Lindsey: Master of the Memorable Muttering

[sodascouts]

Originally posted by Johnny Stew
I'm surprised too that "Eyes Of The World" often seems to get panned.
It's definitely one of the highlights on 'Mirage,' and the live version on the 'Mirage Tour '82' video is incredible.

I think the live version is great, but the studio one does nothing for me. It's the "eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes..." that ruin it. Ugh. In the live version, that's replaced with great-sounding harmonies. It's like a whole 'nother song altogether - a much, much better one.

The same is true for The Ledge. They never really played it live (more's the pity) but they rehearsed it for the Tusk tour. The version they were going to do cut back on the "Someone oughttas" so that the song rocked throughout instead of coming to a screeching halt rhythmically. (This is all in my humble opinion, as the saying goes)

It's just amazing to me the difference a few tweaks can make. I just wish they could've made them like that for the studio version!

[Johnny Stew]

Nancy, your post reminded me of something I've often pondered about....

When Fleetwood Mac (or any band, for that matter) makes changes in a song when playing it live... had they contemplated making those particular changes while in the studio... or are they changes that they only thought of afterwards.
Like a lightbulb goes off, and someone says, "Oh! You know what we should have done after the second chorus?!"

Anyway, it's probably a little of both, and it's really one of those, "which came first, the chicken or the egg" kinda questions... but it's something i've wondered.


Johnny Stew

[Vianna]

Has to be one of my favorite Lindsey songs! If you know Pachelbel's Canon, it's there in the intro underneath the rest of the instrumentation-so cool the way he worked that out..

Does anyone like Tango in the Night? Man I love that song...when he goes..."Listen to the wind on the water..." it just makes me shiver it's so gorgeous..

What about Empire State?

[Johnny Stew]

Vianna, "Tango In The Night" is another big favorite of mine.
If The Mac gets a little playful with their setlist for the new tour, I hope they find room for that one.

"Caroline" is another great tune.
Earlier in this thread, someone mentioned the line, "time recedes with a fatal drop... dusty fury on the mountain top...." which is definitely one of the coolest lyrics ever uttered.



Johnny Stew

[BellaDonnaGypsy]

I love Tango In The Night... Sarah who sometimes posts here is positively rooting for it to be put in the touring setlist too, since she's obsessed with it and plays it over and over and over... groan. -- "Can we just listen to one other song, just once?" -- "No!" LOL!

As for Empire State... I used to hate that song. I couldn't even listen the intro without cringing. But now I love it for some strange reason. It makes me want to strut up and down the street... majorette style.

Laura.

[wondergirl9847]

One of my fave FM songs!! I also love the fact that he almost whispers the verse, then, BAM, the guitar kicks in..."and I remember, when the moon was full and bright, I would take you in the darkness, do the tango in the night...TANGOOOOO!!!" WOOHOO!! Sexy song!!!!

[DownOnRodeo]

Man I love how this thread turned into an Eyes of the World/Tango in the Night junkie support group!!
I used to dislike the live EOTW (I've only heard the OOTC tour version mind ), but now I appreciate what a rocker it is.
Vianna mentioned the Pachobel's canon connection. That used to annoy me, but when I got into trying to figure out the musical parts on my synth (there is no multipart sheet music, least of all of eclectic songs like EOTW! There should be damn it!!! ) I gained so much respect for its true originality and cleverness.

Sodascouts - I pretty much agree with you about the slight mundanity of parts of the lyrics, which is why I regard it more as Lindsey wanting to make something really instrumental, or 'rock orchestral'. Let's see: First he blatantly uses Pachobel's canon, then he dishes up the choral warmup session of 'ah ah', then add in that the majority of the song is instrumental. I love skipping from after the chorus, then the moment the outro kicks in - it is glorious as Carne said. Of all FM's songs I chose that one to concentrate on for figuring out each musical part, so that's how i rate it as more insrumental than lyrical in its importance. Meanwhile it's just a lot of fun - you can tell by the way he cries the lyrics live.

Yes - Vote 1 for Tango intot he setlist! In fact, either that or Come as they are pretty similar. Like Vianna said, it's the beginning that is so emotive and evocative - "Listen to the wind on the water" - you can see and feel the cold water as on the front of the album!

[CarneVaca]

Another underappreciated little number: Can't Go Back.

"Standing in the shadows of the man I used to be/Wanna go back/Can't go back/Melodies awaken sorrows from their sleep/Can't go back/Wanna go back/She was just a dream maker/A dreamer of sighs/Shadow of the one who used to cry/A face as soft as a tear in a clown's eye/Can't go back/Wanna go back"

Did I get all that right? That's the whole song, folks. And it says so much. "Melodies awaken sorrows..." He could've said, "I turned the radio on, and an old song reminded of days long gone." Yeah, same message, but not very fresh wording, right? How basic the message, yet how utterly fresh and disarmingly simple the language!

Equally simple is the chord progression. Stays on Ab through most of the verse, then goes to Db and then, surprise! Db minor. Beautiful, positively beautiful. Played it on my acoustic yesterday. What a blast.

[Vianna]

is another great Lindsey tune.

This would be a cool one to put on the set list for the tour-along with Tango in the Night!

I'd like to hear EOTW live, too. They did it at one concert on the dance tour-Hartford Connecticut I think and then they changed it. I saw the concert in Virginia and by the time they got to Virginia they had changed it. I was bummed about that.

[wondergirl9847]

WOOHOO! Love Can't Go Back, EOTW AND Tango!! I don't see why everyone HATES Empire State SO much either, I mean, okay, it's not the greatest song in the world, but it's fun and kicky. LOL Kicky? Sorry, it's almost midnight, I'm tired. I'm a Family Man supporter too, because even tho it's repeated several times, I LOVE the acoustic guitar!! I love EOTW live also, the bom, bom's are great and it's fun to hear live. Yeah, so it's a fast version of Stephanie, big whoop, it's still AWESOME!!

[CarneVaca]

Before I really got into "Save Me a Place," I was hooked on "Walk a Thin Line." I dug the monotonous feel of the song. I used to listen to it during one summer I spent at school, a school by the way located in a valley in the northeast where the air would get trapped in July and August, and it would just sit there. The song provided the perfect sort of languid feel for a hot, still summer day.

Just thinking about the tune makes my head sway left to right. I find it that catchy. The more I listened to this particular composition, the more I was inclined to give Lindsey's other Tusk tunes another listen. Until I became hooked. So Tusk wasn't love at first sight for me, yet it became my favorite Mac album.

[The Tower]

Originally posted by CarneVaca
Before I really got into "Save Me a Place," I was hooked on "Walk a Thin Line." I dug the monotonous feel of the song. I used to listen to it during one summer I spent at school, a school by the way located in a valley in the northeast where the air would get trapped in July and August, and it would just sit there. The song provided the perfect sort of languid feel for a hot, still summer day.

Definitely. I was gonna add my two cents on "Walk A Thin Line", but you beat me to it CV.

Very dreamy. Very Summer. Very languid.

I particularly love the harmony vocals by themselves, layered over the guitar arpeggios. It's like sailing the Caribbean- or something like that...

"Save Me a Place" and "Walk A Thin Line" are my definite, definite Lindsey songs (when he was with FM).

Otherwise, "Surrender the Rain" (<----KILLER!) and "Street of Dreams" are my great, great, greats.....

[NoQuestionsAskd]

Everyone else notice that its built off Pachelbel's Canon? Any other examples of Lindsey building a song off a classical riff?