Let's talk about.......ANGEL.....

[singatnight]

Round Two: Let's talk about ANGEL

I'm so glad round one with SARA was a success! Thank you everyone who shared!!!! It was great to read your comments and interpretations. :)

ANGEL:

I absolutely LOVE the words to this song:
charmed hour, haunted song, no great pretender,I still look up, i become that part of the wind...
My favorite line is , "that girl was me....."

In her book, Carol Ann (if we can believe anything from her) said Angel was all about Mick.....Mick, again? really?? I'm so not a fan of the Stevie/Mick affair.
I like to think it's all about Lindsey.....but, of course ;)

I LOVE the footage of the TUSK tour with Stevie & Lindsey singing ANGEL. Unfortunately I was born in 1980...so I never saw it live!!


Ok, your turn.....

[IKV Nexis]

Angel is one of those great songs they don't play often or at all! One thing about it is I had miss heard a lyric. The funny thing is that what I heard acctualy made sence if you knew what the word is.
The original

Like a ghost through a fog
Like a charmed hour
And a haunted song

I heard

Like a ghost through a fog
Like a charmed BOWER
And a haunted song

Now for those who don't know. A bower is a place (usualy a clearing or circle) in the forest that is accociated with magick and the Fay Realms. So I though..Hay nice old reference and always heard that untill I saw the lyrics. Too bad I liked mine better. ;)

[hippilil86]

"In her book, Carol Ann (if we can believe anything from her) said Angel was all about Mick.....Mick, again? really?? I'm so not a fan of the Stevie/Mick affair.
I like to think it's all about Lindsey.....but, of course ;)"


I don't really believe it's about Mick either. I love how Lindsey and Stevie work on this in the Tusk doc. The way they look at each other in the scene with the piano is pretty cute.

-Lily

[Dodfather]

I love this song!! It took me a while to get into it but suddenly it dawned on me just how great it is!

Stylistically, it's very unusual for Stevie. I know she says that Angel was her attempt to write a straighforward rock/new wave song and so it's great to hear her experimenting so much.

The bass at the start of this song is just fantastic - well done McVie!

I've recently started to listen to live versions of this track a lot. Her vocal is just fantastic. I kinda wish that what is on Tusk was more like that, but then again for the fans who have seen this live (sadly I'm not one of them) it must have been fantastic to hear such an amped-up version of the song.

[FMlex]

Love this song!

I actually just got a glass pendant with "Like a charmed hour and a haunted song..." put on it! It's really cool.

I can't think that "Angel" is about Stevie/Mick. But I, too, always look at things Stevie/Lindsey. :) I'm hopeless, I know!

I love the concert footage of "Angel" in the Tusk documentary.
Whenever Lindsey comes over to join Stevie, she's smiling the whole time and just looks so happy/cute!
And then he puts his hand on her waist, her back, her head... love it!!

Oh and who could forget Stevie's little dancing jig at the end? Haha.

[petep9000]

I love the clip of 'Angel' from the US Festival (solo Stevie). Waddy is rockin

[David]

Angel has probably always been one of my favorites, too. It's certainly my favorite Nicks track on that album. The playing is so clean, so smooth. The track is mixed so perfectly to my ears. It's essentially a rhythm section riff, repeated to the fade, punctuated with these jagged guitar riffs that are artfully placed -- they add just the right amount of dynamics. It's Lindsey's specialty as a studio guitarist & he took that style to the stage too. Unfortunately, he doesn't do that these days: he assaults with sonic sludge. If the band were to perform Angel these days, the aural effect would be completely different from what I'm used to, & I doubt I'd like it anywhere near as much.

Angel is also one of the memorable Fleetwood Mac tracks in which a single instrument model & make gives the entire track its character. Here, it's the Yamaha CP30. Had another electromechanical or electronic piano been used, the ambience & the whole character of the song would have been vastly different. As an example, take the way the Nicks solo band played it onstage in the early years: it was transformed into an E Street Band celebratory number, thanks to the Bittan piano & the Tench B3, not to mention the way Kunkel kicked up the rhythm arrangement.

[petep9000]

When I see the stage clip from the tour doc, the way Christine opens the song reminds me of that song 'Joy to the world' (remember, the one about Jeremiah the bullfrog). Same keyboard David?

[equeen102289]

Angel is another favorite of mine. I think it would have been a huge hit if released as a single. It's a lot more radio-friendly than Sisters of the Moon.

When I first bought Tusk, Angel didn't stand out to me. It wasn't until I saw the Tusk documentary that I fell in love with the song. The filmed version of Angel is my favorite live performance of Stevie's next to Rosebud Rhiannon.

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[David]

When I first bought Tusk, Angel didn't stand out to me. It wasn't until I saw the Tusk documentary that I fell in love with the song. The filmed version of Angel is my favorite live performance of Stevie's next to Rosebud Rhiannon. Here's the audio performance from the same show but from the soundboard, so crowd noise is minimized.

www.sendspace.com/file/wk1w7d

[Sanne2]

I think it would have been a huge hit if released as a single. It's a lot more radio-friendly than Sisters of the Moon.


It was released as a single:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Sanne2/sin-27.jpg
But probably not in the US? I think this one is from Holland.

[Lala]

I heard and fell in love with this song long before I owned a single Fleetwood Mac album. Probably one of the 10 or so songs I randomly downloaded when I was first getting into the band.

The lines I love the most...

"You feel good/I said it's funny that you understood/I knew you would/When you were good...you were very, very good"

"I still look up...when you walk in the room"

And nothing and no one will convince me that this song is about anything BUT Lindsey. Those two lines are all the proof I need.

Plus...the song is called ANGEL...wasn't that his nickname for her or something?

[njova]

I think this song is 100% about Lindsey and I think angel was their nickname for each other I mean didn't Lindsey have a song called Goodbye Angel which I think is about Stevie.

[strandinthewind]

I heard and fell in love with this song long before I owned a single Fleetwood Mac album. Probably one of the 10 or so songs I randomly downloaded when I was first getting into the band.

The lines I love the most...

"You feel good/I said it's funny that you understood/I knew you would/When you were good...you were very, very good"

"I still look up...when you walk in the room"

And nothing and no one will convince me that this song is about anything BUT Lindsey. Those two lines are all the proof I need.

Plus...the song is called ANGEL...wasn't that his nickname for her or something?

I agree. It totally is about LB.

Note - I also think the "close my eyes softly til I become that part of the wind that all long for sometimes" is from her Rhiannon stuff and she made it fit into this song. Maybe referring to how she dealt with the hurt feelings, etc.

[thatgirlwasme]

Yeah Angel!!! I love this song!

I agree that it has more of a Lindsey vibe than a Mick vibe. I think the lines "I still look up when you walk in the room/I've the same wide eyes, now they tell a story/I try not to reach out when you turn around and say hello/We both pretend, but your no pretender" are some of the most brilliant she has ever written.

What can I say, "that girl was me" ;)

A

[fleetwoodtrick]

Angel is another favorite of mine. I think it would have been a huge hit if released as a single. It's a lot more radio-friendly than Sisters of the Moon.

When I first bought Tusk, Angel didn't stand out to me. It wasn't until I saw the Tusk documentary that I fell in love with the song. The filmed version of Angel is my favorite live performance of Stevie's next to Rosebud Rhiannon.

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Greatest.BN.moment.ever. :)

But I've always loved Angel, and I did the same thing as Lala. I purchased Angel off of iTunes WAAAAAAAY before I even thought about buy Tusk. (But I've switched to Amazon now because they're prices are lower and it downloads right into iTunes anyways!) Angel is also very fun to sing for me because its up beat and not too hard to do in my register :D

[fleetwoodtrick]

Yeah Angel!!! I love this song!

I agree that it has more of a Lindsey vibe than a Mick vibe. I think the lines "I still look up when you walk in the room/I've the same wide eyes, now they tell a story/I try not to reach out when you turn around and say hello/We both pretend, but your no pretender" are some of the most brilliant she has ever written.

What can I say, "that girl was me" ;)

A

To be honest, your username just dawned on me. LOL, I always wondered where that came from because up until this point, I thought the lyrics were "that girl was free." :shrug: Now I feel dumb. D: And the sad thing is, I must've read the lyrics ATLEAST once because I read through all the little book things that come with CDs. :sorry:

[vivfox]

I thought the lyrics were "that girl was free." :shrug: Now I feel dumb.
Don't feel dumb. We've all screwed up the lyrics when we didn't know the correct words.

[BellaDonna]

Yeah Angel!!! I love this song!

I agree that it has more of a Lindsey vibe than a Mick vibe. I think the lines "I still look up when you walk in the room/I've the same wide eyes, now they tell a story/I try not to reach out when you turn around and say hello/We both pretend, but your no pretender" are some of the most brilliant she has ever written.

What can I say, "that girl was me" ;)

A

I agree! Thoes lines make me think of LB every time. Especially after watching some of the Tusk Doc and watching them preform it, omg too cute!! :angel: They was sooooo smokin' hot together...:nod: Mmmm. wow.

[singatnight]

So glad to hear other people think this is a Stevie/Lindsey song too!!! I agree 100%. It seems to fit them perfectly. I would be thoroughly disappointed to learn otherwise. The chemistry is definitely there in the Tusk tour doc.....both when they are working on it and during the stage performance........LOVE IT!!!

[cactusjack]

It was released as a single:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Sanne2/sin-27.jpg
But probably not in the US? I think this one is from Holland.

cool...I hadn't seen this before :wavey:

[michelej1]

I think this song is 100% about Lindsey and I think angel was their nickname for each other I mean didn't Lindsey have a song called Goodbye Angel which I think is about Stevie.

That reminds me of Ooh, My Love.

"There was a time when he used to call her angel."

Michele

[michelej1]

"You feel good/I said it's funny that you understood/I knew you would/When you were good...you were very, very good"

"I still look up...when you walk in the room"


Hmmm, I'm sure Mick feels good!

Also, Stevie is kind of forced to look up at him, given his height.

Michele

[Dodfather]

Here's the audio performance from the same show but from the soundboard, so crowd noise is minimized.

www.sendspace.com/file/wk1w7d

Thank you SO much for this! I've always loved this version!

[BombaySapphire3]

It was released as a single:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b388/Sanne2/sin-27.jpg
But probably not in the US? I think this one is from Holland.

No it was never released here ..a mistake I think ..I am one of the "lucky ones" that got to see it performed live and on the Tusk tour..it was great and La Nicks doing the Charleston in her beret was cute.

[Lala]

Hmmm, I'm sure Mick feels good!

Also, Stevie is kind of forced to look up at him, given his height.

Michele

Considering her height, she has to look up to most people.

Lalala...it's about Lindsey :nod:

[singatnight]

I'll give Mick Beauty & the Beast....and maybe even Storms........but Angel, no way!! It's all Lindsey :)

[daniellaaarisen]

There's a sense of timelessness in "Angel" that I think can only be fitting for Lindsey. She seems to be singing to somebody who has been long gone from her romantic life but the love just won't die. Her and Mick were short lived, for one. Also, I don't think the distance between their breakup and the creation of this song was big enough for her to be writing so reflectively. Immediately after their breakup, it wouldn't be all that significant if she was "looking up" at Mick when he walked in the room... I think she wrote "Angel" with that line feeling especially poignant to her, in which case you would think immediately of Lindsey.

I adore this song so so much. I think it is an incredible example of how Stevie learned to balance the more commercially appealing writing of "Dreams" versus the ethereal, vague "Rhiannon" and "Gold Dust Woman." She combined the two beautifully.

[Phoenix]

Isn't angel one of the Rhiannon songs?

[Fannymac]

My all-time favorite Stevie song, bar none!!!

As for the lyrics, what about the ORIGINAL ones, as Stevie initially wrote them...."And we both pretend....there was an end...but there was no ending?"

Oh, yeah....this is about Lindsey!!!

[bikerchic]

Here's the audio performance from the same show but from the soundboard, so crowd noise is minimized.

www.sendspace.com/file/wk1w7d

Thank you for this! Sounds awesome! I don't think I've ever heard this one, so thank you again.

Angel lover here :thumbsup: It was the Tusk doc footage on Youtube, a few years back that made me fall in love with this song. Stevie is just so genuinely happy during this performance. And when Lindsey says "BA BE", it's so hot!

Do you think Stevie could pull it off vocally now? She's singing it in a really low range in this version :shrug:

[PoetofRhiannon]

I remember reading an article about Stevie where she said that Angel was her attempt (and I think she succeeded) at a positive, upbeat song. She kind of repeated this feeling in Paper Doll. But I think she does it better in Angel. :D

[michelej1]

I remember reading an article about Stevie where she said that Angel was her attempt (and I think she succeeded) at a positive, upbeat song. She kind of repeated this feeling in Paper Doll. But I think she does it better in Angel. :D

I don't think Paper Doll is upbeat and positive. I mean, the music might be, but I don't think the words are. I think it's rollicking, but rueful. In light of the sharp edge in the words, the carnival melody takes on an ironic quality. Rather like a funhouse, a place for merriment? Perhaps, but it's tinged with the grotesque.

I love the ache and wistfulness in Paper Doll and although the protagonist focuses on the guy's pain -- being out of love with her was being in unspoken misery -- you can hear her own, as well.

I love the yesterday I was fascinated by somebody else. Someone's face and sunflowers!

Michele