Gypsy Flashback

[baboles]

I'm feeling a Gypsy flashback.

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This is my favorite video of all time. And I think it pretty much captures everything Stevie (the voice, the clothes, the mystical image).

It makes me feel so good.

[macpai]

I agree whole-heartedly.
The Mac's ability to change and grow is evident once again. The video age is upon them and they delivered two of the most memorable videos around. Of course it helps that they have some seriously good-looking front peeps!

[Phoenix]

ahh, that was very nice. (always is):thumbsup:

[Moz]

I absolutely love the parts where Stevie's in the rain.. ahh.. wish there were pictures of that!

[David]

I guess the director -- whatever his name is, I've forgotten -- Mulcahy or something -- was emulating various film "looks" of the 1930s & early '40s, such as the sultry Warners melodrama with satiny black & white ("Casablanca," "To Have & Have Not"), the earlier social-problem films of the Depression era from Warner & Monogram ("East Side Kids," "Public Enemy"), & finally the glittering & oversaturated MGM & Fox musicals in 3-strip Technicolor ("Wizard of Oz," "Moon Over Miami," "Meet Me in St. Louis").

It's a Hollywood cornucopia -- a pastiche of old styles, which really made it stand out at a time when music videos generally looked pretty cruddy visually (most probably shot on video whereas GYPSY was shot on film stock).

It should have occurred to Fleetwood Mac, after having done this video, to shoot the Forum concerts on film stock instead of video, because that concert video has always had a cruddily way-too-realistic look & sound to it (it's like watching something shot by a personal digital video cam). Imagine that concert shot with the care & style used on GYPSY.

[LukeA]

It should have occurred to Fleetwood Mac, after having done this video, to shoot the Forum concerts on film stock instead of video, because that concert video has always had a cruddily way-too-realistic look & sound to it (it's like watching something shot by a personal digital video cam). Imagine that concert shot with the care & style used on GYPSY.

Blame HBO.

[wolfontherun]

The rain scene is set up so well and Stevie really nails it. Very difficult scent to film I wonder how many takes it took to get this great result.

I also love her smile at the end and the willowy carefree dance on the cliff.

One bit they should have edited out is when the sparkles are raining down on her as she is dancing/twiirling you can see that her face scrunches up as they were hitting her in the face and eyes.

But I digress. I love the video and so wish that Stevie could have used the same director for all her videos as I have never been a big fan of her solo videos.

[LB Freakazoid]

Somewhere, I remember hearing that this video posed another first in the music industry.... Wasn't it the first video to win the American Music Award for best video of the year?

[petep9000]

I remember being blown to bits when I saw this on TV in 1982. I think it was on Casey Kasem's old 'American Top 40' show. And, I think he said that it was the most expensive video of all time. Well, as of 1982 obviously. My favorite part is when Stevie's character looks so destitute and so sad, against the lamppost with her fingerless gloves and that battered old hat. Poor Stevie, someone give her some soup!

[David]

I remember being blown to bits when I saw this on TV in 1982. I think it was on Casey Kasem's old 'American Top 40' show. And, I think he said that it was the most expensive video of all time. Well, as of 1982 obviously.
I remember seeing that showing on America's Top 40, too, PeteJohn! And you're right he did say it was the most expensive. It was still early in the video game, but even so...

I didn't know you had a blog -- I'm reading it over now! Great job! I like your review of the Theroux book on train travel. Should I read that book? I don't like to read much that isn't about Beethoven or by Barzun, but I can try.

[UndoingTheLaces]

The thing about video at that time is that it was a new innovation and around the early 80's, having things look so stark and dry was the really in thing. I'm glad they let Fleetwood have a very classic feel by shooting their videos on film. When the concert video was done they were probably all so happy to be using this new innovation that would let them shoot a whole concert with a lot less money and more versatility than film would allow.

I always loved this video and especially the mix that they used with the extended ending. I remember searching for years for some form of that on vinyl, hoping it was on a promo 12" or something. The version on The Chain is nice but I really miss the little "oooh, I see your bright eyes" after the guitar solo starts.

I did always think it was an odd video, especially with her looking so happy at the end considering it was such a gut wrenching song. But then again, it would hardly have been an entertaining video in an age with Devo, Eurythmics and Flock of Seagulls to have a video with Stevie sitting in a hospital room. I love the video for what it is, but I have to admit the song Gypsy still gets me choked up if I'm in the right mood.

[GarboSpeaks!]

TOTALLY lame addition to the love of this vid/song

Was on a great vacation not to long ago. A great potential awaited me in the state of Oregon. I was driving up Highway 101, in the mountains. Pass after pass, and currently I was listening to the Mirage album,
Gypsy was on, and the last musical crescecndo part was playing RIGHT when I crossed the border from California into Oregon. It was very movie like. I was in the midst of reveling in the past, the time this song was out, what was going on etc. And here it was now, this same song with me for a completely different time another journey.
Heavy huh?
lol

[wolfontherun]

TOTALLY lame addition to the love of this vid/song

Was on a great vacation not to long ago. A great potential awaited me in the state of Oregon. I was driving up Highway 101, in the mountains. Pass after pass, and currently I was listening to the Mirage album,
Gypsy was on, and the last musical crescecndo part was playing RIGHT when I crossed the border from California into Oregon. It was very movie like. I was in the midst of reveling in the past, the time this song was out, what was going on etc. And here it was now, this same song with me for a completely different time another journey.
Heavy huh?
lol

Crescendo? You mean the long ahhhhhhhhhh part?

[petep9000]

I remember seeing that showing on America's Top 40, too, PeteJohn! And you're right he did say it was the most expensive. It was still early in the video game, but even so...

I didn't know you had a blog -- I'm reading it over now! Great job! I like your review of the Theroux book on train travel. Should I read that book? I don't like to read much that isn't about Beethoven or by Barzun, but I can try.

I should maybe try to read something about Herr Beethoven. If you can recommend a bio that is considered good (in English) and only one volume, I'd take a crack at reading it.
David I think you might like Theroux earlier book, called 'The Great Railway Bazaar'. That is the one I really liked, the book I reviewed was a sequel he did 30 years later. I literally couldn't put 'The Great Railway Bazaar' down when I first got it. Back then, I was full of longing to travel, and I said to myself "I'm going to be just like him!"

Thanks for the compliment on my blog, I have fun with it. I know it's a bit indulgent but it's the one creative thing I do these days and I love to write.

[Musicman408]

Ah, I really love that video. Haven't even listened to the song in awhile. It made me smile. :nod:

[David]

I should maybe try to read something about Herr Beethoven. If you can recommend a bio that is considered good (in English) and only one volume, I'd take a crack at reading it.You don't want to read a biography. You want to read "Beethoven: Impressions by His Contemporaries," published by Dover in softcover in 1967 & edited by O.G. Sonneck.

David I think you might like Theroux earlier book, called 'The Great Railway Bazaar'. That is the one I really liked, the book I reviewed was a sequel he did 30 years later. I'll look for a used copy somewheres. I feel like reading something out of the ordinary for me.

[strandinthewind]

I guess the director -- whatever his name is, I've forgotten -- Mulcahy or something -- was emulating various film "looks" of the 1930s & early '40s, such as the sultry Warners melodrama with satiny black & white ("Casablanca," "To Have & Have Not"), the earlier social-problem films of the Depression era from Warner & Monogram ("East Side Kids," "Public Enemy"), & finally the glittering & oversaturated MGM & Fox musicals in 3-strip Technicolor ("Wizard of Oz," "Moon Over Miami," "Meet Me in St. Louis").

It's a Hollywood cornucopia -- a pastiche of old styles, which really made it stand out at a time when music videos generally looked pretty cruddy visually (most probably shot on video whereas GYPSY was shot on film stock).

It should have occurred to Fleetwood Mac, after having done this video, to shoot the Forum concerts on film stock instead of video, because that concert video has always had a cruddily way-too-realistic look & sound to it (it's like watching something shot by a personal digital video cam). Imagine that concert shot with the care & style used on GYPSY.


There is a video called "The Making of Gypsy" out there somewhere wherein La Nicks discusses this topic. I can't find it. Maybe someone who has it can post it.

Also - CM is uttery fab. in the nightclub scene.

[ThunderHappens]

Gypsy is such a beautiful song, some of Stevie's best vocals. The video is spectacular, too. Stevie is absolutely shining with radiance in the forest/cliff scenes.

If I correctly understand what you guys are saying, then the song was mixed/extended just for the video, and this particular cut is not available on any form of audio?

I can't quite hear what she says at 3:54, anyone catch it?

[UndoingTheLaces]

Gypsy is such a beautiful song, some of Stevie's best vocals. The video is spectacular, too. Stevie is absolutely shining with radiance in the forest/cliff scenes.

If I correctly understand what you guys are saying, then the song was mixed/extended just for the video, and this particular cut is not available on any form of audio?

I can't quite hear what she says at 3:54, anyone catch it?

Someone posted a really nice rip of the audio from the video as an mp3 and it's as close to an album cut as I've ever heard. If nobody else has it, I'll post it when I get home (I'm at work now). If you don't see it posted in the next day someone please PM me as I'm likely to forget. My brain is like a slotted spoon these days.

The lyric you are asking about, ThunderHappens, is "You're bright eyes... I can't find you". I had trouble with that myself until The Chain came out and the unreleaed extended version there not only has this line but also a bit before it that didn't make it to the video where she sings "I can't find you" more prominently. I love that version but they left out the little bit of Stevie's vocal that happens just after Lindsey's guitar solo stars, "ooh, see your bright eyes".

And for those of you who are as fanatic about this song as I am, have you ever noticed in the Mirage liner notes where the lyrics show the background vocals as singing "she was just a wish... she was just a wish" during the vocal ad lib at the end, yet you never hear it in the original, or even the video version for that matter? Listen closely to the mix on The Chain shortly after it veers away from the original version. Stevie sing "but I still see...." before the verse starts and as she finished with "...you're bright eyes" you can hear Lindsey and her singing "she was just a wish" in the background. The first time I heard that I was totally thrown down. I thought "that's why they had those lyrics in the liner notes".


And yes, without meaning to I've found myself saying "thrown down" a lot. It's sort of the opposite of "fell out", as in " When I saw my bf cheating on me I totally fell out and when he finally admitted it I was totally thrown down". :blob2::blob1:

[RoseGarden]

I agree with Wolfontherun---Stevie seems to have a natural smile at the end that makes me feel like I am smiling back at her.

---to the inquirer that wants to see the making of gypsy, I am looking for that footage for you . I remember it and enjoyed the fussing of her hairstylist as she is explaining what she is expected to do for this photo shoot. This was back in the early 80's and Stevie was expressing she wasn't comfortable doing videos, however she gave a lot of credit to whom produced this particular video as most of the FM characters wern't even looking at one another (nor getting along) but it appears differently while watching it.

This is a great video---especially since the 80's had a lot of cheesy ones out there!

[galestreet]

thanks for sharing the video, its one of my favorites!:angel: