Without You

[CADreaming]

Is it just me or do the love grunts at the end of the new recording remind anyone of Big Love? LOL. I like the new ending better than the way they end the live version, but obviously it would be hard to recreate live. It was reminiscent of the live Lola where they sang "ooh yeah!" together - really effective.

I love this song, and I really like the new recording, but I don't like the "echo" I hear in it - maybe that's the mix? I want the vocals over the guitar and clearer, but the guitar is over the vocals to my ears. Also, the guitar sounds too "tinny". I want a nice solid, deeper acoustic sound like in the original demo. Mostly, I just want to hear the vocals and the guitar without the extra background drum track or whatever that is.

Anyway, I like the way their voices are stacked in the new version.

Listening to the old and the new, it's really neat to listen to them as bookends - the years fading away somewhere in between and you hear these young, strong, naive voices declaring "where would I be without you?" next to their older, wiser, battle-scarred voices still singing - through everything - the same sentiment.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by CADreaming

Is it just me or do the love grunts at the end of the new recording remind anyone of Big Love?

They don't mind me of Big Love, because they're less sharp and gutteral, but they're kind of strange. I would like to see a video from when they were recorded.


Michele

[CADreaming]

Originally Posted by michelej1

They don't mind me of Big Love, because they're less sharp and gutteral, but they're kind of strange. I would like to see a video from when they were recorded.


Michele

I don't even think I want to see that Michele.

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by CADreaming

I don't even think I want to see that Michele.

I wonder if she was counting off to him, like she does on stage.

Michele

[HelloMonster]

Originally Posted by CADreaming

Is it just me or do the love grunts at the end of the new recording remind anyone of Big Love? LOL. I like the new ending better than the way they end the live version, but obviously it would be hard to recreate live. It was reminiscent of the live Lola where they sang "ooh yeah!" together - really effective.

I love this song, and I really like the new recording, but I don't like the "echo" I hear in it - maybe that's the mix? I want the vocals over the guitar and clearer, but the guitar is over the vocals to my ears. Also, the guitar sounds too "tinny". I want a nice solid, deeper acoustic sound like in the original demo. Mostly, I just want to hear the vocals and the guitar without the extra background drum track or whatever that is.

Anyway, I like the way their voices are stacked in the new version.

Listening to the old and the new, it's really neat to listen to them as bookends - the years fading away somewhere in between and you hear these young, strong, naive voices declaring "where would I be without you?" next to their older, wiser, battle-scarred voices still singing - through everything - the same sentiment.

Their noises mind me of Peacekeeper, but I agree with you about the metallic sound.

[sidwich]

It's funny. "Without You" came up in my shuffle while I was driving today, and something just hit me.

One of the interesting things about both Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham as songwriters is that they are able to convey the complexity of human emotion. They don't really just write "June moon" love songs. They convey the idea of love hand in hand with the complications.

For example, I've heard "Landslide" described as a love song, but it's really not. I mean, you could debate what "Landslide" is really about for hours, but it's about A LOT of things: life decisions, aging, risk, loss of control.

By the same token, "Trouble" which is probably one of more straightforward songs by Lindsey Buckingham, the emphasis isn't on the love and warmth which is stirring. The hook and the musical punctuation keeps going back to the word "Trouble." Dude, I'm feeling feelings again and I should be getting out of here.

Anyway, what this is really about is "Without You," and what I was thinking listening to it today, was wow, this is probably the most straightforward love song that Nicks or Buckingham EVER did, and nowhere in the lyrics does it ever mention the word "love" or really even come close to mentioning it. It's actually much more overtly about making a mark on each other as artists.

Yeah, I know, this goes back to the fact that they're complicated people, and their writing really reflects that.

[shackin'up]

Wow, welcome sidwich, post more, I liked this one a lot!

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by sidwich

It's funny. "Without You" came up in my shuffle while I was driving today, and something just hit me.

One of the interesting things about both Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham as songwriters is that they are able to convey the complexity of human emotion. They don't really just write "June moon" love songs. They convey the idea of love hand in hand with the complications.

I think Christine actually does that too, even though her songs sound "June Moon" on the surface. Say You Love Me is far from being a happy love song. Over My Head, ditto.

Yes, doesn't matter if you're talking about a recent song or an old one (Long Distance Runner) it's always about the difficulties and complications. Love is involuntary and almost beside the point.

Michele

[secret love]

Originally Posted by michelej1

I think Christine actually does that too, even though her songs sound "June Moon" on the surface. Say You Love Me is far from being a happy love song. Over My Head, ditto.

Yes, doesn't matter if you're talking about a recent song or an old one (Long Distance Runner) it's always about the difficulties and complications. Love is involuntary and almost beside the point.

Michele

I think you mean Long Distance Winner.
I found this on YouTube today ... I had not heard it before and I loved it. It is called Farewell Failure and is a Buckingham Nicks song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmlQ-iEZZSk

Can't say the ooh yeahs at the end of Without You remind me of Big Love. Though I do like the love grunts on the studio version of Big Love I couldn't tell if the woman grunting was Stevie or not. They sound like actors pretending to be having sex. I find it a bit funny and can only imagine there would have been much embarrassment and laughter in the studio while recording the end of Big Love.

@sidwich The Without You lyrics do mention the word love: "If I'd not heard your laughter, then I wouldn't love you"

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by secret love

I find it a bit funny and can only imagine there would have been much embarrassment and laughter in the studio while recording the end of Big Love.

That was only Lindsey on Big Love.

I can imagine that there was a lot of laughing in the studio when they heard Christine recording Ricky too.

Michele

[CADreaming]

Originally Posted by HelloMonster

Their noises mind me of Peacekeeper, but I agree with you about the metallic sound.

Huh. I don't really hear love grunts on Peacekeeper, but that's an interesting choice since you probably are more likely to hear love grunts after waiting for the dark of night where love is the sweet surprise.

Originally Posted by sidwich

It's funny. "Without You" came up in my shuffle while I was driving today, and something just hit me.

One of the interesting things about both Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham as songwriters is that they are able to convey the complexity of human emotion. They don't really just write "June moon" love songs. They convey the idea of love hand in hand with the complications.

For example, I've heard "Landslide" described as a love song, but it's really not. I mean, you could debate what "Landslide" is really about for hours, but it's about A LOT of things: life decisions, aging, risk, loss of control.

By the same token, "Trouble" which is probably one of more straightforward songs by Lindsey Buckingham, the emphasis isn't on the love and warmth which is stirring. The hook and the musical punctuation keeps going back to the word "Trouble." Dude, I'm feeling feelings again and I should be getting out of here.

Anyway, what this is really about is "Without You," and what I was thinking listening to it today, was wow, this is probably the most straightforward love song that Nicks or Buckingham EVER did, and nowhere in the lyrics does it ever mention the word "love" or really even come close to mentioning it. It's actually much more overtly about making a mark on each other as artists.

Yeah, I know, this goes back to the fact that they're complicated people, and their writing really reflects that.

Welcome to the board! Great post. I agree that WY is probably the most direct song they have ever done, not relying on any poetic symbolism. Really like your thoughts on "Landslide" and "Trouble" too.

Originally Posted by secret love

@sidwich The Without You lyrics do mention the word love: "If I'd not heard your laughter, then I wouldn't love you"

Yes, that is true. Really, it's sad how the word love is so misused, overused and misrepresented in songs and life, when it should be the most meaningful word ever. But, in Without You, I think love is defined even more deeply in other lines like "you are... ingrained in my soul" and "the time had come and gone without you inside me".

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by CADreaming

Yes, that is true. Really, it's sad how the word love is so misused, overused and misrepresented in songs and life, when it should be the most meaningful word ever. But, in Without You, I think love is defined even more deeply in other lines like "you are... ingrained in my soul" and "the time had come and gone without you inside me".

This is a good point and it's one of the reasons I admire The X-Files so much. Chris Carter didn't use any of the traditional short cuts to show his characters loved each other. They didn't say they did and weren't having sex (until the end). They weren't even touching much of the time. They had loyalty and trust and a bond that was unconditional and eventually what was displayed was a relationship that seemed to dwarf the word love.

Michele

[HelloMonster]

Originally Posted by CADreaming

Huh. I don't really hear love grunts on Peacekeeper, but that's an interesting choice since you probably are more likely to hear love grunts after waiting for the dark of night where love is the sweet surprise.

I'm probably just thinking of the live version, then.