’ Buckingham’s wired and haunting vocal derides the state of media, and coupled with some equally haunting and fiery guitar work, the song just soars. ‘Steal Your Heart Away’ is the hit that got away. It’s pure Fleetwood Mac pop that begged for radio play, but alas, was not to be. Ditto for the LP’s title track, written by Stevie Nicks. ‘Say You Will’ shows Nicks off in her signature style and though it just missed the Top 20, it proved the band were back in top form.
‘Come’ is a very heavy and very harsh rocker that borders on psychotic. Buckingham really lets his demons lose here, delivering a blistering guitar solo, while ‘Red Rover’ shows off a more gentle and intricate guitar style from the man. Meanwhile, other amazing gems like ‘Miranda’ and ‘Bleed To Love Her’ proved that the songwriting fountain of Buckingham was far from dry. The songs on ‘Say You Will’ rank with his best.
That’s not to say it’s all Lindsey’s show here. Miss Nicks puts forth a heaping batch of her own pearls here like ‘Silver Girl,’ ‘Smile At You,’ and the dynamic ‘Destiny Rules,’ which is one of the best tracks on the album. It’s a long record, with 18 tracks that clock in at well over an hour.
‘Say You Will’ hit No. 3 on Billboard and made it to ‘Gold’ status. Though a far cry from the mega-billion and counting sales of ‘Rumours,’ it was definitely a solid showing commercially. Artistically, however, it was a genuine triumph.
The four-piece version of Fleetwood Mac are still together and on the road, but have said that another album might not be in their collective future again. If ‘Say You Will’ were to be the last full-length album the band ever release, it certainly qualifies them as going out on a high note.


Read More: 10 Years Ago: Fleetwood Mac Release ‘Say You Will’ | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/fleet...ckback=tsmclip

[wheart]

Originally Posted by michelej1

April 18, 2015 by Nick DeRiso Something Else Reviews

http://somethingelsereviews.com/2015...-say-you-will/

Fleetwood Mac’s overlong Say You Will sorely missed Christine McVie

Christine McVie’s absence on Say You Will, released this week in 2003, unbalanced Fleetwood Mac’s delicate dynamic. The album ends up feeling like a conversation between two people, namely Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, rather than a true band effort.

In truth, that’s what Say You Will was once supposed to be, a new duo recording. Place these same songs under the Fleetwood Mac banner, however, and you begin to miss McVie’s brief respites of pure, joyous pop. Her absence keeps this album from rising above the middle of the Fleetwood Mac pack.

That said, Stevie Nicks hadn’t sounded this engaged since she put out Bella Donna more than 20 years before. Post-rehab, she finally returned for a Fleetwood Mac album and tour as an important contributor. There’s a refreshing melancholy about “Goodbye Baby,” which showed Nicks could inhabit other personas besides that of the witchy woman. (Conversely, when she returns there for “Illume,” it feels a little rote.)

Lindsey Buckingham? Well, he’s still weird. It’s to his credit, of course, since Buckingham is principally responsible for moving Fleetwood Mac away from the sometimes-staid sensibility (either toward white blues or, later, toward soft rock) that the group always had. But, too often of late, it seemed Buckingham had hardened into a musical experimenter — one whose solo stuff could be unlistenably convoluted.

Say You Will gave Buckingham license for a return to more mainstream impulses, and we find him luxuriating in some gorgeous Beach Boy-ish harmonies and song structures (the terrific “Come”), even if he must indulge himself with one guitar meltdown tune. There are moments when the album almost finds greatness — particularly in moments like “What’s the World Coming To” and “Bleed to Love Her.”

All that was missing, alas, was Christine McVie — and a sharper eye for editing. At 18 songs, Fleetwood Mac’s Say You Will is simply too long. A few tracks could have been left aside, and a few others should have been McVie songs.

Fairly accurate assessment. I still enjoy listening to SYW and think it could have been so much better if it were edited down

[twinmatrix]

How can ANYONE say Say You Will is mastered badly? It is literally the best mastered album I have ever listened to. There's sounds and instruments all over the place in different directions. It's like being at a live concert but without the crowd noise! Compare it to something like Madonna's Rebel Heart album which sounds like a 64 kbps converted to 320 kbps.

[Andy Man]

To be honest, whenever I listen to Say You Will I imagine that it is a Buckingham Nicks album. No offence to John and Mick, but it does not feel like a "band" effort whatsoever. Despite the fact that the band did have the intention to make a true FM album (as documented in the wonderful film "Destiny Rules"), the lack of coherence and consistency on the album does not ring true of a collaborative work. In addition to this, I find that it is the least significant album in terms of John and Mick's playing out of all the FM releases ("Smile At You" is an exception for John, and "Come" is an exception for Mick - both tracks showcase the rhythm section really well). It is funny how the closest the album comes to a FM album are the tracks written in a very Christine McVie/South. California formula (Throw Down, Say You Will, Steal Your Heart Away, Bleed To Love Her).

While I do appreciate the songs on the album and by no means consider it bad (I listen to it a lot and, unlike many on here, believe that some of Steve's best material is present not the album), the sense of a "band record" is not consistent in any listening. I would not change it though because as a Buckingham Nicks album, featuring Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, I think it is pretty good. Just shows you the power of Language and labelling...