Which two albums represent Stevie's best Fleetwood Mac work?

[On Ice]

The pinnacle of Stevie's career is her contributions to Tusk, all 5 songs were written to perfection, sung with all of the strengths and weaknesses of her vocal capabilities and never to be matched again. The demos from that era also could easily have interchanged and we'd still have her best set of songs on any Fleetwood Mac album. Now, this is where I'm going to contradict myself and go from my favourite Fleetwood Mac album to discussing Stevie's best work and blow my argument

Back to the perfection that is Rumours. Gold Dust Woman is in my view, her very best self penned recorded song. It fits perfectly into any classic rock set played on the radio or at home, it just does. It is also the only song she has pulled off live at every single concert even on an "off" night, going back to even some of the problematic shows of yesteryear where Stevie could barely talk let alone sing. Someone said earlier how Dreams while being a pop song also recaptures the blues side of the band, and it certainly does. The high notes on that song are also just wonderful and left me longing for more, that was really never to be again (although brief interludes on Sorcerer, New Orleans and Call on Me for Magic). I Don't Want to Know also is her most "forgotten" gem, a flawless song that is so catchy, I still love playing it. The Chain also shows just how good Stevie's songwriting was, despite her limited chord knowledge, she could pump out a killer melody and lyrics that none of her contemporaries would dare touch. The demo of that song left me scratching my head as to why the structure of that song never wove itself into another song, it' stunning. Lastly, there's Silver Springs, again the songwriting is immaculate and the vocals on record, she would not match until 1997 when she hit the song out of the park on the Dance. Fleetwood Mac's greatest misstep was not including this gorgeous song on Rumours and making it the lead single for the album. It's that good.

I agree with the earlier posts about Mirage and Say You Will, each contained some of Stevie's best work and are honourable mentions, but Rumours and Tusk are flawless where the later works have cracks in the armour of what was clearly some of the best material ever recorded by a rock and roll band.

Don't get me started about Tango in the Night as I'd rather forget that one.

[vivfox]

^^^On Ice, I agree with everything you said except I enjoy Tango. I voted for Rumours and Tusk but if 3 picks were allowed(Yes gssmith, I'm talkin' to you LOL), I would have then added the White Album because Rhiannon and Landslide are just as precious as her Rumours and Tusk songs, to me.

[WildHearted]

I went for Rumours and Tusk. I think the choice of Tusk needs no explanation. As for Rumours, I think GDW is possibly her best recorded song, period. Dreams is obviously iconic. You have The Chain, another iconic piece, which shows off her knack for harmony. And IDWTK, while not superbly influential, is still a substantially good folk-pop throwback.

[elle]

Landslide and Rhiannon are the biggest and the most defining songs of SN's career, for a casual fan or listener. even diehard SN fans here argue that all the time, how important those songs are for her and FM.

so i'm kinda shocked that White Album is getting so little votes here.

personally, there are 3 SN songs i love - Landslide, Gold Dust Woman and Sisters of the Moon. i think Stevie really was at her songwriting pinnacle during later BN years, when they were working on their second album (time when Landslide and Rhiannon were penned), and she never quite reached that productivity since (i'm talking lyrics and music, not solely lyrics/poems) except maybe during Tusk years. SOTM, Angel, BC are all great songs in their own right, and they are also very diverse.

so White Album and Tusk it is.

[WildHearted]

Originally Posted by elle

Landslide and Rhiannon are the biggest and the most defining songs of SN's career, for a casual fan or listener. even diehard SN fans here argue that all the time, how important those songs are for her and FM.

so i'm kinda shocked that White Album is getting so little votes here.

personally, there are 3 SN songs i love - Landslide, Gold Dust Woman and Sisters of the Moon. i think Stevie really was at her songwriting pinnacle during later BN years, when they were working on their second album (time when Landslide and Rhiannon were penned), and she never quite reached that productivity since (i'm talking lyrics and music, not solely lyrics/poems) except maybe during Tusk years. SOTM, Angel, BC are all great songs in their own right, and they are also very diverse.

so White Album and Tusk it is.

To me, her songs on the White Album are much better as live pieces than they are as studio recordings. Not that the studio recordings are bad - but 9 times out of 10 I'm going to listen to a live version. So I think Rumours as an album experience is a better representation of her best work.

[bethelblues]

^^^ Well said. I agree completely, having spent some time listening through the White Album recently. As we said earlier on page 2, Stevie is also underutilized for that album, only giving lead vocals on two songs. I think it's the live versions of Rhiannon and Landslide that most standout, especially since it's the live single of Landslide from The Dance that is the radio staple today. The 1975 recording is almost never heard, so much so that when it was attached to the pony Budweiser commercial it really caught me off guard.

I also don't really understand why some people have failed to mention Dreams along with Gold Dust Woman as a superior contribution from Stevie. The studio version of that song is excellent, and even if you think it has gotten stale over the last few tours, that doesn't take away from how good the song is, how it features the vocals of all three lead singers, and how it captures the lost blues band sounds of Fleetwood Mac in the guitar. For me it resonates much more than the pop song some people on here have reduced it to and remains one of Stevie's best songs.

[SteveMacD]

Rumours and Tusk. Tusk for many of the reasons already given. The second choice was trickier, but I had to go with Rumours because it was some of her best material and she sounded especially good on the others' material.

[MacShadowsBall]

Tusk got 64 votes and Rumours got 56 votes. I do find it interesting that as much as Rumours gets a somewhat negative reaction from the Ledge, it did outstandingly well in this poll. But Ledge consensus is that Stevie's best Fleetwood Mac work was on Rumours and Tusk.

I didn't plan to do corresponding polls, but apparently my polls/contest are infamous here on the Ledge so I will continue them for Lindsey, Christine and maybe even the Pre-Rumours gang, if anybody on that forum would be interested!

Christine was on 12 studio albums - 5 Pre-Rumours, 5 Rumours, and 2 Post-Rumours. I'll need to combine some albums.

[CADreaming]

I had to go with FM and Tusk. Tusk is obvious, I think.

FM had 3 stellar songs, 2 which were career defining songs - Crystal, Rhiannon and Landslide. As much as I love GDW on Rumours, the other two SN tracks - Dreams and IDWTK do not touch the 3 on FM.

[elle]

Originally Posted by CADreaming

I had to go with FM and Tusk. Tusk is obvious, I think.

FM had 3 stellar songs, 2 which were career defining songs - Crystal, Rhiannon and Landslide. As much as I love GDW on Rumours, the other two SN tracks - Dreams and IDWTK do not touch the 3 on FM.

hey we agree!!?!?

i'm with you on almost every word... what's the world coming to?!

[CADreaming]

Originally Posted by elle

hey we agree!!?!?

i'm with you on almost every word... what's the world coming to?!

OMG! I think that's twice this year!!!

[secondhandchain]

Easiest poll to predict the outcome, that I've ever voted on. I wish we could have bet millions on this one.

[Dex]

Originally Posted by On Ice

Don't get me started about Tango in the Night as I'd rather forget that one.

Poor ol' Tango-era Stevie. I really want to be in her corner for that album, but then on WISYA she's all "WHASSAMATTAHBAYBEHHH!?!?!?!?" and I'm like "Yeah... This shouldn't exist". Although I think Lindsey's vocals at the end of the song indicate that there is a good song in there somewhere.

I like WTTRS okay. I think it'd have been easier to accept as a TOSOTM filler-track, and it isn't really worse than a lot of the songs on the b-side of Tango. But as one of only two Nicks-penned songs in the first Mac album for 5 years, it's pretty dire.



Truth time? I've never gotten the fuss about Dreams. I mean, it's a good song, but it's a bit hyped up, isn't it? Am I insane? And Silver Springs was sold to me by the incredible performance in The Dance, but melody-wise it's never been one of my favourites either. Much as I do like those songs, and the rest of her offerings from that era, Rumours would have probably been my 5th choice on this poll.

[bethelblues]

But what about Gold Dust Woman? There seems to be a consensus among a few users in this thread that it is not only one of Stevie's most iconic songs, but it's probably the greatest song Stevie wrote. I think that one and The Chain should place Rumours much higher than fifth, right!?!

[Dex]

Originally Posted by bethelblues

But what about Gold Dust Woman? There seems to be a consensus among a few users in this thread that it is not only one of Stevie's most iconic songs, but it's probably the greatest song Stevie wrote. I think that one and The Chain should place Rumours much higher than fifth, right!?!

5th is still very good! If I ranked all of these, my top 5 would hang very close together. And yes, Gold Dust Woman is fabulous. The lyrics to The Chain are also fabulous. I'm not denying either of those things. But nope, 5th it is. I think the Rhiannon/Landslide/Crystal triptych clearly beats the Rumours stuff. I'm amazed and a little sad that the White Album has gotten so few votes.