Friend

[tdfwiner]

Is it just me or does this song sound like You Make Loving Fun?

[David]

Is it just me or does this song sound like You Make Loving Fun?Hmm. . . I never thought of it before. If you look at them both on paper, "Friends" does seem to be sort of imbued with the spirit & style of "You Make." The verses in both run through a minor 7 chord progression, & then both choruses modulate into a major with a similar descending pattern (the addition of the dominant 7 tone).

It's quite possible, I guess, that Chris approximated the chordal style of "You Make" in "Friend," much the way the Master used the dramatic French ouverture chords in minor keys to open various pieces: the Coriolan, Egmont, Creatures of Prometheus & King Stephen overtures & incidental music--over a period of several years.

http://www.klassiekemuziekgids.net/images/componisten/beethoven.jpg + http://chris863.tripod.com/cm.jpg = ?

[HomerMcvie]

Christine made some reference to "borrowing from her own musical past" on some ITM songs. I'm not sure if she meant Friend or not, though.

[carrie721]

actually, she talked about "friend" in a radio interview she did talk about the relationship between it & YMLF. she said something like, "if you're going to plagiarize, you might as well plagiarize yourself!" lemme see if i can dig out my mp3 of it.

edit: i have no idea what happened to my copy of this ... does anyone else have it/know what i'm talking about?

[jbrownsjr]

they sound similiar to me in timbre and rhythms..... don't have good enough ears to hear the chord progressions

[aleuzzi]

Is it just me or does this song sound like You Make Loving Fun?

The bass-guitar riff in "Friend" recalls the keyboard riff in YMLF. I noticed that immediately when I first heard it.

I don't mind the borrowing at all!

[macfan 57]

Both songs have a clavinet. Chris did mention that similarity in one of her interviews too.

[macfan 57]

actually, she talked about "friend" in a radio interview she did talk about the relationship between it & YMLF. she said something like, "if you're going to plagiarize, you might as well plagiarize yourself!" lemme see if i can dig out my mp3 of it.

edit: i have no idea what happened to my copy of this ... does anyone else have it/know what i'm talking about?

It was from an interview in The Guardian & she was actually referring to Steely Dan, although she could have been referring to herself a bit as well.;) Like aleuzzi, I don't mind her borrowing from the past either. Here's the quote:

"One album that has stayed with her, though, is Gaucho by Steely Dan. "It sounds like very sexy music to me, much more so than their earlier albums, and every time I listen to it I hear something else in there. Since then they have been plagiarising themselves. But that's OK; I think they've earned the right. If you can't plagiarise yourself, who can you plagiarise?"

[Gailh]

It was from an interview in The Guardian & she was actually referring to Steely Dan, although she could have been referring to herself a bit as well.;) Like aleuzzi, I don't mind her borrowing from the past either. Here's the quote:

"One album that has stayed with her, though, is Gaucho by Steely Dan. "It sounds like very sexy music to me, much more so than their earlier albums, and every time I listen to it I hear something else in there. Since then they have been plagiarising themselves. But that's OK; I think they've earned the right. If you can't plagiarise yourself, who can you plagiarise?"

I think there was a radio interview where she said something similar - was it the World Cafe one?

Gail

[macfan 57]

I think there was a radio interview where she said something similar - was it the World Cafe one?

Gail

I just checked my CDs. It was the Bob & Tom show. The DJ told her how much he loved "Friend" & she came up with the "plagiarize" quote again. It sounds like she was borrowing answers from past interviews too.:D

[carrie721]

I just checked my CDs. It was the Bob & Tom show. The DJ told her how much he loved "Friend" & she came up with the "plagiarize" quote again. It sounds like she was borrowing answers from past interviews too.:D

really glad i'm not going crazy! and i found my mp3, fwiw:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/d0rwel

[aleuzzi]

It was from an interview in The Guardian & she was actually referring to Steely Dan, although she could have been referring to herself a bit as well.;) Like aleuzzi, I don't mind her borrowing from the past either. Here's the quote:

"One album that has stayed with her, though, is Gaucho by Steely Dan. "It sounds like very sexy music to me, much more so than their earlier albums, and every time I listen to it I hear something else in there. Since then they have been plagiarising themselves. But that's OK; I think they've earned the right. If you can't plagiarise yourself, who can you plagiarise?"


She's right about Steely Dan. Their most recent effort (from a few years back) sounds like Gaucho re-deaux. That's alright with me. I can hear Steely's influence on Christine's ITM all over the place--"Anything is Possible," "Bad Journey," "So Sincere," "You Are," and "Forgiveness" have that west-coast sheen that is sexy--not glossy. And, for what it's worth, "You Make Loving Fun" is the essence of the Gaucho sound three years before Gaucho.

Friend's debt to YMLF is interesting because both songs hold up very well on their own. She borrows herself in other places, too. The piano-bass-drum rhythm in "Got a Hold on Me" sounds a bit like "Hold Me."

[aleuzzi]

really glad i'm not going crazy! and i found my mp3, fwiw:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/d0rwel


Thanks for sending this. She's so damn self effacing!

[carrie721]

Thanks for sending this. She's so damn self effacing!

no prob! she cracks me up - i love what she said about being "thrilled to bits" or something like that.

[Gailh]

I just checked my CDs. It was the Bob & Tom show. The DJ told her how much he loved "Friend" & she came up with the "plagiarize" quote again. It sounds like she was borrowing answers from past interviews too.:D

Ah yes I remember it well!

Friend is one of my all time favourite Christine songs.

If that had been the opener on Say You Will and five more of Chris' songs were on there and three each of Lindsey and Stevie's had been ditched - then we might have had an album!

Gail

[HomerMcvie]

If that had been the opener on Say You Will and five more of Chris' songs were on there and three each of Lindsey and Stevie's had been ditched - then we might have had an album!

Gail
Amen Sistah!!!! Preach it!!!!! :blob2: :blob2: :blob2:

[macfan 57]

She's right about Steely Dan. Their most recent effort (from a few years back) sounds like Gaucho re-deaux. That's alright with me. I can hear Steely's influence on Christine's ITM all over the place--"Anything is Possible," "Bad Journey," "So Sincere," "You Are," and "Forgiveness" have that west-coast sheen that is sexy--not glossy. And, for what it's worth, "You Make Loving Fun" is the essence of the Gaucho sound three years before Gaucho.


I totally agree.:nod: "Anything Is Possible" IS a Steely Dan song. She's been a huge fan of Steely Dan for years. And, so am I.:)

[macfan 57]

If that had been the opener on Say You Will and five more of Chris' songs were on there and three each of Lindsey and Stevie's had been ditched - then we might have had an album!
Gail

I'll join Homer in seconding that.:thumbsup:

[Gailh]

I totally agree.:nod: "Anything Is Possible" IS a Steely Dan song. She's been a huge fan of Steely Dan for years. And, so am I.:)

I love that song. But I do have some issues with the words.

"You can take me out, you can lay me down"

Lay me down! I think a bit of taking out should go on first before any laying down happens! I'm shocked Ms McVie, shocked. :laugh: :laugh:

Gail

[macfan 57]

I love that song. But I do have some issues with the words.

"You can take me out, you can lay me down"

Lay me down! I think a bit of taking out should go on first before any laying down happens! I'm shocked Ms McVie, shocked. :laugh: :laugh:

Gail

:laugh: :laugh: Well, when Mojo Magazine reviewed the album, they described "Anything Is Possible" as a song about casual sex.;)

[jbrownsjr]

:laugh: :laugh: Well, when Mojo Magazine reviewed the album, they described "Anything Is Possible" as a song about casual sex.;)

it's honesty to me... :) she didn't want to be taken out... just layed down....

[David]

it's honesty to me... :) she didn't want to be taken out... just layed down....
Well, better to be laid down than laid up, I always say!

(Of course, it's better to be laid up than ... er ... laid out!)

[Johnny Stew]

Perhaps she's hoping he'll woo her until the sun comes up -- and, in this case, saying that he loves her is completely optional!

[jbrownsjr]

Perhaps she's hoping he'll woo her until the sun comes up -- and, in this case, saying that he loves her is completely optional!

what's love got to do got to do with it....

ok i've sunk to new levels... i now have a whole underground basement of crazy....

[jbrownsjr]

Well, better to be laid down than laid up, I always say!

(Of course, it's better to be laid up than ... er ... laid out!)

man u got that right! :laugh:

[chiliD]

If that had been the opener on Say You Will and five more of Chris' songs were on there and three each of Lindsey and Stevie's had been ditched - then we might have had an album!

Replace Lindsey with Bob Welch & Rick Vito...and THEN we might've had an even BETTER one.

[jbrownsjr]

Replace Lindsey with Bob Welch & Rick Vito...and THEN we might've had an even BETTER one.

I'd go with Welch. Billy, although great, isn't weird enough to take on that role as the sole guitar player. I love the way Welch/McVie sound together. I think he did a great job on Heroes with is weird jazz meanderings. It's got more depth than a McVie/Burnette collaboration.

[SteveMacD]

I'd love to see Christine work with Bob and Billy. Bob eventually became a great guitarist (actually, it's fun hearing his development as a player with Fleetwood Mac through Paris), and Billy and Christine always sounded great together. I think an all Billy/Christine album would be too bland, but Bob would definitely add that weird vibe to balance things out.

Speaking of Bob, I was listening to "Bermuda Triangle" yesterday, and thought that the vocal lines were remarkably similar to many of the vocal lines on Stevie's songs on SYW (i.e. "and the Air Force won't let on" and "maybe we were together in another life"). While Lindsey may have taken Bob's place as a guitarist, I think Stevie was more of Bob's replacement in terms of songwriting. While Bob may have been more literal in his use of the paranormal in his lyrics, I think he really paved the way for Stevie's use of the figurative in that regard. It's funny, but how many other bands could have added "witch lady" and it not be in the least bit weird? Fleetwood Mac had already had a female, a vocalist, and a singer/songwriter who was heavily into the paranormal.