The Dealer

[HoursAndHours]

Originally Posted by Phil

Originally posted by michelej1


After all this time, I don't know how this could have occurred. We're talking about Christine here - surely it couldn't have been a typo?

If there's a story behind it, please fill me in. Otherwise, I'd wager that the final tracklisting was submitted by someone other than the band, and WB probably just rubber-stamped it without looking.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by Phil

Originally posted by michelej1


After all this time, I don't know how this could have occurred. We're talking about Christine here - surely it couldn't have been a typo?

Well, she said she had a hard time living up to the name "Perfect" in school. Maybe she was never a good student. But really, it would appear to be the responsibility of the copy editor at Warner Bros.

Michele

[soul_drifter333]

I was going through some old demos of The Dealer and found a version with a guy singing with her as a duet. Anyone know who the guy is? He sounds a little like a Tom Petty wanna be. After all this time, I didn't even know I had this version.

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by soul_drifter333

I was going through some old demos of The Dealer and found a version with a guy singing with her as a duet. Anyone know who the guy is? He sounds a little like a Tom Petty wanna be. After all this time, I didn't even know I had this version.

That's Walter Egan, of "Magnet & Steel" fame.

[BombaySapphire3]

I burned a copy of The Dealer for a friend of mine who is 57 that has been a fan of Fleetwood Mac since the Bob Welch years and is also a big Stevie fan ..just not quite the fanatic that I am so she has never heard all the demos. After listening to it multiple times she told me it was one of her favorite Stevie songs ever.It is amazing that a song this solid never saw an official release until now.

[Phil]

I've always loved the various demo versions of "The Dealer" and could never fathom why it never had an official release, particularly with Fleetwood Mac. (If she was really scratching around for material during the Tango sessions, how on earth could this have not been a consideration?)
Anyway, I really do like this released version, but agree with others that it's a little on the polite side. I do think her vocal could have been slightly better - more restrained here and more intense there - but ultimately, it all comes together quite well. I've said this before, but I really think we need to consider the context of the album and where this track fits in. I'm sure there is a reason Stevie adopted this more mellow approach.
We also need to remember that if we hadn't heard the (particularly good) demo versions from thirty-odd years ago as a comparison point, we might have been more impressed with the 2014 interpretation.

[BombaySapphire3]

Originally Posted by Phil

We also need to remember that if we hadn't heard the (particularly good) demo versions from thirty-odd years ago as a comparison point, we might have been more impressed with the 2014 interpretation.

That is basically the reason I posted the aforementioned story about a friend of mine that has been a Stevie fan since her joining FM and has all of her solo albums but isn't quite fanatical enough to have heard the demos..She absolutely loves this version of The Dealer without having heard any of the others.