Silver Springs Should Have Been a Top 10 Hit

[MikeInNV]

http://stargayzing.com/songs-that-sh...hits-volume-6/

As most Stevie Nick’s fans well know, “Silver Springs” was written for Rumours in 1977 but left off the album (though it was included as the b-side of the “Go Your Own Way” single). According to lore (and common sense), this pleased Miss Nick’s none too much and contributed to growing tension in the band. Here is what Nicks said about the song:

“I wrote ‘Silver Springs’ about Lindsey. And we were in Maryland somewhere driving under a freeway sign that said Silver Spring, Maryland. And I loved the name … Silver Springs sounded like a pretty fabulous place to me. And, ‘You could be my silver springs…’, that’s just a whole symbolic thing of what you could have been to me.”

Rumours engineer and co-producer Richard Dashut called it the “best song that never made it to an album.” The song finally got its due on the 1997 reunion album The Dance, but I prefer the original 1977 version.

[On Ice]

Hi Mike in NV,
Great post and couldn't agree more, the song is the biggest hit that Fleetwood Mac never had. I also think it's the best song Stevie ever wrote and would've been huge back in the day, heck was probably even ready in summer/fall of '76 and the sound of "you could be my Silver Springs" coming out of the speakers everywhere would have been such sweet sounds indeed.

[WatchChain]

I've always LOVED "Silver Springs", it's one of the BEST recordings from the Buckingham/Nicks lineup of Fleetwood Mac. For me, in the early days, Stevie was at her best when singing California country/rock. "Silver Springs" has a COUNTRY music vibe, much like "After The Glitter Fades", and "That's Alright". I could just as easily hear/envision a 1970's era Dolly Parton or Linda Ronstadt singing "Silver Springs". The song's replacement on the "Rumours" record "I Don't Want To Know" is also, at its core, a little country song. Although it is inferior to "Silver Springs", "I Don't Want To Know" sure is a cute stomping, toe-tapping number! That groove is infectious! This is HIGHWAY music at its finest!

As for the decision to leave "Silver Springs" off "Rumours", I think it just came down to the song being too long for the LP format at the time. Stevie was allowed 3 songs on the album, and "Springs" clocked in at nearly 5 minutes, an EPIC. I'm sure the band felt that "Springs" was the better of the two songs, but there just wasn't TIME, so they opted for the 3 minute "I Don't Want To Know", as there was NO WAY they were bumping "Dreams" OR "Gold Dust" OFF the record. The ONLY alternative: get rid of "Silver Springs". I AM surprised that they released it as a B-SIDE and didn't try to SAVE it for a future record, because it's just that good.

[Macfanforever]

Ditto here.It should of been a hit and it was ignored by radio like I said in other threads in the Stevie forum related to this.The tunes were overlooked and ignored by the jocks and their program and music directors at the stations.They do the same with other artists and bands too as they do those BS audience testing with the tunes to see what they like to hear.I know how radio works since I studied it for almost 40 years and had friends in the business.

[mitzo]

I am eternally grateful for the 1997 Dance version, which is just plain epic. The original from the '70's sounds cheap and thin and so weak in comparison.

[Jondalar]

Like the song but it had the wrong energy for Rumours. More like a Tusk song. Would of been great for Tango in the Night.

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by mitzo

I am eternally grateful for the 1997 Dance version, which is just plain epic. The original from the '70's sounds cheap and thin and so weak in comparison.

I agree. The way she sang it to him during that performance was unreal. I've seen it performed well, but never quite the same as that performance.

[redbird]

I like both tracks of "Silver Springs". I like hearing the song in youthful, relatively innocent Stevie's voice as well as older and experienced Stevie's voice, I like different phrasing choices in both, and I like both outtros for themselves. It's just great song.

[Macfanforever]

One thing here that is the local radio station here goes to the Dance version of SS and also Landslide.I would like to hear the originals on the radio more then the updated versions.I do like both versions anyway.

[BLY]

Originally Posted by redbird

I like both tracks of "Silver Springs". I like hearing the song in youthful, relatively innocent Stevie's voice as well as older and experienced Stevie's voice, I like different phrasing choices in both, and I like both outtros for themselves. It's just great song.

I agree. I do prefer the studio version over the The Dance version if I had to choose but I still get chills at the end of that song. From the first time I heard that song on a jukebox as the flip side of GYOW in 1977 I was hooked.

[Macfan4life]

Silver Springs is too good to be a commercial top 10 radio pop song. Some of rock's biggest songs don't make it to the top 10. Silver Springs is one of them. So is Landslide, Gold Dust Woman, etc
Look at the Eagles song Desperado. Definitely one of their biggest and greatest.
Some of pop's biggest songs hit number one but 5 years later no one hears the song again. You can hear FM Landslide, GDW, and Silver Springs EVERYDAY on classic rock stations, and Sirius-XM 70's and the Bridge.

[sadmabelnormand]

Silver Springs for me is one of those songs that always will be close to my heart. I absolutely adore the Rumours version due to the heartbreak you can hear in her voice. The ending where she sings "You'll NEVER get away from the SOUUND of the WOMAN THAT LOOOVES YOUUUU" never fails to give me chills. However, I love the version from The Dance also because it's kind of like an "I told you so" moment for Stevie. She finally got to tell Lindsey "My voice will haunt you". The song came back and became a hit.

I always wondered why they didn't rerecord it for Mirage. I think with her voice at the time it would have sounded beautiful. In fact, the first time I heard "Wish You Were Here" my little brother and I thought it was the beginning of Silver Springs!

[elle]

Silver Springs is one of the rare SN songs i absolutely love.

i've never heard it before i started looking up LB's and FM's music on youtube few years ago, i don't remember it from 90s even though it was apparently a hit from the Dance.

i adore the Dance version. and their recent live versions, they are beautiful.

i think original Rumours version is dry and boring - kinda like most of the song versions on Fleetwood Mac / white album, at least on CD (maybe vinyl versions have warmer sound?).

[bombaysaffires]

Originally Posted by elle

Silver Springs is one of the rare SN songs i absolutely love.

i've never heard it before i started looking up LB's and FM's music on youtube few years ago, i don't remember it from 90s even though it was apparently a hit from the Dance.

i adore the Dance version. and their recent live versions, they are beautiful.

i think original Rumours version is dry and boring - kinda like most of the song versions on Fleetwood Mac / white album, at least on CD (maybe vinyl versions have warmer sound?).

oh elle, one of the things that makes the studio version so exquisite is Lindsey's breathtaking acoustic guitar. It's totally missing from the live version. (the other thing is Stevie's voice in the mid 70s)

The difference between the two is that the studio version is more of a country song and real melancholy until the very end. The live version has more of a rock and roll energy and more anger and of course the visual performance of watching her sing it directly to Lindsey, which you can't see (but can imagine) in the studio version.

I have still my original 45 of GYOW with SS on the b-side and it sounds fantastic on vinyl. Everything sounds ****ter compressed.

[He's So Unusual]

Originally Posted by mitzo

I am eternally grateful for the 1997 Dance version, which is just plain epic. The original from the '70's sounds cheap and thin and so weak in comparison.

I agree with this. I've never cared for the original studio version. I only listen to The Dance version.